Texas Border Business
McAllen, TX (April 22, 2016) – South Texas College (STC) Theatre is privileged to host the South Texas premier of Raúl Castillo’s Between You, Me and the Lampshade, scheduled to run April 28 – 30, starting at 8:00 p.m. at STC’s Cooper Center for Communication Arts Black Box Studio, located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. An additional matinee performance will take place on Sunday, May 1, starting at 2:00 p.m.
Set in Zapata, TX, the lives of a single mother, Jesse, and her teenage son are turned upside down one night when a wounded, undocumented immigrant breaks into their trailer home. As Jesse covertly takes in the immigrant, she has to go to increasingly complicated lengths to hide her secret from the various people in her life, including a border patrol agent with a crush and her video game addicted teenage son.
“We are extremely proud to host the South Texas premiere of Between, You, Me and the Lampshade,” says Lampshade Director Joel Jason Rodriguez. “When our students read the play, they were pulled into Jesse’s story and were intrigued by the themes of immigration and secrets. They identified with the play instantaneously because it tells a story most of us could relate to on some level. Furthermore, it is play written by someone who is from the Valley, who is one of us, who is in the industry, and who is out there telling our stories.”
Raúl Castillo is a graduate of McAllen High School and Boston University’s School for the Arts. He is also a proud member of LAByrinth Theater Company in New York City. Between You, Me and the Lampshade had its world-premiere in 2015 with Chicago’s critically-acclaimed Teatro Vista. His play Knives and Other Sharp Objects premiered at the Public Theater in NYC, where he was a member of the inaugural Emerging Writers Group. His one-act The Biggest Asshole Ever Born premiered at Intar Theater, and Death on my Mind is published by Dramatic Publishing in Best Student One-Acts Vol. 5. As an actor, Castillo stars as Richie in HBO’s Looking and as Domingo in the upcoming Ricky Gervais comedy Special Correspondents. For his work on Looking, Castillo received the 2015 National Association of Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) Vision Award and the Lupe Award from the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Other TV/Film credits include: Gotham, Nurse Jackie, Bless Me, Ultima and Cold Weather.
“Raúl works hard for all of his successes and what better way to celebrate that by producing one of his plays in his hometown,” continued Rodriguez. “He is incredibly supportive of the arts occurring in the Valley. He has gone so far as to make himself completely available to the company over Skype to discuss the play as well as share his thoughts on pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. Moments like these have truly made this a memorable experience for our students.”
General admission tickets cost $5. The play contains strong language and mature themes. Parental discretion is strongly advised. In addition, the Sunday, May 1, matinee production will be interpreted in American Sign Language.
Ticket cash purchases can be made one hour before the performance at the box office or in advance online using a credit or debit card at https://secure.touchnet.com/C20193_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=13.
For additional information about the show or for group rates, call (956) 872-2301 or email namaro1@southtexascollege.edu or jrodriguez@southtexascollege.edu.
