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Fund for Playwright Ed Gonzalez Moreno

ED GONZALEZ MORENO is an Actor, Playwright, Teaching Artist, and Director. Before the pandemic you’ve probably seen him on ads for companies such as Disney, Jos A Bank, and Vanguard as well as on Netflix as “Hector” in Freshman Year.
Lately he’s been channeling his energy more into storytelling with his latest play, The Puerto Rican Society Club. The play is based off his experience as a kid in his hometown of New Britain, CT, growing up in and around the real life “Puerto Rican Society of New Britain”.

PROJECT GOALS: 

The first step for "The Puerto Rican Society Club" is a virtual World Premiere livestreamed reading, hosted by Bay Area company Utopia Theatre Project. The livestream will held Friday August 21st at 7:30pm PST, on Utopia Theatre Project's Facebook Page. 

For a playwright, that is only the first step. We need your support in meeting our fundraising goal of $7,000, so Ed can take the next steps on his playwriting journey:

-Submitting "The Puerto Rican Society Club" and "La Bodega" to play festivals nationwide

-Holding development workshops

-Staging more readings, with the eventual goal of full productions 

-Sponsoring a trip back to Puerto Rico to collect more stories and knowledge for future plays

-Purchasing "Final Draft" professional screenwriting/playwriting software


A note from the Playwright: 

As a kid I vividly remember my mother taking me to the club to see my Wela. We would enter through the back of the club and go downstairs to see my wela, Ginoris Matos, behind the bar servings drinks, telling stories and jokes, and keeping the peace even if that meant she had to get physical. Along with those constant visits, virtually every big event in my families life happened there: Weddings, Baby Showers, Quinceaneras, etc. Most important were the people that made the space. They were the most vibrant, most passionate people who were dealing with everyday life. In this play I hope to highlight their humanities, their passion, and their love for where they come from: Puerto Rico, or more accurately the island of Boriquén.

Additionally, I hope to encourage other Puerto Ricans, Afro- Latinx, Latinx, and all BIPOC artists to TELL THEIR STORIES. I can’t begin to explain my frustrations with coming up in the Theatre and never seeing stories that represent another group other than “White” (I put white in quotes because white is not a race, it is a social construct of power). Plays like “The Cherry Orchard” or “A Streetcar Named Desire” are all wonderful works but there was always a degree of separation. As a young artist I always hoped that someone would write these stories, and then I thought “Why not write it myself?”. It is time that BIPOC artists flood the Industry with our stories, I believe this story will help that movement. My hope is to continue to develop this story, my other play La Bodega, and begin to put the dozens of other stories I have in mind to one day see them on a MainStage and inspire young BIPOC artists to find courage in telling their stories.

Organizer and beneficiary

Anne Kobori
Organizer
Berkeley, CA
Ed Gonzalez Moreno
Beneficiary

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