Queer and Apostolic

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Written By Open Plaza

Felipe Agredano talks to Abel Alvarado about writing his play Arena: A House MUSIC-al, inspired by growing up gay in a devout Christian family in 1990s Los Angeles

Scene from Arena: A House MUSIC-al, 2019. Courtesy of Teatro Nuevos Horizontes/New Horizons Theatre Company (TNH Productions)

 
 

Arena: A House MUSIC-al is a coming-of-age story conceived and written by Abel Alvarado, directed by Rigo Tejeda, and produced by Teatro Nuevos Horizontes (TNH) Productions, CASA 0101 Theater, El Centro Del Pueblo, and Councilmember Gil Cedillo.  Set during the ‘90s Los Angeles club and party scene, the musical is named after the legendary Arena Night Club, which closed in 2015, and features the House music of the era. The story follows a group of friends during a turbulent decade when HIV/AIDS disproportionately affected LGBTQ+ BIPOC. The lead character is Lucio Torrez, the music minister in an Apostolic church, where his parents are also pastors. When they learn of his closeted relationship with the church guitar player, “all hell breaks loose.” Lucio’s journey is a story about staying true to who you are and finding your chosen familia. 

In this episode of OP Talks, theologian and Arena executive producer Felipe Agredano talks to Alvarado about writing his musical and their experiences of growing up gay in devout Christian families.

 

SHOWTIMES

Teatro Nuevos Horizontes (TNH) Productions, CASA 0101 Theater, El Centro Del Pueblo, and Councilmember Gil Cedillo present summer performances of Arena: A House MUSIC-al in Los Angeles, California. The show is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

DATES: June 17th - July 17th, 2022
TIMES: Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 4PM
LOCATION: CASA 0101 Theater | 2102 East 1st Street | Los Angeles, CA 90033

RELATED POST

Arena: A House MUSIC-al: Scriptwriter Abel Alvarado presents three scenes from the musical about a gay man growing up in a devout Apostolic family in 1990s Los Angeles

 
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Felipe Agredano

Felipe Emmanuel Agredano serves on the Academic Senate at East Los Angeles College, where he is faculty in Chicana/o Studies, Noncredit and Social Sciences Departments, and has lectured in the history of religion, political science, Chicana/o studies, LGBTQA+ courses and United States Citizenship. He holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University, dual Bachelor’s degrees from UC Berkeley in political science and ethnic studies, and is most proud of his Associates of Arts degree from East Los Angeles College. He often contributes to global stories on religion and politics for The Harvard Crimson, ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America, KCAL, including national networks like La Opinión, NBC/Telemundo, PBS, and Univision. A third-generation Apostolic Pentecostal, Agredano grew up and was formed in the Apostolic Church, where his family congregated at Templo Emmanuel, pastored by Bishop Rev. Benjamin Cantú in Highland Park, CA. When he was age 11, the Agredano family moved to Huntington Park and congregated at the Apostolic Church pastored by Rev. Hilario Gámez. There, Agredano directed the local children and youth choirs up until and during his attendance at East Los Angeles College. Later, as a transfer student at UC Berkeley, he was a member of the Union City Apostolic Church, pastored by Rev. Adam López, Jr. Agredano, and participated in the initial three productions of NorCal Mass Choir live-recordings, as well as the award-winning production team of “Nuestro Canto,” a history of the Apostolic Church in song. Agredano also attended the Apostolic Church of Oakland under Rev. Art Oceguera, directing the youth, church, and the ladies’ “Dorcas" choirs. Agredano attended Harvard Divinity School, where his advisor and greatest mentor was Rev. Dr. Cornel West. Agredano also joined the Harvard University Kuumba Singers and frequented various Apostolic congregations in the Boston area, such as the United Pentecostal Church (UPCI), Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW), and eventually congregated at Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After coming out, and coming back to California, Agredano founded an online community congregation of LGBTQ+ Apostolics/Pentecostals and attended Founders Metropolitan Community Church Los Angeles (MCC-LA), where he served on the Pentecostal praise team. In Los Angeles, he served on the Azusa Street Centennial Committee. In 2020, he founded Apostolics Pentecostals for President Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, creating a global platform for discussion of church, race, and politics. Agredano has presented at the Society for Pentecostal Studies and at the National Association for Chicana/Chicano Studies.

Featured
Abel Alvarado

Abel Alvarado is a playwright, book writer/lyricist, costume designer, community programs manager, and producing artistic director at Teatro Nuevos Horizontes/New Horizons Theatre Company (TNH Productions). He conceived and wrote ARENA: A House Music-al. An award-winning costume designer, he has worked on many productions, including In The Heights; It Happened in Roswell; A Force To Be Reckoned With; An L.A. Journey; Little Red, Drunk Girl; Remembering Boyle Heights; Bad for the Community; Teatro MOZ; Mariela In The Desert, They Shoot Mexicans, Don't They?; Vietgone; Enemy of the Pueblo; Evangeline, The Queen of the Make-Believe; and Disney's Aladdin: Dual Language Edition. Alvarado’s video work includes: Wardrobe Stylist for Grammy Award nominee Gerardo Ortiz’s music video “Para qué lastimarme?" and for the web series Café Con Chisme. In 2019, he was awarded "Best Costume Design" by the NAACP Theater Awards for his costumes in Disney's Beauty and the Beast - The Broadway Musical at CASA 0101. Producing the Brown and Out IV & V Theater Festival and designing for Josefina Lopez's Real Women Have Curves at the Pasadena Playhouse are personal highlights of Alvarado’s work. Alvarado’s community work includes being a Research Assistant for Spectrum Community Services at Charles Drew University, Voter Registration Manager with Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project, and Health Education Specialist with The Los Angeles LGBT Center.

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