K A R I N A C A S I A N O
press / audience
THE ORPHANS
Written, produced by Karina Casiano for La Criatura Theater
Co-directed and performed with Daniel Irizarry
Original idea by Karina Casiano and Jorge Dieppa
Presented by La MaMa E.T.C.
December 2nd to 12th, 2010, New York City
Backstage says:
“Karina Casiano wears a lot of hats here…
but she also has the chops and clarity of vision to pull it off.”
“An unusual blend of physical theater, science fiction,
and political parable... 'The Orphans' twists the formula”.
“…everything significant is conveyed through graceful, stylized,
and seemingly gravity-defying movement.”
(Read the whole review by A.J. Mell HERE.)
The New York Theater Review says:
“The story is told through death-defying contact improvisation
with walls, set pieces, and finally each other.”
“Both performers' stunning and minutely-specific physical control
is consistent and equally impressive throughout the performance.”
(Read the whole review by J. Christoperson HERE.)
Set Design: Jorge Dieppa Lighting Design: María Cristina Fusté
Costume Design: Awymarie Riollano Props and Special Effects: Antón Lago
Music: Andrés Rotmistrovsky Stage Manager: Edna Lee Figueroa
Photo by Carla Noriega (http://www.norishots.com/).
ROOTLESS: La No-Nostalgia
By Karina Casiano
New York City: April 2008, chashama @ 42nd Street; October 2008,
Gerald W. Lynch Theater
7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival, P.S.122, May 2010
VIII Festival Internacional de Cabaret, Mexico City, July 2010
"Casiano's beautiful and powerful singing voice makes the
heartbreaking moments in Rootless all the more affecting. Moving."
Dan Lehman, Backstage Blogs. Read full article HERE.
"Casiano is... talented and gutsy... Expressive performances of the
songs."
Martin Denton, nytheater.com Blog. Read full article HERE.
"Karina’s Rootless is ingenious and daring. The lyrics to the songs, her movements,
her commentary and even the wardrobe are fantastic. We were very impressed.”
Maite Junco
“It was fascinating how Karina managed to incorporate several media into the show. Some of the songs are like music videos! And her voice is clear and strong.”
Susan Baum, The Personal Trainer for the Voice
“Rootless: La No-Nostalgia was marvelous! Spendid! So well-built, so well conceived. We were much moved. She has depicted a synthesis of all of us. We were marveled by the ease with which she interpreted
several different styles of songs, the accents, her stage presence, her power, her creativity. Casiano is an all-inclusive artist and deserves to perform on great stages. Absolute professionalism. Chapeaux.”
“Rootless: La No-Nostalgia is brilliant, inspirational, moving, thought-provoking, educational, unforgettable, poignant, engaging, and thoroughly entertaining.
who commands the attention of the audience in a way I've never quite experienced, both in the comedic moments and in the dramatic ones. She has a beautiful voice that sends chills throughout the theater.
Also, Casiano showed impressive inventiveness in utilizing a performance space when she used the theater window... I was blown away. Casiano’s mind speaks volumes!”
“Karina is an incredible singer, writer and performer. She really blew me away with her work. Rootless: La No-Nostalgia challenged and moved me in so many ways - I'm still thinking about it.
amount of creativity, fearlessness, love and thoughtfulness invested in the show. She certainly raises the bar. Karina’s work is inspiring.”
Dana Jacks, Actress
had a chance to showcase her singing voice.”
“She managed to turn what I feel deep, deep inside, inside my emigrée heart into art. BRAVA!”
“It was a stupendous evening. I shed a tear or two, I laughed, and it made me think. And Karina is a goddess!”
Maruxa Relaño, Journalist
¿Qué me trajiste?:Cabaret BoricuaBy Karina Casiano
San Juan, Puerto Rico, May and June 1999
Café-Teatro Delirio Habanero, Teatro Nacional, La Habana, Cuba, January 2000
Ecuador, Perú, Chile, Argentina, January - May 2001
"¿Qué me trajiste?, a happy marriage of brains and entertainment, is really good
theater."
Albor Ruiz, The Daily News, New York, September 23, 2003
"Karina Casiano has charisma. (She) knows how to move the audience to silence, to
tears, to bittersweet laughter... and makes us accomplices of what happens on stage.
A beautiful show full of intelligent resources and moments of humor and tension,¿Qué
me trajiste? is a show worthy to be seen."
Paúl Rivas, El Comercio, Quito, Ecuador, January 28, 2001
"(¿Qué me trajiste? has) a very well thought out structure... (It is) a witty proposal because it does not deal with the subject of exile in a sensationalist manner... Karina Casiano will certainly get very far."
Genoveva Mora, La Hora, Quito, Ecuador, February 11, 2001
COLONIA2007 o el cabaret de los días terribles
By Karina Casiano
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 2000
Teatro Malayerba, Quito, and Casa de la Cultura, Ibarra, Ecuador, February 2001
HERE Arts Center, New York City, 2004
"An iconoclastic actress."
Mario Alegre Barrios, El Nuevo Día, San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 21, 2000
"[Karina Casiano is] a restless actress who uses her talent to approach the social issues we share in our
country. Colonia 2007 offers a sample of alternative artistic creation with a high social content."
Hiram Guadalupe Pérez, Primer Hora, San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 24, 2000
Colectivo C-4's
DÍA UNO ...Eve of the Beheading
By Jorge Díaz
Festival de Teatro de Caguas, Teatro Arcelay, Caguas, Puerto Rico, 1999
Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2000
Festival de Teatro de La Habana, Cuba, 2000
"From her twisted toes to her moribund embittered mask of a face, her stony voice and her skillful
use of her wheelchair, Karina Casiano – as the nearly catatonic Hosanna– inspires the rest of the
production. It's been long since I have seen such strong and precise acting on stage."
Lowell Fiet, Claridad, San Juan, Puerto Rico, December 15 - 21, 2000
La Criatura Theatre Company'sSilence Is Health / Silencio es Salud
By Karina Casiano
February 2006, CSV Cultural Center, Lower East Side, New York
June 2006, chashama @ Queens, old Citibank Building, Long Island City, New York
www.lacriatura.org
Rodolfo Queebleen, Playwright and Editor, Hora Hispana Magazine, The Daily News
"Everything -the performances, the staging and the direction- was powerful and moving. I was engaged by it every single moment. Thrilling! It is evident that many people worked hard to make it possible, and it's really inspiring to see innovative and thought-provoking work by people from our generation."
José Antonio Cruz Director of Audience Development & Public Relations, Spanish Repertory Theater, New York
"I enjoyed the performances as well as the overall theme of the piece. The issue of government-sponsored torture, the definition and even the purpose of torture are all problems that have not gotten adequate discussion in the U.S. The location is great. I am glad to see that building used in such an interesting way. I enjoyed Silence is Health and look forward to your next effort."
Peter Neddo, Filmmaker
Eva Vásquez, Playwright and Scholar, CUNY
The Dog in the Manger
By Lope de Vega, directed by Isabel Ramos
Spanish Repertory Theater, New York
New York ACE 2005 Nominee Karina Casiano "Best Comedy Actress"
"Karina Casiano plays Diana, Countess of Belflor, as a spoiled, capricious adolescent. She wears
too many pink bows in her hair, a pink strapless prom dress, furry burnt orange mufflers on her
forearms, and two large white coffee cans strapped to her ballet slippers so that her feet never
touch the ground. When she is not sitting on her high throne, she clomps around the stage with
surprising elegance, towering over her subjects. The streamlined eight-member cast makes
Lope's language their own; they trip out his rhythms and meters naturally, easily, and at a lively
pace."
Prof. Christopher D. Gascón, Comedia Performance Journal, Association for Hispanic Classical Theater,
December 2004, SUNY, Cortland, New York
MedeaAmuralladaBy Eurípides, directed by Isabel Ramos
San Felipe del Morro Fort, San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 2005
"Karina Casiano’s histrionic quality is noteworthy. She effectively
gave life to the multiplicity of Medea’s feelings: hate, love, rancor,
uncertainty, wrath and sorrow."
Javier Del Valle, El Vocero de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Aug. 11, 2005
[Casiano] gave Medea all the frenzy, and sometimes the lack of
judgment that a woman betrayed after ten years of happy marriage
can express.
The moments when she struggles between her love for her children
and her decision to restore her honor through vengeance, are
adequately intense."
Tatiana Pérez Rivera, El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico, Aug.11 and 14, 2005
PROCESSION
By Badal Sircar
Directed by Rosa Luisa Márquez
Teatro Rodante de la Universidad de Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
March 1998
"Márquez has used this reality (of downtown Río Piedras) as a starting point
and proceeds to show us the difficulties of a character named Khoka. It
seems this character could be played either as male or female. In the
performance I attended it was played by the tireless, vibrant, acrobatic,
supple and beautiful Karina Casiano."
Jorge Martínez Solá, The San Juan Star, Puerto Rico, March 11, 1998
Copyright Karina Casiano 2003-2012. All rights reserved.