Los Angeles, CA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 20, 2006

WHO:

English class students at Manual Arts High School with the support of Luis Rodriguez, Susie Tanner, Travis Miller, Monica Boyer De Francisco and Andy Garcia.

WHAT:

Students will write, produce and perform “A Place at the Table/Un Lugar en la Mesa” a play demonstrating multiple perspectives on immigration. The title of the play was based upon a moving speech delivered by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Student participants are all Latino. Themes are portrayed through quotes, poems, songs, dance and personal family experiences.

WHERE:

Manual Arts High School – 4131 S. Vermont Street, Los Angeles and National Center for the Preservation of Democracy – 111 N. Central Avenue, Los Angeles.

WHEN:

June 22, 2006 three performances at 8:30am, 11:30am and 2:20pm at Manual Arts High School and one performance at 2:00pm on June 24, 2006 at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Little Tokyo.

WHY:

Immigration is a current topic of importance throughout the United States. Through this English class assignment, Manual Arts High School students have chosen to use their creative writing skills to educate and speak out on topics they feel are essential in the fight for immigration rights.

BACKGROUND:

Established in 1910, Manual Arts High School became the third school in the city of Los Angeles. Close to 4,000 students are enrolled at the magnet school with eight different academies, each with its own curricular specialty.

Author Luis J. Rodriguez has won numerous awards for his work as a writer. He is best known for the gang-life memoir “Always Running.” Rodriguez is the recipient of the 2006-07 City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship Award.

Susan F. Tanner is the producing artistic director of Theatre Workers’ Project. Her efforts in the past have addressed topics of the unemployed steelworkers from the city’s suffering industrial core.