Nahede Khosrovi

3B Development Series

IN RESIDENCE: July 31 – August 5, 2024

The House of Bernarda Alba is a play by Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, whose plays and poetry contributed significantly to Andalusian folk music, theatre, and flamenco verse. It was his last play, completed just before his execution under the Franco regime.

The House of Bernarda Alba is a story of tyrannical oppression – the extreme subjugation of freedom and passion to a strict traditional code of honor based on superstition, law, and religion. Bernarda Alba, widowed at the play’s outset, creates a hothouse of jealousy, anger, and fear by imposing a tortuous version of this code on her five daughters, seeking to exact purity and uphold, at all costs, family honor. Less a play of action than of atmosphere, the characters experience frustration in love and life, which leads to despair, which ultimately brings death.

While Lorca’s play highlights the subjugation of women by their class, church, and family during a historical time and place – elements that will be kept true to the play – the true aim of this project is to strike a chord of resonance in contemporary audiences of what it means to be trapped and long for something that is forbidden. The circumstances that prevent one from reaching their object of desire can take many forms, but in the end the result is the same: to the degree that profound longing is repressed, it will reappear and destroy.

Biographies:
Nahede Khosrovi: Nahede began dance classes at age 3 at her aunt’s ballet school in California. At age 8 she began training at the Washington School of Ballet and at 17 she entered the Fordham-Ailey BFA program. A dance injury had an unexpected effect – she began to watch flamenco classes. Nahede began to study flamenco with La Meira in NYC, and then with La Repompa and Maite Galán in Spain. After four years in Spain, she returned to New York City to study with Laura Castellano and to perform. She currently performs in venues throughout New York and New Jersey.

Carmen Águila: Carmen Águila was born in Archidona, Málaga. She began her acting studies at a young age, studying theatrical performance at various schools in Málaga, Granada, and Madrid, ultimately earning a diploma in Dramatic Arts from Arte 4 Estudio de Actores. She furthered her on-camera acting skills by completing a Master’s in Cinematographic Interpretation at TAI, and continued learning from renowned directors like Gracia Querejeta and Carlos Sedes. Currently, she balances her work as an actress with teaching film and theater acting at the Escuela de las Artes MOMO in Marbella.

Lucía García Ruiz: Lucía García Ruiz was born in Málaga. She studied Music Education and Musicology at the University of Granada, where she also pursued doctoral studies in contemporary music. She is a music therapist certified by the Fundación Mayeusis in Vigo. She earned a professional degree in Clarinet from the Ángel Barrios Conservatory in Granada, where she also studied lyrical singing. In Madrid, she completed a Master’s in Musical Theater and Film, as well as a Master’s in Professional Makeup for Film and Television. Currently, she works as a music teacher in secondary education and continues her singing studies with soprano Cecilia Gallego.

IRT Theater is a grassroots laboratory for independent theater and performance in New York City, providing space and support to a new generation of artists. Tucked away in the old Archive Building in Greenwich Village,  IRT’s mission is to build a community of emerging and established artists by creating a home for the development and presentation of new work.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council; A.R.T./New York’s NYC Small Theatres Fund made possible with support from the Howard Gilman Foundation & support for ASL interpretation provided in part through funding from Access A.R.T./New York.

ACCESS: IRT is a fully wheelchair-accessible facility. Please reach out to Kori Rushton if you have any accessibility questions or concerns, krushton@irttheater.org

PLEASE NOTE: All sales final and there is no late seating at IRT Theater.