Sunday September 20, 2026 at 5pm
CRIERS FOR HIRE
10th Anniversary Reading
Join us at the Curtis Theatre in Brea for this one night only event!
CRIERS FOR HIRE by Giovanni Ortega follows Aurora, Remedios, and Eugenia, three of the most sought-after professional funeral criers in Brea. They are eager to welcome Aurora’s 14-year-old daughter Ligaya (nicknamed Gaya) from the Philippines into their world and teach her their somber trade. However, they soon realize that Gaya has the opposite effect on people, making them laugh instead of cry. What ensues is a hilarious and heartwarming story of cultural identity, generational conflict, and finding home in a new country.
ABOUT THE SHOW
CONTENT ADVISORY: Some depictions of hate speech and racism may not be suitable for all audiences.ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Giovanni Ortega (SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA) has been working professionally for over a decade as professor, a proponent of the performing arts & a cultural navigator. He believes in creating an accepting and inclusive relationship with communities and student populations alike regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and class. In the past few years, he's teamed up with several organizations around the world to observe how the arts and culture are used to inform different populations on how we can decimate discrimination and enhance acceptance. They engage, investigate and create stories that usually go untold but are relevant and important to share with everyone. As a multidisciplinary artist and facilitator in over one-hundred-forty college campuses and an international collaborator, these experiences have given Giovanni the opportunity to see the variety and diversity of what our society has to offer. This is what he continuously instills with people he interacts with in communities, organizations and academia. Giovanni is currently the Artistic Director for FilAm Arts Teatro, a professor for AMDA College of the Performing Arts as well as Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles .
CRIERS FOR HIRE was commissioned by East West Players Theatre in 2016 and was produced with generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts. In community partnership with Asia Society and FilAm Arts. This production is part of Amplify — an initiative to address the inequality in performing arts programming. This program provides a platform and outlet for performing artists of all kinds, while expanding the inclusivity and outreach of the Curtis Theatre to a diverse artistic community.
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