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Written and Directed by Elena Velasco

June 9-25, 2023

Best for children ages 3-6 and their families 
Iris is excited about taking a trip to el parque with Abuela! But while getting ready, Iris has a hard time deciding what color outfit to wear. As Iris and Abuela explore each of the colors, they discover the different ways colors appear in the world and their own unique beauty. Abuela reminds Iris that each color lives inside everyone, so even if we choose one, the rainbow is always a part of us. 
 
Told through vibrant imagery, dynamic movement, and a beautiful soundscape, this sensory-rich production is inspired by a Zapoteca myth and Quechua legends about the rainbow.
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Best for children ages 3-6 and their families 
All Photos by Ryan Maxwell Photography 

Performance Schedule:

​June 9, 15, 17, 22, & 24 at Theatre on the Run, Arlington VA 
June 11, 18 & 25 at The Lyceum, Alexandria VA 
​June 29-July 1 at 1st Stage, Tysons Corner, VA
​July 8 at The National Theatre, Washington, DC​
View the Arco Iris program online here!
Arco Iris is funded in part by 
The City of Alexandria, The Morgan Fund at Seattle Foundation,
​The National Endowment for the Arts, and The Virginia Commission for the Arts

Education Guide

​Continue the experience in the classroom with our Arco Iris Education Guide. Enjoy activities inspired by the show and extend learning beyond the production.  

Artistic Team
Elena Velasco (Creator, Director, and Sound Designer ) Elena Velasco (she/ella) is a theatre artist whose work encompasses performance, production, education, and activism. During her career she has devoted her time equally between performance and residency work in the Washington, DC and Greater Boston regions. An associate member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), her directing and choreography credits include Central Square Theater, Convergence Theatre, GALA Hispanic Theatre, 1st Stage, NextStop Theatre, Synetic Theater, Adventure Theatre, Keegan Theatre, Imagination Stage, Mead Theatre Lab, Young Playwrights’ Theater, Capital Fringe, Source Theatre, Discovery Theater, and Kennedy Center’s New Visions New Voices Festival.
Ms. Velasco’s artistry is driven by her commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and access, exemplified by her work as Artistic Director and Co founder of Convergence Theatre, a small, nomadic performance collective centered on social justice and grounded in consensus-organized processes. A dedicated educator, Ms. Velasco teaches and creates theatre through the lens of community engagement in higher ed, K-12 and bilingual creative youth programs. She currently serves as a board member for Educational Theatre Company, a committee member for AATE’s Leaders of Color Institute and new chair of their Professional Theatre Network, and has been a featured speaker for Boston Conservatory at Berklee, George Mason University, Hollins University, Montgomery College, and TheatreWashington. Ms. Velasco is the theatre production coordinator and an associate theatre professor at Bowie State University.
SDCF 2023 Barbara Whitman Award recipient.
MFA in Directing, Catholic University.
www.elenavelasco.net
Cecilia Cackley (Set/Props Designer ) is a puppeteer, playwright and teaching artist based in Washington DC. As a co-founder of Wit's End Puppets, she previously helped design props and puppets for Under the Canopy and Space Bop at Arts on the Horizon. You can find more of her work at www.ceciliacackley.com.
Ilyana Rose-Dávila (Stage Manager and Costume Designer) is a local DMV theatre artist who wears many hats and mastered many theatre disciplines including stage management, costume design, acting, directing and producing. Her most recent stage managing credits include: La Valentia (GALA Hispanic Theatre) La Revoltosa (GALA), assistant stage manager for On Your Feet! En Español at GALA (Nominated for 12 Helen Hayes Awards including Best Production in a Musical) and The House of the Lagoon (GALA). Additional local children's theatre credits include: The Magical Piñata (Keegan Theatre). Her costume credits include: In the Heights (NextStop Theatre) and Titus Andronicus (Teatro Milagro, México City). Ilyana has a BFA in Theatre from Eckerd College.
Andres Jovel (Assistant Stage Manager and Summer AOTH Emerging Artist) is excited to be working with Arts on the Horizon. Andres is a recent graduate of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts (NCDA) where he appeared as Doctor Watson in Ken Ludwig's Baskerville and Arlecchino in The Imaginary Autopsee. Andres also appeared in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and as the title character in Oedipus the King. Andres most recently performed in NCDA's productions of John Cariani’s Almost, Maine and Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice.

Cast

Diana Gonzalez-Ramirez​ (Abuela/Actor 2) 
Diana (she/her) is a Salvadoran theatre artist who has worked all over the DMV. Her most recent credits include Belle/Caroline/Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in A Christmas Carol (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company), Rosita/Doña Rosa/Tia Chole in La Llamada de Sylvia Mendez: Separate is Never Equal (GALA Hispanic Theatre) and Josefina in Mojada (1st Stage).
Audra Jacobs (Iris)  
Audra Jacobs (they/them) is a DC based theatre practitioner. They graduated with their B.S in Theatre from Bowie State University in 2022. Audra is the Connectivity Director at 1st Stage. Previous directing credits include Sad Loved Ones Who Have Work In The Morning for BSU's 2022 10-Minute Play Festival. Previous performance credits include Fairy Tales in the Sun (Jing-Jing/Goddess US) at Adventure Theatre, Romeo and Juliet (Romeo) with the Rude Mechanicals, and the world premiere of Spirit Seekers (Ensley) with Dark Horse Theatre Company. Create theatre carefully, purposefully.
​Camilo Linares (Actor 3) 
Camilo (he/him/his) is excited to be back after performing in Birds of a Feather and Drumming with Dishes! He originally from Bogotá, Colombia and currently resides in the Washington DC area where he works as an actor, photographer, videographer, editor, musician and teaching artist. Selected credits: The Day You Begin at The Kennedy Center, Tia Julia y el escribidor, Picasso at GALA Hispanic Theatre, THEORY at Mosaic Theater Company, and Óyeme, the beautiful at Imagination Stage. Camilo received his Associate of Arts degree in Theatre Performance from Montgomery College and is a graduate of the British American Drama Academy. He was a Dreamer and none of this would be possible without DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and perseverance. “You either make progress or excuses.” Learn more at camilolinares.com.
​Amber Smithers (Actors 2 & 3 Understudy, AOTH Winter/Spring Emerging Artist) 
Amber (she/her) is a D.C. theatre practitioner specializing in harm reduction who has worked with several local theatres. She is currently working as an Emerging Artist with Arts On The Horizon. In 2021-2022, Smithers worked with Synetic Theatre on Cinderella (U/S) and was part of the National Players Tour 73, the first all-black National Players Tour, where she played Beatrice/Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing. If you want to know more about her work follow her on Instagram at bambieambie.
Bri Houtman (Iris Understudy)
Bri (they/she) is a recently graduated actor based in the DMV area who is thrilled for their first show with Arts on the Horizon! They received their B.A. from the George Washington University in theater and criminal justice. Credits include: Rorschach Theater: Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really (Lucy Westenra), Endangered Species Theater Project: Hamlet (Ophelia) & Becky’s New Car (Kenni), Faction of Fools: Love Like Tuesday (Jill), and We Happy Few Iphigenia (Eriphyle). Coming this October: We Happy Few: Kill the Ripper (Pudding).
Arianna Del Pino (Iris & Actor 3 Understudy)
​Arianna is a DMV based artist who specializes in musical theater. She is very excited to be working with Arts on the Horizon!
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