Los Angeles, CA (October 13, 2025) – CASA 0101 Theater is currently presenting the World Premiere production of Josefina López’s latest play, Eléctrico, as part of CASA 0101 Theater’s ongoing 25th Anniversary Season. The play is directed by Corky Dominguez, produced by Emmanuel Deleage, and stars Robert Moris Castillo and Corina Calderon leading a cast of 12 actors. Featured members of the cast include: Sonia Aguirre, Casara Clark, Andrew Laughery, Dustin Loomis, Francisco Rivas Medina, Alessandro Mendoza, Jeremiah Ocañas, Ryan Padilla, Sierra Pérez-Gelbman and Timothy Willard.
Click here to view some performance footage of the show:
Learn more at www.casa0101.org
Eléctrico is the story of a white passing electrician, Raymond Brown, set in the spring of 1910 a few months before the Mexican Revolution began in a small town in Texas, 62 years after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, close to the Mexican border. Brown is caught in a racial struggle between the whites and the Mexicans when he discovers the real reason why the electricity went out.
Josefina López, Playwright of Eléctrico, said: “As a Mexican-American playwright and screenwriter I feel I have a responsibility to tell the stories of my people, which might not otherwise be told, or worse yet, forgotten or overlooked by history. After reading the book, The Forgotten Dead written by William D. Carrigan and Clive Webb about the lynching of Mexicans in the southwest, I was compelled to write my play, Eléctrico, a Historic Feminist Western Drama. My goal in writing this play is to unearth the truth about a part of U.S. history that has been buried and forgotten along with all the dead who are part of this ‘American’ story. I needed to write this play to begin this uncomfortable conversation that needs to be had and understood.”
Eléctrico will be presented on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., and on Sundays at 3:00 p.m. for a Four-Week run, October 10 – November 2, 2025 in the Gloria Molina Auditorium at CASA 0101 Theater, 2102 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033.
Corky Dominguez, Director of Eléctrico, said: “It is my hope that our production of Eléctrico will totally immerse our audience members viscerally, aurally and visually into the storyline playing out on the stage. Although the characters and plotline of the play are fictional, the subject matter which Josefina López’s play is based on is 100% true, and actually happened in Texas in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but, for the most part, has been forgotten by history.”
Emmanuel Deleage, Producer of Eléctrico, said: “CASA 0101 Theater is thrilled to present Josefina López’s latest creation a feminist western as the centerpiece of our 25th Anniversary celebration. It is a story rooted in the past and as relevant today as ever.”
Actors Robert Moris Castillo (of Silver Lake, CA) Raymond Brown, a white electrician, the titular role, and Corina Calderon (of Mission Hills, CA) Adela Borrega, an indigenous Mexican widow, lead a cast of 12 actors. Featured members of the cast include: Sonia Aguirre (of Whittier, CA) appears as Luz, a Mexican woman; Casara Clark (of North Hollywood, CA) as Darlene Tracy, a white Texan Saloon Girl and as Eliza Brown, Raymond Brown’s deceased wife; Andrew Laughery (of Los Angeles, CA) as Gerald Painter, a white Texan male and as Owner of the Imperial Hotel and Saloon; Dustin Loomis (of Carthay Circle, CA) as Sheriff Andrew Stevens, a white Texan male; Francisco Rivas Medina (of Eagle Rock, CA) as Juan Carlos, a Mexican male farmer who is a Corridos Composer; Alessandro Mendoza (of Hollywood, CA) as Justino Borrego, a Tejano Mexican male and as Adela Borrega’s husband; Jeremiah Ocañas (of Boyle Heights) as Don Miguel, a Mexican male and as a local Priest and as Understudy for Raymond Brown; Ryan Padilla (of Irvine, CA) as Bernardo Borrego, a Tejano Mexican male cowboy and rancher, Justino Borrego’s brother and husband to Maria Teresa Borrego/and as Pablo, a Mexican cowboy; Sierra Pérez-Gelbman (of Studio City, CA) as Maria Teresa Borrego, a Tejana Mexican female, Adela Borrego’s sister-in-law, married to Bernardo Borrego, and Timothy Willard (of Hollywood, CA) as Jack Powers, a white Texan male, as a Saloon Bartender and as a local Jail Guard.
The production team for Eléctrico includes: Josefina López (of the Boyle Heights) Playwright and Lyricist for Corridos Songs, Founding Artistic Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Emmanuel Deleage (of Silver Lake, CA) Producer and Executive Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Edward Padilla (of the Boyle Heights) Casting Director and CASA 0101 Theater Board Member; Corky Dominguez (of Boyle Heights) Director; Angelica Ornelas (of North Hollywood, CA) Stage Manager and Sound Designer; Maia Melendez (of South Los Angeles) Assistant Stage Manager; César Rentana-Holguín (of Northridge, CA) Set Designer; Alejandro Parra (of Burbank, CA) Lighting Designer; Anthony Storniolo (of Los Angeles, CA) Projection Designer; Patricia (Mama J) Tripp (of Northridge, CA) Costume Designer; Doreen Sanchez (of Hollywood, CA) Wardrobe Assistant; Audrey Szot (of Pico Robinson, CA) Prop Manager; Miguel Angel Delgado (of South Gate, CA) CASA 0101 Theater Technical Director; Mark Kraus (of Los Angeles, CA), CASA 0101 Theater Development Director; Itzel Ocampo (of Alhambra, CA) CASA 0101 Theater Marketing and Operations Manager; Gabriela López de Dennis, Soap Studio Inc. (of Los Angeles, CA) Graphic Designer and Program; Jorge Villanueva (of the Boyle Heights) Facilities Manager; Oscar Basulto (of the Boyle Heights) Box Office Manager; Jay Guerrero (of Los Angeles, CA) Directing Intern; Al Aguilar (of Los Angeles, CA) Production Assistant/Foyer Designer; Claudia Diaz (of Los Angeles, CA) CASA 0101 Theater Administrative Assistant; Rudy Torres (of Los Angeles, CA) Production Photographer and Steve Moyer Public Relations (of Los Angeles, CA), Press Representative.
This production is made possible in part by the Eastside Arts Initiative. CASA 0101 Theater is supported in part by: The State of California, Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture, National Latinx Theater Initiative, Herb Alpert Foundation, Perenchio Foundation, The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, California Arts Council, U.S. Bank, The Herb Block Foundation and the David Lee Foundation.
A Talk Back Session will be held after 3:00 p.m. Sunday Matinee performance of Eléctrico on October 26, 2025 for ticket buyers. The Talk Back Session Q&A will be moderated by director Corky Dominguez with panelists Claudia Rodriguez, a Chicano/a Studies Professor at East Los Angeles College, Martha Gonzalez, the Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and percussionist of the Chicano rock band, Quetzal, and Francisco Rivas Medina, Corridos Composer for Eléctrico. in discussion about the plays themes, topics, issues and the role women played during the time period the play is set in, as well the vision and inspiration for the music composed for the show from the Corridos and the TexMex genre.
Tickets for Eléctrico, to be presented on Fridays and Saturdays at 3:00 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. through November 2, 2025 are $25.00 per person for General Admission; $22.00 per person for Students and Seniors 60+ and $20 per person for Boyle Heights residents and Groups of 10 of more.
Eléctrico deals with mature subject matter and violence; this show is recommended for ages 13 and above. For tickets, please call the CASA 0101 Theater Box Office at 323-263-7684, E-mail tickets@casa0101.org or buy online at www.casa0101.org The running time of the show is 111 minutes, not including intermission. Click here to view some performance footage of the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HDf2iMxl_A
Join the conversation on Facebook @CASA0101Theater; on Twitter @CASA0101 and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/casa0101theater
Free Parking is available on several streets surrounding the theatre. Limited Free Parking is also available at the Boyle Heights City Hall Parking Lot located at 2130 East First Street (at Chicago Street) by entering the lot from Chicago Street.
Playwright Josefina López and Director Corky Dominguez are curating A Historical Timeline of the time period in which Eléctrico is set. The Timeline will be available for theatergoers to view in the lobby of CASA 0101 Theater prior to performances of the show.
Concurrently during the run of the show, Eléctrico, a FREE Art Exhibit featuring artist Arthur Carillo, entitled “My Experience y La Tuya,” (“My Experience and Yours”) curated by Jimmy Centeno, will be on display in the Jean Deleage Art Gallery, located in the lobby of CASA 0101 Theater. Arthur Carillo said, “My mission is to uplift and give my community strength through my paintings by creating artwork that highlights our culture and social experiences.” The exhibit can be viewed prior to performances of Eléctrico, and during Art Gallery Hours, which are Tuesdays through Fridays from 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
CASA 0101 Theater will complete it’s 25th Anniversary Season with the musical, The Prince of Egypt, directed by Rigo Tejeda, with Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Orchestral Score by Hans Zimmer and Book by Philip LaZebnick, to be presented November 22 – December 21, 2025.
Principal photography is now underway for a new documentary film entitled: “CASA 0101: 25 Years of Theater, Transformation and Community,” marking CASA 0101 Theater’s 25th Anniversary. The film is being created and filmed by the three-time Emmy Award-Nominated production company, Friends We Love, led by Michael and Moni Vargas. To learn more about the documentary film and watch a two-minute trailer, please visit the website, https://casa0101film.com/ and follow the film’s Instagram account: https://instagram.com/casa0101film For those who might have an interest in making a donation towards the film, please visit https://casa0101.org/support-us and make sure to write the word “Documentary” in the tribute note line.
More About The Playwright, Director and Leading Actors of Eléctrico:
Josefina López (Playwright and Founding Artistic Director of CASA 0101 Theater) is best known for authoring the 1988 play and co-authoring the 2002 Sundance Film Festival Audience and Jury Award-winning film Real Women Have Curves, which were the source materials for the 2025 Broadway production of Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, which garnered critical acclaim and 12 award nominations, including “Best Musical” nominations from the New York Drama League and Outer Critics Circle, as well as nominations for the New York Drama Critics Circle and two Tony Award nominations.
López started her writing career at 17 and has had productions produced of her many plays throughout the country. López’s first short play, Simply Maria or the American Dream was filmed as a PBS special and won a Gold Award from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and an Emmy Award.
Other plays include: Confessions of Women from East L.A.; Boyle Heights; Remembering Boyle Heights I and II, Hungry Woman in Paris; Detained in the Desert (which was also made into a feature film); Trío Los Machos (now in development as a musical); A Cat Named Mercy; Piñata Dreams; Drunk Girl; Lola Goes To Roma; A Cat Named Mercy; Hpysteria; A Woman Named Gloria; An Enemy of the Pueblo, Queen of the Rumba, Electrico and the 2025 award-winning film, 20 Pounds To Happiness (Eat. Love. Joy.) which López executive produced and wrote, which will next be seen as part of the LA Skin Fest, on Friday, November 21, 2025 from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, 6901 Hollywood Boulevard, 3rd Level, Hollywood, CA 90028. Learn more at: https://laskinsfest.com/event/20-pounds-to-happiness/
López’s most recent project was a 10-minute play called Fernandomania Forever, which was part of CASA 0101 Theater’s recent Sold Out Run of FERNANDOMANIA, A Short Play Festival Celebrating the Life and Legacy of the late Major League Baseball Player, Fernando Valenzuela.
López has been working as a professional screenwriter for over 30 years, with many established producers like Norman Lear and Jaime Paglia to bring Latinos to television. She has been the recipient of dozens of awards and accolades, and has penned seven books as an author. López is the Founding Artistic Director of CASA 0101 Theater in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, CA (founded on April 1, 2000).
Learn more at: www.Josefinalopez.biz and www.casa0101.org @JosfinaLopezRWHC @realwomenhavecurvesthemusical @20PoundsToHappiness
Corky Dominguez (Director) (of Boyle Heights) has over 40 years theatre experience as a producer, director, choreographer, performer, writer, and theatre teaching-artist. He has worked with several Los Angeles professional theaters and educational institutions. He is an advocate for youth oriented theatre programs. Directing credits at CASA 0101 Theater include: Remembering Boyle Heights Part 1 & 2, An Enemy Of The Pueblo, Unmasking Hercules, Eastside Heartbeats, Bad For The Community, Piñata Dreams, Hungry Woman, Real Women Have Curves (20 Year Anniversary and Los Angeles Premiere productions), Midnight Marauder: A New Year’s Eve Masquerade Murder Mystery Show, Hoop Girls, Tamales De Puerco (2008 Production), When Nature Calls, and with the LGBTQ Brown and Out Festival: Dona Conception, My Perfect Boyfriend, The Baby Cries, Miercoles Loves Luna, Frankie & Johnny, Forever Young, Young Dudes, L.U.G., and Twinks & Boobs MC. Corky Dominguez has also directed CASA 0101 Theater’s and Brown Fist Productions’ critically acclaimed production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and CASA 0101 Theater’s World Premiere productions of Josefina López’s Queen of the Rumba and A Woman Named Gloria.
Robert Moris Castillo (Raymond Brown, a white electrician, the titular character in Elétrico) is a Chicago raised actor that found his calling on the Second City stage. After high school he packed his 1997 Honda Accord and drove out West. Early on he discovered meaning and purpose in the craft of acting. He has stayed busy in the work ever since. He currently lives on the Eastside of Los Angeles, and enjoys exploring all the history the city has to offer.
Castillo’s television and film credits include: Doming Springs, Doll Family, Disco Inferno, City of Angels, City of Death, Fair Weather Road and Web of Life. His Theatre credits include appearances in the plays, Lost In Yonkers; George & Emily Get Married; Art, Love, and Love; I Can Hear You, Damn It; A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Not Here. His Commercial, Print and Industrials include work with: Hertz, Disney, Budweiser, Ford, Samsung, RDI, World Oil, Perfect Snacks, Toyota, Anta and Hoka.
Corina Calderon (Adela Borrega, an indigenous Mexican widow) was last seen at CASA 0101 Theater in the World Premiere of her play, CORINA: FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE in November/ December 2023. Calderon is an American actress best known for her role as Jazmine in End of Watch (2012), directed by David Ayer and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña. She was born in Moline, IL and is the eldest of three girls to Mexican-American parents, Nora Martinez and Robert Calderon, a musician. Calderon started performing Ballet Folklorico at the age of four in a group lead by her Grandmother. At 15, she began waiting tables in order to pay for acting classes and headshots.
Calderon subsequently started to attend theater classes at Austin Community College in Texas, but then went on to study with Mona Lee Fultz, Ben Taylor and Van Brooks at Two Chairs Studio. While taking acting classes, Calderon continued to pursue dance and joined a dance team for a local Hip-Hop radio station. Before moving to Los Angeles in 2011, with the help of Sally Allen and Toni Cobb Brock, Calderon booked her first lead role in the Sundance Film Festival-nominated feature film, All She Can (2011). She was named Breakout Actress of The Year and Actress to Watch at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival on www.deadline.com for her leading role. The Hollywood Reporter recognized her performance as “An auspicious debut as a leading lady.” She was also praised by director Amy Wendel as, “Someone who will go on to show the world something interesting.”
Corina Calderon was then nominated alongside Gina Rodriguez, Eva Longoria and Eva Mendes for Best Film Actress at the Imagen Foundation Awards in 2012 for her performance in All She Can. In 2014 she had a recurring role on the TNT hit series, Murder in the First, created by Steven Bochco and starring Taye Diggs. She also landed a lead role alongside Emmy Award-nominated actor Richard Cabral in Khal the Killer in 2017, released by Millennium Films. Calderon then appeared in the highly anticipated DC/Warner Bros. motion picture, Suicide Squad in 2016 under the direction of David Ayer. Recently Calderon appeared in the Robert Rodriguez film, Hypnotic with Ben Affleck and Alice Braga, and she appeared as one of the leads in a short film, Situationship, which won Best Screenplay at the Mexican American Film and TV Awards. In 2026 she will appear as a lead in the film, Angeleno directed by Juan Diaz.
More About The Talk Back Session Panelists on October 26, 2025:
Claudia Rodriguez is a Chicano/a Studies Professor at East Los Angeles College, a creative writer and performer from Compton, CA. Her first collection of poetry, “Everybody’s Bread” (2015, Korima Press) was named Lambda Literary Fest Finalist in poetry. Rodriguez has developed work for/about marginalized communities. As a 2016 COLA Fellow, an award from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Rodriguez wrote a performance poem entitled “Midnight Steel” that challenges mainstream perceptions of Compton.
As a 2014 recipient of an Artists in Resident Grant from the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs, she developed the project, “Nuestros Cuerpos Nuestras Almas/Our Bodies, Our Souls (OBOS).” OBOS was a literary project wherein she worked with Transgender Latina immigrants. She is a founding member of Butchlalis de Panochtitlan (BdP) a sketch-driven performance/installation/video ensemble (now defunked).
Martha Gonzalez is a Chicana musician, artist, activist and feminist music theorist. She is an Associated Professor in the Intecollegiate Department of Chincana/o Studies at Scrippps College. She is a lead singer, songwriter and percussionist for the band, Quetzal, which won a Grammy AwardÒ for Best Latin Pop Rock or Album in 2013. In 2022, Gonzalez was named a MacArthur Fellow by the MacArthur Foundation. Learn more at https://quetzalela.com
Francisco Rivas Medina is a Mexican-American born and raised in Dinuba, CA. He has released two records as a founding member of nu metal band Foggy Day Schedule. He currently sings and plays guitar for Boyle Heights based band Humanos Vega. Medina arrived in Los Angeles in 2003 to work as a community organizer. Medina was elected to the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee serving two consecutive terms representing the 44th assembly district. After traveling the United States working on different political campaigns, Medina settled back to Los Angeles, pivoting to a life as an artist. Medina previously appeared on stage at CASA 0101 Theater in Frida: Stroke of Passion. Medina has on commercial campaigns for American Express, Vanguard, Indian Motorcycle, Volkswagen, SoFi, Dovato, to name a few. A resident of Eagle Rock, CA, Medina is a member of the Bike Shed of downtown Los Angeles. He has been a part of the local motorcycle community for the past ten years as a motorcycle tech and rider.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which was signed on February 2, 1848, formally ended the Mexican-American War, resulting in Mexico ceding over half its territory, or about 525,000 square miles, to the United States in exchange for a $15 million payment and the assumption of $3.25 million in debts owed to U.S. citizens. This massive land acquisition included present-day California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, most Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Treaty established the Rio Grande as the border between Texas and Mexico, altering the lives of Mexicans in the annexed territories and contributing to the divisive political debate over the expansion of slavery in the United States, which ultimately contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War.
About CASA 0101 Theater:
CASA 0101 Theater, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded 25 years ago by Founding Artistic Director, Josefina López, author of Real Women Have Curves, in 2000 to fulfill her vision of bringing art and live theater programs to Boyle Heights. From its humble beginnings in a former bridal shop, CASA 0101 Theater has established itself as a leading arts venue for Los Angeles’ East Side, currently offering year round theatrical productions and classes in dramatic writing and acting for youth and adults. CASA 0101 Theater is dedicated to providing vital arts, cultural, and educations programs in theatre, digital filmmaking, art and dance – to Boyle Heights, thereby nurturing the future storytellers of Los Angeles. CASA 0101 is named such, as casa means house of home in Spanish. 0’s and 1’s are the binary language computers use to operate. CASA 0101 Theater was founded at the dawn of the digital age, when digital cameras started appearing and moviemaking became accessible to more people. Early on Josefina López taught digital video classes. Though the organization subsequently focused its energies on theatre and not digital filmmaking, the name stuck. To learn more, please visit www.casa0101.org
