CONTACT: Thomas O. Kriegsmann, President E tommy@arktype.org T 917.386.5468 www.arktype.org

THE COMBAT HIPPIES // AMAL Developed & Directed by Teo Castellanos

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Led by renowned theater artist and director Teo Castellanos, Combat Hippies is an ensemble of Puerto Rican military veteran performing artists based in Miami, Florida. They formed during a creative writing workshop for veterans in 2015 and have since developed multiple evenings of spoken word and music, generative approaches to workshops designed toward healing, community engagement offerings and more. The company focuses on works about combatants as people of color, and shares experiences of veterans adjustments to life after war as well as that of civilians from war-torn countries. Their work also explores the search for meaning, purpose, and identity through enlisting in the military, as well as Puerto Rico’s cultural and military heritage. Their latest and most ambitious project AMAL will premiere during MDC Live Arts upcoming 2018/19 season and will tour nationally beginning in April 2019. The Combat Hippies are funded through generous support from the Knight Founda-tion, National Performance Network (NPN), New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), National Ensemble of Theaters (NET), and the MAP Fund.

ABOUT THE COMBAT HIPPIES

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AMAL delves into the impact of war on both combatants and noncombatants as people of color, and shares experiences of veterans adjustment to life after war, as well as that of civil-ians from war-torn countries. The piece also explores the search for meaning, purpose, and identity through enlisting in the military, as well as Puerto Rico’s cultural and military her-itage. This includes the U.S. military’s bombings of two Puerto Rican towns in 1950, which marked the first time in history that the United States government bombed its own citizens. The performance will be in a theater-in-the-round setting, with the two lead performers encircling a percussionist in the symbolic representation of a hurricane. Original music production (beats per minute) will also be set to the five categories of hurricanes (miles per hour). This symbolizes both the chaos of war and its aftermath, as well as a tribute to the people of Puerto Rico, who were devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. AMAL will pre-miere at MDC Live Arts in there 2018/2019 season and will subsequently tour to numerous cities across the US and internationally. The work has received funding from the James L. Knight Foundation, National Performance Network (NPN), New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), National Ensemble of Theaters (NET), and the MAP Fund.

AMAL was made possible with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and additional sup-port from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

ABOUT ‘AMAL’(Spring 2019 Premiere)

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AVAILABILITY 2019-20 WORLDWIDE OPEN

Space: Black Box / Proscenium

Tour Personnel: 3 Performers

2 Tech /Company Management

Schedule: Day One Company Arrival Day Two Tech Day Three Tech/Performance Day Four + Perfs TBD Company Departs

WORKSHOPS Masterclasses & Workshops Available for all Venues in Various CapacitiesPoetry Workshops/Masterclasses Creative Writing Workshops/Masterclasses Exploring healing through creative expression (presenta-tion/workshop) Writing through trauma Movement workshops/training Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth Engaging veterans through the arts Yoga Workshops

TOUR & PRODUCTION

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TEO CASTELLANOS (Artistic Director) is an actor/writer/director, who works in theater, film & television. His award winning solo NE 2nd Avenue toured extensively for a decade, winning the Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland 2003. He founded the Dance/The-

ater Company Teo Castellanos D-Projects in 2003. For over twenty years Teo has toured solo & company works through-out the U.S., Europe, South America, China & the Caribbean.

He is the recipient of several awards & grants including NEA, NEFA, MAP, NPN, Knight Arts Challenge, Knight Foundation People’s Choice Award, Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs & also won the State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship 2005 and 2013. He’s a Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive Fellow 2015. Teo is a member of SAG/AFTRA, & Society of Stage Directors and Choreogra-phers and holds a BFA in Theater.

ANTHONY TORRES (Executive Director/Performer) was born in Brooklyn and raised in Utica, New York. He began his military career as a Civil Affairs Specialist in the Army Reserve from 1999-2002, then on active duty as a mental health specialist at Fort Hood, Texas from 2002-2006. In 2004 he was attached to the 115th Field Hospital and served on a 12-month deployment to Abu Ghraib Prison, Iraq. While deployed, he provided mental health treatment to both U.S. troops as well Iraqi detainees. Following an honorable discharge he relocated to Miami, Florida and worked as a psychology technician at the Miami VA Medical Center from 2008-2013. He holds a MS in Psychology from Carlos Albizu University and a Mas-ter’s degree in Social Work from Barry University.

HIPOLITO “BEARD MAN” ARRIAGA (Community Outreach Director/Performer) Born & raised in the South Bronx, Arriaga was profoundly impacted by his childhood.

In 2003, at age 19 he joined the US Marine Corps despite the US already being at war with both Afghanistan & Iraq. Following four years, including two deployments to Iraq, he separated from the military honorably. His experiences overseas pierced him heavily, after returning home he began seeking healing for the various injuries he had sustained, physically, emotionally & spiritually, leading him on a jour-ney of self – discovery. Hipólito is trained in Bapiste Pow-er Yoga & Trauma Con-scious Yoga. He also serves as a Wilderness Expedition Leader with No Barriers Warriors, guiding veterans on transformative curriculum – based adventures in nature & serves as a Peer Facilitator with Warrior Writers. Besides yoga & the outdoors, his pas-sions include healing, reading, writing, community service, activism & assisting others in their journeys of growth.

ANGEL RUBEN RODRIGUEZ, SR. (Percussionist/Performer ) Musician, singer, poet, composer, arranger, actor, producer & educator was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico in 1954. He started playing drums at the age of 9; his first paid gig was at the age of 13. For the past 45 years Angel has dedicat-ed himself to preserving & maintaining Puerto Rico’s rich musical culture. Over his career he has record-ed & performed with a who’s who of Latin musicians & served as percussionist at the world famous Apollo Theater Amateur Night With Ralph Cooper Sr. Some of his theater credits include “UBU Enchained” directed by Wiesaw Gorski & Steven Sapp & Full Circle Productions “Soul’er Powered”. One of Angel’s lasting legacies is helping to found & run the Point CDC; a local Bronx based community center with the mission of developing & mentoring youth through the arts.

COMPANY BIOGRAPHIES

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SETH “BRIMSTONE127” SCHERE (Music Pro-ducer) Brimstone127 is a dynamic leader, educa-tor, activist and artist who embodies Hip Hop’s “Can’t stop, won’t stop!” attitude. He has written and been featured in several articles on Hip Hop culture & education & has served as a lecturer & specialist on Hip Hop history, education & cul-ture (Brandeis University, University of Miami, Florida International University, School of Audio Engineering, Lifestyles College, Island Academy International School). This self & mentor-taught artist & technician has stacked up performance, engineering & production credits with some of Hip Hop’s legends & artists from diverse genres including The Cure, Nelly Furtado, KRS ONE, De La Soul, Pit Bull, Fat Joe, Whodini, Rakim, The Wailers, The Roots, Talib Kweli and Ozomat-li. He has co-produced and distributed his own award-winning Hip Hop albums: Metamorphoses, Elevator Music and Renaissance of Hip Hop.

GARY LUND (Technical Director) is the President of Anchor Arts Management, Inc. a full service production management organization devoted to the performing arts. Mr. Lund is a produc-tion manager, light designer and stage manager with International, National and Miami artists in dance, theater and music. Mr. Lund has toured with several artists in numerous concert halls and festivals throughout the United States, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, Russia and Chi-na. Mr. Lund’s professional career spans over 4 decades as a choreographer and arts production manager.

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PERFORMANCES

2018 Work-In-Progress showing at MDC Live Arts Lab – Miami, FL (upcoming)

2017 Connected Warriors Fundraiser - Mizner Park Cultural Center, FL

2017 Ashoka Conference at Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus

2017 Art2Action’s R&R Festival - Tampa, FL

2016 Performing Cultural Arts Theatre at Broward College, South Campus

2016 Seminole Theatre - Homestead, FL

2016 TEDxCoconutGrove - Miami, FL

2015 Nova Southeastern University Black Box Theater - Davie, FL

2015 Barry University - Miami, FL

2015 MDC Live Arts Lab (two performances) - Miami, FL

2015 The Betsy - Miami Beach, FL

WORKSHOPS / PRESENTATIONS

2017 Dept Veterans Affairs LGBT Veteran Summit – Broward County VA Clinic

2017 Arts For Health Florida Symposium - Hallandale Beach, FL

2017 Monthly Veterans Creative Expression Workshop (ongo-ing) – Miami, FL

2016 Miami VA Medical Center – PTSD/Substance Abuse therapy group

2016 United Way of Broward County Commission on Sub-stance AbuseBehaviorial Health Conference

2016 Barry University School of Social Work – Miami Shores, FL

2016 Miami Dade College, Homestead Campus Veteran’s Day event

2016 Orange Island Arts Foundation Veterans Showcase

2016 Military Appreciation Day - Homestead, FL

2015 Miami VA Medical Center - Outpatient Mental Health therapy group

2015 Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus 9/11 Event

2015 Veterans Open Mic at Books & Books - Miami, FL

AWARDS / GRANTS

2018 NET/TEN Exchange Grant (with Art2Action, Inc.)

2017 New England Foudnation for the Arts (NEFA) Develop-ment Grant

2017 New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) Alumni Grant (for Artistic Director Teo Castellanos)

2017 National Performance Network’s (NPN) Creation and Development Fund

2016 Winner - Knight Arts Challenge Grant

2016 TEDxCoconutGrove – voted audience favorite

COMPANY HISTORY

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Combat Hippies Website: www.thecombathippies.com

AMAL Video Clips: https://vimeo.com/274136057 Password: amal123

https://vimeo.com/274137992 Password: amal123

ARTIST MATERIALS & PRESS

Thomas O. Kriegsmann, PresidentArKtype

P.O. Box 180241, Brooklyn, NY 11218P: +1 917 386 5468 F: +1 347 889 5031

E: tommy@arktype.org W: www.arktype.org