SOL 2: MARTÍN ZIMMERMAN

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martín zimmerman
the playwright

Martín Zimmerman is a multiethnic, bilingual playwright and screenwriter whose plays include Seven Spots on the Sun, White Tie Ball, The Making of a Modern Folk Hero, The Solid Sand Below, and Let Me Count the Ways and have been produced or developed at The Kennedy Center, Goodman Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Roundabout Underground, LCT3, New York Theatre Workshop, Victory Gardens Theater, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Marin Theatre Company, The Playwrights' Center, Alliance Theatre, A.C.T. (Seattle), PlayPenn, Icicle Creek Theatre Festival, American Theater Company, The Theatre @ Boston Court, Chicago Dramatists, Primary Stages, Teatro Vista, Playwrights Foundation, Cara Mía Theatre Co, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, The City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs, Theatre Row, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Borderlands Theater, Source Festival, The Gift, Collaboraction, Red Tape, The University of Texas at Austin and Duke University.

 A recipient of the Terrence McNally New Play Award, Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award Citation, Humanitas Prize New Voices Award, Sky Cooper New American Play Prize, McKnight Advancement Grant, Jerome Fellowship, Carl Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship and the National New Play Network's Smith Prize, Martín was a Staff Writer on Netflix’s Narcos, has been the Alliance for Latino Theater Artists (ALTA) Artist of the Month,  was a member of the 2011-2012 Playwrights' Unit at Goodman Theatre, is a Playwright in Residence at Teatro Vista, a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists, and has been a finalist for the Kendeda Competition and Heideman Award. MFA in Playwriting: The University of Texas at Austin. B.A. in Theater Studies, B.S. in Economics: Duke University.​

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Sean Carvajal and Flor De Liz Perez in “Seven Spots on the Sun.”Credit...Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

seven spots on the sun
​the play

The village of San Isidro has been without its doctor for 18 months. Moisés has remained a recluse, refusing to even look at a patient, since the day the army took his wife away during the country’s civil war. But when a mysterious plague begins to ravage the countryside around San Isidro, the local parish priest convinces Moisés to take action. And when Moisés examines his first patient, he discovers he has the miraculous power to heal this plague with the touch of his hand. But among the thousands of pilgrims who flock to San Isidro, Moisés is forced to confront his past, and the violence that tore San Isidro apart. A meditation on mourning, redemption and revenge, Seven Spots on the Sun follows each character’s attempt to come to terms with the extraordinary loss they have suffered and the miracles they have witnessed.

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rattlestick playwrights theater
the partner theater

Started in 1994, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has created, developed and produced many of the nation’s best emerging playwrights and their works. Our mission is to present diverse, challenging and provocative plays that might not otherwise be produced and to foster the future voices of the American theater. Unique in its dedication, Rattlestick guarantees a second production to any playwright we take on, regardless of the reception of the first. Now in its 22nd Season, Rattlestick has produced over 90 new plays, about 90 percent of which have been world premieres. We have produced the first plays and early works of some of today’s leading voices, including Lucy Thurber (The Hilltown Plays), Sheila Callaghan (Everything You Touch), Adam Rapp (The Hallway Trilogy), Craig Lucas (Saved or Destroyed), Jesse Eisenberg (The Revisionist), Samuel D. Hunter (The Few), and Annie Baker (The Aliens).\

“Working with Sol allows us to produce with a scope and a vision that supports the expanse of Martín's script and the direction of Weyni, a stunning Ethiopian-Canadian director." —Daniella Topol, Artistic Director, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

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weyni mengesha
​the director

Weyni Mengesha is the Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company and an award-winning director, known for her groundbreaking work and community engagement. Weyni has directed shows across Canada that have gone on to tour nationally and internationally, and have been developed into television shows playing on CBC, Global, and Netflix. She has also directed in London, New York, Los Angeles, garnering a NAACP nomination for Best Direction as well as multiple Dora nominations and awards for Outstanding Direction. She has been an instructor at the National Theatre School of Canada, and was Co-Artistic Director and teacher with A.M.Y Project for 7 years. In 2017, Weyni was named one of the Women In View’s “Five in Focus” identifying five rising film directors across Canada. She was recently named one of the 50 most influential people in Toronto by Toronto Life Magazine.​

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SEVEN SPOTS ON THE SUN
by Martín Zimmerman
directed by Weyni Mengesha
​with Flora Diaz, Peter Jay Fernandez, Flor De Liz Perez, Claudia Acosta, Sean Carvajal, Rey Lucas, Cesar J. Rosado and Socorro Santiago.

scenic design: Arnulfo Maldonado
costume design: Fabian Aguilar
lighting design: Amith Chandrashaker
sound design: Tei Blow
production stage manager: Nicole Marconi
production manager: Rebecca Key
assistant stage manager: Genevieve Ortiz
casting by: Jack Doulin and Taylor "Sharky" William

#SevenSpots
@SolProjectNYC @RattleStickNY

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highlights

Raising a Collective Voice: Martín Zimmerman and Seven Spots on the Sun
The Brooklyn Rail | May 1st, 2017