In Culver City, The Actors’ Gang presents The Ybor City, a new play written and directed by Mariana Da Silva with movement direction by Stephanie G. Galindo. Thirteen performances run from March 7 to March 30, 2024. The show will be performed in English and Spanish with supertitles in both languages. Tickets are available at www.theactorsgang.com and by phone at 310-838-4264. Pay-What-You-Can are on Thursdays available at the door. There will be post show talkbacks on Fridays.

Ybor City

Ybor City in Tampa, Florida dates back  the 1880s, and was founded by Vincente Martinez-Ybor. He moved his cigar factory from Cuba to Florida…others followed. Ybor built the community including housing for cigar factory workers, then a highly specialized trade.

The area was populated by thousands of Cuban immigrants in addition to immigrants from Spain, Italy, and other countries – and for the next half century, it annually stocked the world with hundreds of millions of cigars.  The entire enterprise — a town owned and populated by immigrants — was highly successful and had a strikingly multi-racial and multi-ethnic population.

The Community

To both tell the stories of this remarkable community and her own migrant experience, Da Silva has created a sensory rich production that combines music, movement, projections, and language.  It is The Actors’ Gang first fully bilingual production in English and Spanish with larger scale pieces choreographed by Galindo, set to popular Latin songs. This 90-minute play will include supertitles in both languages.

As Da Silva wrote in Ybor City, “The play recounts a long-lasting oral tradition which became cemented as part of the cigar factory culture – that of the factory worker reader, or lector. Lectors read from a variety of printed materials, including novels and newspapers [as the workers labored].  Despite factory owners placing severe limitations on a lector’s reading material, lectors began reading political pamphlets and texts.  This fostered a radical consciousness among the cigar workers, many of whom died on the job. This awakening leads to the first female storyteller whose refusal to back down lead to unionism, regular strikes, and work stoppages.”

Cigar Culture

Ybor City’s cigar culture flourished until the Great Depression. Worldwide demand plummeted following the mechanization of the manufacture of cigars. This modernization led to the eventual abandonment of this formerly vibrant neighborhood.

The inception of Ybor City began during the unprecedented challenges of 2020. Robbins and The Actors’ Gang ensemble gathered online weekly, finding solace and inspiration in Studs Terkel’s “Hard Times.” The poignant readings and performances fueled the creation of We Live On, a Zoom play that paid homage to the power of resilience and community.

Admission & Discounts

Tickets are $25; Thursdays are Pay-What-You-Can at the door / Fridays have post-show talkbacks; Doors open one hour before show time for purchase of drinks, refreshments, and snacks; Suitable for ages 13+

What: The Ybor City
Where: The Actors’ Gang Theater, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City, CA  90232 
When: March 7 – 30, 2024; Thursdays, Fridays Saturdays in March at 8:00pm (see above for discount info)
Phone: 310-838-4264
Website: http://theactorsgang.com

CLICK HERE for additional upcoming performances, as well as art exhibitions, and foodie events.