Originally from Artemisa,
Havana, Cuba, Rene Lavan debuted on Broadway in 2005
with the critically acclaimed
play "Latinologues," a
comedy about life in America. Early this year he
worked with Benicio Del Toro on the feature film "Guerrilla" directed
by Steven Soderbergh. Rene plays the young lead in
Revolution Studio's "Christmas With The Kranks" starring
opposite Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd
and Cheech Marin. This film is directed by Joe Roth.
He
plays the role of the Revolutionary, Carlos Suarez,
on LGF-Miramax's "Havana Nights, Dirty
Dancing." Rene has been a guest-star on CBS's "CSI
Miami" and on NBC's "Las Vegas." He
co-stars in "El Nominado," an independent
film shot in Chile in October 2003, now playing at
many international
film festivals. Rene was chosen as one of "The
Top Ten To Watch In 2004" by the San Diego Latino
Film Festival.
American audiences were
first introduced to Rene when he played the role of
Javier on ABC's "One
Life to Live." It was while working as a cast
member on this series that he was offered the role
of a lifetime,
as the
lead in the critically acclaimed feature film "Bitter
Sugar," directed by Leon Ichaso (Piñero, El Cantante).
Orestes Matacena, "Bitter Sugar" writer, showed Leon
Ichaso a picture of Rene which led to casting him as
the lead. The film was inspired by true events of the
oppressive Cuban regime governed by dictator and tyrant
Fidel Castro. It chronicles
the character of Gustavo (Rene) an honor student and
former Castro supporter who could no longer tolerate
the decay and repression in his beloved Cuba. Rene received
rave reviews and the film was very well received worldwide.
As
an actor Rene gained
recognition co-starring in one of the most
popular
Spanish soap operas ever, "Morelia." He
has since starred in the very popular soaps "Maria
Belen" and "Enamorada." He
has become an internationally reknown actor and is
a household name in Spanish speaking homes around the
world.
His soaps
and films have been seen in over one hundred countries.
Fluent in both English and Spanish Rene has been working
steadily in both the American and Spanish markets since
receiving his education at the prestigious New World
School of the Arts, Performance and Visual Arts Center
and with
Uta Hagen.
Audinces have seen
Rene appear in hundreds of television and
radio
commercials
and seen him
host the following TV
shows: "The
Billboard Music Awards," "Fox Sports" and "Sueños
de Fama," (Spanish Star Search) to name a few.
Rene has also graced
the pages of American publications such as "Vanity
Fair," "Harper's
Bazaar," "Details," "W" and
hundreds of Spanish publications such as "Vanidades," "Cosmopolitan," "Cristina" and
recently was named "one of the 25 most beautiful
people" of
People Magazine (Spanish Version).
Rene is a true crossover
actor in every sense of the word, from film to television,
from drama to comedy.
He is one of the few actors that have successfully made
a name in both the American and Spanish Markets. His
latest endeavor is starring and producing Latino theme
television
shows and films for his newly formed production company.
Ruth
Livier
Ruth
was a series regular on Showtime’s groundbreaking
drama "Resurrection Blvd." Among her guest-starring
and recurring television credits are: "Mission Road," "Haunted," "NYPD
Blue," "According to Jim," "Becker," "King
of the Hill," "The Pretender," "Beverly
Hills 90210," "Soldier of Fortune," "Profiles," AND "Reyes
y Rey."
Recently Ruth
has completed production of the following
independent feature projects: Orestes Matacena's (Azucar
Amarga/Bitter Sugar) “In Plain View” opposite
Rene Lavan, “Ranchero” opposite "Spy Kid’s"
Danny Trejo, Joseph Merhi’s “Oranges” starring
opposite Tom Sizemore, Richard T. Jones & Heather
Locklear and a leading role in the comedy “Haunting
Passions.”
Some
of Ruth's theatre
credits include work at the Kirk Douglas Theatre "A
Perfect Wedding," South Coast Repertory "Lovers & Executioners," Long
Beach Opera "The Indian Queen," The Met "Sexo,
Pudor y Lagrimas," East LA Classic Theater "A
Midsummer Night’s Dream," The Wiltern "Latinologues," Mark
Taper Forum "NWF." Ruth also toured with Mexico’s
premiere comedian, Eugenio Derbéz, in Rick Najera’s "Latinologues."
Ruth has
been featured in prominent publications: TV Guide, EMMY
Magazine, People Magazine (Spanish version), Latino
Leaders, Hispanic. Ruth has
earned a Best Actress ALMA Awards nomination and a win
for "Resurrection Boulevard," she received special
recognition by the National Hispanic Foundation for the
Arts, the Viva Los Niños award from the March of
Dimes, the Breakthrough in Entertainment Industry recognition
from Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and the NAMIC
Legacy Award (Resurrection Boulevard.)
Ruth
is
a founding member of Inside Out, a successful after-school
program for at-risk youth. She has been a keynote
speaker at the Latina Youth Conference and the Hispanic
Lifestyle Conference, a presenter at the NAMIC and the
IMAGEN awards, MC’d several events including the
TEJANO MUSIC Awards with Tony Plana and the NALIP conference
with Cristian de la Fuente and Nicholas Gonzalez.
As
a producer Ruth was invited to tour her original bilingual
game-show BECA at the 2006 Edward James Olmos Latino Book & Family
Festival. Among her participating celebrity guests have
been Tony Plana (Ugly Betty), Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall),
Florinda Meza (Chespirito), Nicholas Gonzalez (The OC),
Valente Rodriguez (George Lopez) and Rene Lavan (Maria
Belen) who stars in the movie "In Plain View."
Ruth proudly
sponsors and supports CCF (The Christian Children’s
Fund) and the ONE Campaign.
Ruben
was born in Havana, Cuba, on April 13th, 1938. In 1955,
he emigrated to the US and lived in New York City for
20 years.
Ruben's artistic career started with the group, "Añorada
Cuba" (The Yearning of Cuba) directed by Esteban
Alvarez. This group guided him into the arts, where
he took his
first steps in song and dance, which he had done for
a few
years in the famous 5th Avenue parades in New York
City, proudly representing the Cuban people, especially
those
living
in America.
During
that period,
Ruben took acting classes with actor, director and teacher
Miguel Ponce, dancing
with prima ballerina Margarita Parla and singing at the
Carnegie Hall Conservatory. On the weekends Ruben
went
ballroom
dancing at the most prestigious ballroom dance venues
in New York City.
In “The New York Theater of the Americas” Ruben
performed in numerous plays and became one of the executives
of the company, founded by Miguel Ponce and Orestes
Matacena.
Years later, Ruben, Clara Hernandez and Orestes Matacena
joined the founder of the "Cuban Cultural
Center of New York," Ivan
Acosta, established the Cultural Institution. In
the theater division, Ruben performed as an actor
in
many of their
plays.
In the beginning of February 1977, Ruben flew to
the Dominican Republic to star in his first movie
entitled “Los
Gusanos,” (The Worms) where he played the part
of a commando leader infiltrating Cuba to rescue
a political prisoner.
Ruben returned to the Dominican Republic in 1978
to play a priest in his second movie, “Guaguasi,” about
Fidel Castro's rise to power and establishment of
his tyranny
in 1959.
Upon his return to New York, Ruben shot two more
movies entitled “Bla-Bla-Bla” with Guillermo
Alvarez-Guedez and “3-K-3” opposite the
famous Cuban radio and television legend, Leopoldo
Fernandez,
Tres Patines.
In
1980, Ruben decided to move to Miami, Florida to work
in TV and Radio commercials while also continuing a career
in theater. This is where he met the great hair stylist
Gilberto Febles, designer of all of Ruben’s wigs
to this day.
Actor/writer/director/producer, Orestes Matacena
offered Ruben a part in his film that he planned to shoot
in
North Carolina. Ruben loved the character and left
to Hendersonville
to work on “Tainted.”
After the “Tainted” shoot, Ruben worked in
many more American films while living in Miami.
While in Miami, Latin household name, Don Francisco,
hired him to work on his famous show “Sabado Gigante” for
the next eight years as a comedian. In the last three
seasons,
Ruben
constantly flew to Chile to add new vignettes to the
show.
When recording the principal role of the cartoon “Duckman,” Ruben had two other jobs: shooting the sitcom "Taina" for
Nickelodeon and working on a radio show at Radio Unica.
He then decided to pick up his bags and move to Hollywood,
where he now resides. He lost both jobs on 9-11-2001.
After settling in Los Angeles, Ruben
wrote
his first screenplay entitled “Windmills of Manhattan” based
on all his delirious anecdotes.
Upon the completion of his script, Ruben joined
forces again with Orestes, to shoot a compilation of
jokes, called "The Two Faces of Ruben Rabasa." They
shot in various locations including
Las Vegas, Hollywood, Beverly Hills,
majestic mansions and even
the famous
Queen Mary
in Long
Beach. This wonderful project surprises and engages the
audience by intercutting all the jokes with a candid
and heartwarming interview about the
journey through his
life.
Ruben is an eternal student dedicated to his craft. After
completing work on three films in a row and one sitcom
filmed in
Spain,
he is taking three different acting classes
and
going
to
speech lessons to improve his English.
Orna
Rachovitsky
Orna
Rachovitsky has produced two feature films, "Sex
Guns Money @ 20" and "In Plain View." She
is also working on a feature documentary on the legendary
Cuban Latin
Jazz Conga player Francisco Aguabella.
In
both movies Orna portrays the role of a detective. In
"Sex Guns Money @ 20," she plays a supporting
character and "In
Plain View," one of the starring roles.
It
was not easy to give such a wonderful performance as
she did because her other hat was being the producer
of the film.
Chris
Alan
Chris
Alan, born Christopher Alan Yoosefi, has been acting
since he was just a young boy in Roseville, California.
Always
outgoing and full of life he decided to pursue acting
as a career and moved to Los Angeles.
Since
his move to LA, Chris has endured many hard times in
pursuit of his dream. They include, but are not limited
to, being homeless,
not eating for days on end, numerous nights without sleep
and
countless hours of stressed thinking about what tomorrow
brings. Chris is very happy to be here and working on
his craft and turning his dream into reality.
Chris
would like to thank everyone involved with "In Plain View" for
their support. He says he had a great time and would
love to work with the cast and crew
again.
Benny
Nieves
Benny
is a native New Yorker with Puerto Rican roots who
dreams to follow
and emulate fellow countrymen actors Raul Julia and
Jose Ferrer. He has had the privilege
and honor to have worked
with and shared
the screen
with actors including Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel, Bill
Cosby, Jerry Orbach, Gary Sinise, Elizabeth Perkins,
Diane Venora,
John
Cusack,
Benjamin Bratt, and directors Taylor Hackford, Harold
Becker and Franc Reyes.
Benny
considers himself to be extremely blessed by God to
have
had
such an experience. He currently lives happily
with his beautiful wife of seven years and pet
Pug in the Santa Clarita Valley region of California.
Shelly
Kurtz
I was born in the Bronx into an orthodox Jewish family.
I attended orthodox Jewish schools until I graduated Yeshiva
University. I became interested in acting while in summer
camp when I was about 12, and found that girls began noticing
me. I went off to Syracuse University for graduate work and
survived the culture shock of finding myself in a non-Jewish
environment. I left after a year because the academic and
intellectual approach to theater held little interest for
me. I just wanted to do it. I went back to New York, started
chasing a career and here I am, so many years later, still
in the chase.
In
the interim I have performed in well over a hundred plays
having had the privilege sharing the stage
with such luminaries as Shirley Booth, Hans Conreid, Dody
Goodman, Carol Lawrence, Susan Egan and Shelley Berman.
Interestingly
enough, it was in the late 60’s that
I first worked with Orestes Matacena in The Theater of
the Americas, a multi cultural theater company, which he
founded with his two great friends and fellow artists,
Miguel Ponce and Ruben Rabasa.
In
New York, I kept myself busy doing off and off-off Broadway
plays, commercials and occasional roles on the
soaps "Days of Our Lives" and "The Doctors" and an awful
lot of temporary day jobs.
I
emigrated to Los Angeles in 1975, and continue to this
day doing play after play after play.
I have guest starred
on numerous episodics such as "Dallas," "The New Lassie,"
"Hill Street Blues," "Hunter," "Resurrection Boulevard,"
"American Family"
and "Knot’s Landing." In addition to Matacena’s
"Cuba Libre," and earlier feature "Sex
Guns Money @ 20," I also had major roles in the features "Jumping
for Joy," " The Darkling," and "The
Last Day."
Agustin
Buñuel
Agustin
worked on "The Shield" and "Mind
of Mencia." Past film credits include "Gothic
Vampires from Hell" and "Desert of Blood." He
was also seen on stage at
the NoHo Arts Theatre in "In Search of Me" and
as Tony Montana at "Universal Studio's Halloween
Horror Nights."
Agustin is
currently working on his autobiography, "My Mom, My Dad,
and Miami" while residing in his hometown, 'Little
Havana' Miami, Florida. He has a Bachelors in Theater
from the University
of Florida
and
a Masters
from Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Carolina Barcos
Carolina
Barcos grew up in New York City. She trained at Circle
in the Square and received her M.F.A. degree from UCLA’s
School of Theatre, Film and Television.
Her
recent credits include
playing the lead role in the films "Send, Got Papers"
and "The Music Box" and the television series "In Plain
View,"
directed by Orestes Matacena. Currently she can be
seen in the well received, comedic series "Sands of Passion,"
directed by Jerry Zucker.
Carolina
is also a cofounder of Big Dog Little Dog Productions,
a non- profit theatre
company designed to provide, culture, education,
entertainment and support for young artists in the Los
Angeles theatre
community.
In their latest production, Carolina received an
LA Weekly Award for her role of Beth in "A Lie of the
Mind"
by Sam
Shepard.
Teresa Berkin
Teresa
Berkin performed in high school productions back in
the “olden
days” of the early ‘70s.
She
appeared as Moth in "A Midsummer Night's Dream,"
Louise/Waitress
in "Top Girls," and Agatha in "Guys and Dolls" at
Cal State Dominguez
Hills.
A
decade passed before Teresa dipped her toe into the acting
pool again, with supporting
roles in the feature films "21" (as an overeager
prostitute) and "Willoughby" (as a drug dealer's mother),
as well
as a handful of student projects.
Following
another six-year hiatus, she jumped into the deep end
in the
spring
of
2005 and has since appeared in over twenty feature
films, scores
of short films, three music videos, and half
a dozen TV shows.
She performed the title role of Doris Platt
in BrynCo Theatre Group’s debut production
of the one-act musical "Woman with Pocketbook."
Additional stage
roles
include Julia Leverett in "Lend Me a Tenor,"
various parts in "A . . . My Name is Alice,"
and Gertrude
Stein in "Romeo
and Julius."
Teresa
lives with her husband Geoff and son Richard in Sherman
Oaks, California and is grateful
for
their enthusiastic
support and encouragement
John W. Allen
I
was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee; and I spent my formative
years in the great outdoors.
I was active in the Boy Scouts, which was perfect in Tennessee;
and I reached the rank of Eagle scout.
After graduating from college, I served in the U.S. Army
in Berlin, Germany. Then it was off to school in Mexico
to study art history. I eventually settled in Dallas, Texas,
where I caught the acting bug, which meant that I would
soon have to leave. California was my final stop.
I developed my acting craft at the Lee Strasberg Theatre
Institute in Hollywood; this proved to be one of the most
rewarding adventures in my entire life. It has been exciting
to have been a part of numerous independent films, television
and commercial projects, which include several of my latest
endeavors: the independent film "Promises" and
the pilot "L'Originale
Burlesque."
Dennis
Curry
Dennis
was born at Hamilton Air Force Base just outside of
Sausalito, California. He has been acting for over thirty
years.
Dennis' start
and creative acting base is the stage, but he enjoys
the challenges of acting on camera.
In
addition to acting,
Dennis is partners in the production company Stage 6
Digital.
Although Location Audio and Post Sound Design have
been in the forefront for Dennis and
his team, they also have
four feature projects in development
that they are also co-producing.
Dennis
is married and the proud father of
a senior in high school.
