ABOUT THE SHOW
Odd Man Out is an immersive experience in complete darkness in which the audience hears, smells, tastes, and feels the story of Alberto, a blind jazz musician traveling home from New York to Buenos Aires after decades of self-exile.
The story is set on the flight back to Buenos Aires, with the audience entering the space as passengers on that flight. As Alberto tells his life stories to his seatmates, we start re-imagining his journey as he perceives it: in complete darkness. We experience his life as a young man in the 1960s in Argentina, and then his life journey in New York City. His girlfriend follows him there but she is ultimately drawn back to Argentina and its troubled politics. We take in these moments in a way most of us have never experienced a story: our ears, noses, skin, and palates are engaged in an immersive journey of love, prejudice, and fears that were left behind.
Because the audience members – our “passengers” – are in complete darkness through the entire duration of the flight, the action is experienced by way of auditory stimulation, tactile objects, tasty treats, and enriched smells. Passengers will even feel the weather occurring around them.
Odd Man Out began at Teatro Ciego in Argentina, which has a 15-year history of creating live experiences in complete darkness. The theater company employs artists and technicians with visual disabilities in all their work. Forty percent of staff and creative teams are made up of individuals living with sight loss.
MEET THE CAST
Esteban Arias
(Alberto Rinaldi) Born and raised in Costa Rica. Esteban produced and performed in Federico García Lorca’s Bodas de Sangre as Novio in August 2022 at the Gene Frankel Theatre. Other theatre credits include Hamlet as King Claudius and Seven Spots on The Sun as Luis. He is performing as Woof in the Off Off Broadway production of Hair the musical on November 2022. IG: estebanarias.
Andrés Montejo
(Christian and Others) New York based, Costa Rica raised. Theatre: Constellations, Much Ado About Nothing, Sweat, King John, From My Bed. TV/Film: Seneca (HBO), Strawberry Flavored Plastic (Amazon). Commercial Voiceover: Nissan, PEPSI, 1800 Tequila, Doritos, Dunkin Donuts, Bud Light, amongst others. Andres is the official voice worldwide in Spanish for Polo Ralph Lauren Fragrances. @thattejo
Carmen Borla
(Clara , Flight attendant and Others) is an Argentinian artist based in NYC, whose life is devoted to telling stories. Through singing, writing and acting she focuses on digging deep into the human experience. Carmen has spent most of her career in theater and film, performing at various festivals, some of her credits include: “We speak NY” (NYCTV), “American Rust” (Showtime), “Artist in the Field”, “La Celestina” (Repertorio Español), “Hora Pico” (Micro Teatro), BARS workshop (Public Theater). She recently released her first solo album titled “Words” @carmenborla
Mauricio Marte
(Jamal and Others) Native New Yorker, LA based. With an interdisciplinary degree and interdisciplinary approach to life; Mauricio’s day to day tasks, may require him to take on the role of anything from a Director, Producer, Writer, Screen Actor, Talent Rep, Musical Artist ,VO Artist, Radio/Podcast Personality, Songwriter, Ghostwriter, Storyteller Stand up Comedian, Poet, Host or Minister. Watch his recent premiered feature as Diego in GODS 2 (Tubi) or catch some of his VO roles on BATMAN UNBURIED the podcast (Spotify). “Super excited to get back with the Odd Man Out team! They chose me for my bird, so I got to give them the bird [bird noise]!”
Lorenza Bernasconi
(Doña Elsa and Others) is a bilingual artist from Peru. Fuelled by storytelling and collaborative work,excited to join this international team. Favorite NYC theatre credits: The House of Bernarda Alba (Repertorio Español), Encanto (Disney nyc )Nothing (Alternative Theatre Co), Scandusical (The PIT) Regional: 72 Miles to Go (InterAct) Carroll County Fix (Azuka) Good Cuban Girls (Arden) Las Mujeres(Power Street) Film: Kiddo (Mara), Rent Control (Eden), Ms Manage (Latham Love). UArts alum. Para los que se fueron lejos ha hacer arte como Elsa, Alberto, y como yo. Instagram: @Lorenza.bernasconi
Agustina Cedraschi
(Julieta and Others) is a Brooklyn-based argentine actor. Her credits in New York City include: Theatre: Ariel , Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. ( NYBAF), Jasmine, Disney’s Aladdin Jr. ( NYBAF) Odd Man Out live and semi live ( Bristol Riverside Theater and The Flea Theater). TV/FILM: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ( Amazon Prime). Some of her Buenos Aires Musical Theater credits include: Aquí no podemos hacerlo ( Teatro El Cubo), La Previa ( Teatro El Cubo), La Mascara de hierro ( Teatro Auditorium , Mar del Plata), La Lágrima en su garganta ( Centro Cultural Borges), Anastasia ( Espacio Onyx). She earned an A.O.S in Acting at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City on 2020. @aguscedrashi www.agustinacedrascho.com
CREATIVE TEAM
CARLOS ARMESTO (Director)
Founder of theatreC and PITCHBLACK. Carlos has been creating theatre that challenges the form for over 20 years. From immersive parties, sensory experiences, to plays and musicals centering underrepresented voices, Carlos has a strong sense of community, and a drive to make theatre a more equitable and accessible space for people from all walks of life. Recent projects outside of PITCHBLACK include DIA Y NOCHE (LAByrinth Theater) and NERDS! (Retro Factory) this season. In addition to ODD MAN OUT for PITCHBLACK, Carlos will be directing MY FRIEND THE DARK, a children’s show about letting go of one’s fears of the dark. He teaches at NYU Tisch, Fordham and Sarah Lawrence. He has an MFA Carnegie Mellon and is a Princess Grace Award Winner.
MARTÍN BONDONE (Writer, Director)
Martín is the Artistic Director and founder of Teatro Ciego (teatrociego.com) since 2004. He studied economics at the University of Buenos Aires and graduated from the Theater School of Buenos Aires, directed by Raúl Serrano. After winning a «PROPAI» scholarship, he worked as a researcher in different cooperatives and Associations. He took training courses at the San Martín Cultural Center, Clown, aerial theater and worked for two years as an improvisation actor. He studied dramaturgy with different teachers, his main reference being Mauricio Kartun. In 2008 he founded the Argentine Center for Argentino de Teatro Ciego with Gerardo Bentatti. Over time, the project obtained national and international recognition, being presented in Latin America and Europe. Currently the project has a stable staff of actors, where forty percent have some type of visual disability. He is the author of more than ten plays where darkness is used as a stage resource. At the same time, he works researching and developing the technique of theater in the dark.
FACUNDO BOGARIN (Director)
Facundo is an Argentine blind artist. When he was a teenager he went completely blind and devoted himself to the music world by becoming a bass player in different musical groups. In 2010 he began his acting studies and started to work as a performer at Teatro Ciego Argentina. Since 2017, he has worked as a Tour Director for Teatro Ciego in Argentina and Europe. Facundo is an actor, director, theorist, and theater educator specialized in the research and development of non-visual languages for theater in the dark and/or for any artist who wants to take his message beyond the margins of sight.
Nicolás Alvarez (Immersive Audio Designer)
Nico began his studies as a sound technician ar EMU. He founded the Zion Recording Studio in La Plata, and joined Teatro Ciego in 2016, working with them to assemble immersive sound projects, and developing the Dummy Head Microphone , utilized in events for Disney, Google, Coca-Cola, and IRSA among others. Currently Nicolás and his company BNRL 3D Sounds have taken a leap combining different mixing techniques for immersive sound through software and hardware; using not only his own creations but also Ambisonics, Dolby Atmos, Head tracking and different forms of immersive mixing for headphones and immersive audio systems with speakers.
PRODUCTION TEAM
JULIO VAQUERO( Sound and Production Assistant)
Julio Vaquero is an award-winning Spanish composer and sound designer specializing in musical theater. He has participated in several shows in Spain, which have been performed in the major theaters of Madrid. Some of his titles include Dumbo, the Musical (winner of the Broadway World Award for the Best Family Musical), Con la Boca Abierta (Broadway World Award for the Best Musical), Peter Pan (Nominated for Best Score in the Spain National Musical Theater Awards), We Love Queen, and Comicus Interruptus. Julio’s
work has also been performed in New York, including The Future Broadway Songbook (Lincoln Center) , the Village Songs (Rattletick) and Stuck (Chain One Act Festival Award). Additionally, Julio has worked as a sound researcher in the ETSIC Lab, building soundscapes based on the sympathetic resonance.
