Local Talent Tapped for Production at Schoolhouse Theater in Croton Falls

Iris Nguyen a 17 year-old Vietnamese exchange student who lives with her host family in Nyack, is one of six young people from Westchester and Rockland Counties who have landed supporting roles in the New York premier of A Cambodian Lullaby, an exciting new play which opens Thursday, March 31, and runs through April 17 at The Schoolhouse Theater. The production deals with timely issues of the lives of refugees.

The other five students are:
Sydnie Heslop, 16, is a resident of Mount Vernon who attends New Visions Charter High School for the Humanities in Yonkers, received acting and dance training at Youth Theater Interactions, also located in Yonkers.

Emily Knutsson lives in Waccabuc and is a sophomore at John Jay High School.

Catherine Saraceno of Somers, studies theater at Manhattanville College and will graduate this May. She recently starred in the Manhattanville production of The Diary of Anne Frank and worked at the New York Renaissance Faire last summer, where she played the town gossip, Sally Overfence.

Kyle Thomas, 20, is a theater major at CUNY’s City College. He lives with his family in Port Chester and is a graduate of Port Chester High School.

Alessandra Tucker lives in Cross River and is a junior at John Jay High School.

Playwright Sokeo Ros, whose family story is the subject of A Cambodian Lullaby, likes to include young people from within the community in which he performs because he remembers how dance impacted him when he was in high school. Sokeo moved from a refugee camp in Thailand to Providence, Rhode Island with his family when he was just three years-old. As a sophomore in high school, he began performing with the Carriage House Performers, a Providence-based hip-hop group at the Everett, a school for the arts and company of artists.

In 1998, Sokeo joined Everett as a creator and performer and has taught many master classes in universities throughout his touring experience. Sokeo received a grant from the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts to work on a project called, “From Refugee Camp to Project,” which tells of his experiences of being born in a Thai refugee camp and coming to the United States to live in an impoverished neighborhood.

He recently returned from Cambodia after volunteering in non-profit organizations that offered free classes in education and the performing arts, where he worked with youth and adults in prison settings. He was able to conduct interviews and research his family’s compelling history of surviving the Khmer Rouge regime. Sokeo infuses Gamelon music and other traditional folk sources as well as popular music, fierce iconic visuals, and six student performers to bring the story to life. The full title is A Cambodian Lullaby: From Refugee Camp to Project. The ‘lullabuy’ is for Sokeo’s daughter Keily, with whom he has shared his family story and who sometimes performs with him.

Performances of A Cambodian Lullaby are Thursdays through Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $38 for adults; $35 for seniors and $15 for students and can be reserved by calling the box office at 914-277-8477. The Schoolhouse is located at 3 Owens Road, Croton Falls, NY, just off exit 8 on I-684. Visit the Schoolhouse on the web at www.schoolhousetheater.org or “Like” them on Facebook.