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Developing original productions and
Showcasing the talent of minority artists since 1992

Danisar Productions, Inc. d.b.a. Danisarte is a not-for-profit 501-c3 award-winning bilingual company whose mission is to develop original productions to increase understanding among people of many cultures and nations, and to develop and showcase the talents of minority artists. A springboard for many novice artists and an experimental company for seasoned performers, Danisarte has been a pioneering advocate for inclusion and racial equality and a leader in diversity, non-traditional, gender, and color-blind casting since its inception in 1992.

 

Danisarte es una compañía bilingüe de teatro y video 501-c3 sin ánimo de lucro, cuya misión es desarrollar producciones en Inglés y Español, como también descubrir y promover el talento artístico de las minorías. Un trampolín para noveles artistas y una compañía experimental para desarrollar y presentar trabajos originales. Danisarte ha sido pionera en abogar por la inclusión e igualdad racial y líder en diversidad y casting no tradicional desde su creación en 1992. 

Danisarte Painting Condolences

UPCOMING EVENTS

Undesirable Secrets

Written and performed by Rodolfo Avarado

Directed by William Doll

Sun, Aug 24 - Sun, Aug 31
Theatre for the New City | Cabaret Theatre

155 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003

The Anthony Acevedo Educational Foundation is proud to welcome Danisarte of NYC as a co-producer of Undesirable Secrets, a powerful solo play written and performed by Rodolfo Alvarado. The production will premiere in late August at Theatre for the New City as part of the Dream Up Festival (Crystal Field, Artistic Director), followed by an Off-Broadway performance at United Solo on November 1.

 

Undesirable Secrets tells the true story of Anthony C. Acevedo —the first Mexican American soldier to be registered as a Holocaust survivor. Captured during World War II and sent to Berga, a Nazi slave labor camp in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions, Anthony kept a secret diary documenting names, deaths, and atrocities committed against American POWs. He remained silent for 63 years before breaking that silence to honor the memory of the men who never returned.

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New Episodes:

Welcome to My World / Bienvenidos a mi Mundo

with / con Alicia

Danisarte’s bilingual web series Welcome to My World / Bienvenidos a mi Mundo with/con Alicia, featuring Alicia Kaplan. This heartfelt and insightful series features soulful interviews with international artists from diverse disciplines and cultures worldwide. Presented in English and Spanish, the series celebrates creativity, resilience, and the shared human experience through the voices of artists worldwide.

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PAST EVENTS

Deconstructing Lorca / Desconstruyendo a Lorca

La Nacional | June 9th, 2025
239 West 14th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

An immersive bilingual experience celebrating the life and work of Federico García Lorca- poet, playwright, and musician - through bold, original dramatic and musical interpretations. Featuring internationally acclaimed and award-winning actors, directors, choreographers, musicians, poets, dancers, and singers.

Soliluna Title
Soliluna sol

A magical voyage thru the five continents
Un viaje mágico por los cinco continentes

Soliluna luna

Created & Directed by Alicia Kaplan

SOLILUNA:  a magical voyage thru 5 continents of the world is an interactive bilingual (Spanish/English) multicultural theatrical performance piece with international music which includes puppets that morph into actor /dancers, video-projections, original art, and animation. It is based on folktales featuring the sun and the moon. This project is designed not only to entertain the whole family, but also to educate us about our similarities, cultural diversity, and the creativity of the human spirit.  

Since the beginning of time, people created tales and stories that attempted to explain the sun and the moon. These folktales were passed down verbally from one generation to the next, each culture having its unique version. The principal characters in this piece, Sun and Moon, appear in various forms, including puppets, actors/dancers, and animated characters, as friends, siblings, spouses, heroes, and villains in these folktales. Throughout the production, two other actors portray different characters, including puppets, actor/dancers, and animated characters.


The five folktales that we have selected are from Nigeria, Spain, Tonga, India, and Mexico. They have been curated, adapted, and directed by Danisarte’s Producing Artistic Director Alicia Kaplan. Panamanian/Venezuelan artist Leandro Comrie-Pepin created the original artwork for the video, and Cuban/Puerto Rican artist Elaine Mendez-Torres created the original puppets.

BENCHMARKS / LOGROS

1992: Danisarte’s first acting workshop resulted in a production of a series of one-act plays entitled Almas Atormentadas (Anguished Souls). The following one-act plays were presented for eight performances at the Latin American Ensemble Theatre (then located on 104th Street in East Harlem): Los Mutantes by Jose Ruibal (Spain), La Puerta by Rolando Steiner (Nicaragua), Los Hermanos by Edilio Peña (Venezuela), Abuela y Nieta by Jacinto Benavente (Spain), Pañuelo para llorar by J.C. Ghiano (Argentina) and Papa Querido by A. Bortnik (Argentina). The actors were from Colombia, Curaçao, Santo Domingo, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Spain, and ranged in age from 17 to 65. This production, geared to the participants’ abilities and ages, was the result of a three-month comprehensive acting workshop. Directed by Alicia Kaplan.


2002: Danisarte held a bilingual playwriting workshop under the guidance of Carmen Rivera. Selected plays were developed in acting workshops and presented at the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center during the series Los Nuevos Valores/The New Treasures Portraits of Passion/Retratos de pasión theatrical festival. Jose Nuñez, from the Dominican Republic, received an A.C.E. (an organization of Latino journalists and critics) nomination for his participation in one of the plays.


2003: Herencia de Amor y Sangre (A Legacy of Love and Blood) by Arnaldo Rodriguez, developed in Danisarte’s playwriting workshop, became the first play in Spanish to be presented at The Lower East Side Tenement Museum’s Theatre. Colombian actress Martha Alzate received an A.C.E. nomination for her role as the immigrant mother.


2005: La Asociación de Cronistas de Espectáculos (A.C.E.) honored Danisarte and its Producing Artistic Director Alicia Kaplan as the 2005 Theatrical Organization of the Year. Hector Luis Rivera was nominated for an A.C.E. Award as an Actor for his performance in Antesala de la Muerte (Waiting for Death) by local Dominican playwright Lucia Taveras, directed by Alicia Kaplan.


2006: a bilingual playwriting workshop under the direction of Cuban playwright Pedro Monge-Rafuls, script development, and acting workshops. The theatrical festival Ilusiones was held at the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center and featured the plays Un Encuentro Fugaz (a farce to the beat of rumba rhythms) where literature and reality, represented by Don Quijote, Dulcinea, Sancho Panza, each with their own madness, confront each other…with unexpected circumstances), directed and choreographed by Alicia Kaplan (A.C.E. nominations for the Director and cast); and the play Detrás del Trapecio (by Juan Guzman), directed by Gloria Zelaya. It also featured several plays for children as well as music. Cristina Sanjuan received an A.C.E. Award for her portrayal of Dulcinea.


2008: Alicia Kaplan, Producing and Artistic Director received the Diplôme de Medaille d’Argent from the Societe Academique D’Education et D’Encouragement (the Academy of Arts and Sciences in France).


2009: Danisarte received its second A.C.E. Award as Theatrical Institution of the Year.


2012: Danisarte celebrated 20 years of cultural activities in East Harlem.


2013: Alicia appeared and accepted a special Recognition Award for Danisarte at the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors’ (H.O.L.A.) and Premio Arte’s galas in New York. Alicia represented Danisarte at Pasadena’s Directors’ Workshop West, networking with several multicultural theatrical groups on the West Coast.


2014: Sonia Suarez Schwartz’ El Osito Manhattanero was selected as the best original children’s play by A.C.E. (2014). Medardo, con el alma en los labios (Medardo with his Soul on his Lips) by and starring Julio Ortega to be filmed in Ecuador.


2018: Danisarte was recognized by the A.C.E with a Golden Globe as an institution of artistic and cultural excellence.

2022: Danisarte presented its 30-Year Concert Celebration.


2023: Alicia receives Premio Talia’s Lifetime Achievement award Gilberto Zaldivar, and Danisarte’s 30th year Concert receives the award as Concert Production of the Year.

Danisarte Ace Awards

PREMIOS A.C.E. 2005, 2009, 2015 & 2018
Association of Latin Entertainment Critics of New York Awards

Danisarte Thank you

Danisarte is a not-for-profit 501C3,

and donations are appreciated

for the continuation of our artistic mission.​

Receipt and Fed. I.d. will be provided

Donate with PayPal

© 2025 by Danisarte. All Rights Reserved.

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