Developed by Katherine Orozco, “Causa Mortis” is a collection of monologues about how the deceased met their demise.  A showcase of monologues, the short plays will be performed by the speaker and the events will be acted out by a chorus in the background.

Essentially, character narrate the events leading up to their unfortunate demise.  Development of these works will possibly lead to short film productions of select pieces.

Directing the project will be Textual Overture director Julio Martinez (“There’s a Hotel at the End,” “A Little Tied Up,” etc) and Michael Verderber (“Message,” “Stranger in a Stranger Land,” etc).

The trailer is viewable here:

Or here: [jwplayer mediaid=”3283″]

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C a u s a   M o r t i s

Cast

V. Nguyen (in the suit) as “Charon” – the host of the show

Charon – Van Nguyen

Directed by Rebekah Ramos

Charon, the Ferryman of “Inferno” lore, was the host of the night, weighing in on how each character died. He determined which area the character would go to along the River Styx.

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A. Martinez and B. Galvan in “Those Present at the Time of My Death”

THOSE PRESENT AT THE TIME OF MY DEATH

By KIM HARDIN

Directed by Michael Verderber

Man – Brandon Galvan

The Watchman – Jose Mejia

The Axeman – Robert Trujillo

The Girl in Blue – Andrea Martinez

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K. Orozco and B. Cantu in “Oxidized Coal”

OXIDIZED COAL

By KATHERINE OROZCO

Directed by Julio Martinez

Narrator – Beth Marie Cantu

Him – Dylan Mendoza

Gwen – Katherine Orozco

Jaina – Lesley Guerra

Mirrors – Caitlyn Castellano (Fri), Jazmin Leyta, Van Nguyen

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J. Mejia, R. Trujillo, and C. Saldivar in “Rearview”

REARVIEW

By KATHERINE OROZCO

Directed by Michael Verderber

Narrator – Jose Mejia

Man – Robert Trujillo

The Eyes in the Rearview – Christina Saldivar

Friend – Andrea Martinez

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(l-r) L. Guerra, J. Leyta (floor), B. Cantu (floor), K. Orozco (cloak), V. Nguyen

SERENITY IN BAD COMPANY

By LESLEY GUERRA

Directed by Julio Martinez

Narrator – Lesley Guerra

Amanda – Beth Marie Cantu

Anthony – Van Nguyen

Mom / Angel of Death – Katherine Orozco

Dad – Julio Martinez

Cartel Members – Dylan Mendoza, Johsua Osho (Thur), Caitlyn Castellano (Fri)

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E. Andrade and B. Galvan in “I’ll See You at Heaven’s Gate”

I’LL SEE YOU AT HEAVEN’S GATE

By JULIO MARTINEZ

Directed by Michael Verderber

Narrator – Robert Trujillo

Man – Brandon Galvan

Woman – Elia Andrade

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C. Saldivar, R. Trujillo, A. Martinez, and E. Andrade in “The Burning of Mary”

THE BURNING OF MARY

By JULIO MARTINEZ

Directed by Michael Verderber

Narrator – Andrea Martinez

The First Witch – Katherine Orozco

Mary – Elia Andrade

Husband – Brandon Galvan

Elizabeth – Jazmin Leyta

The Next Girl – Christina Saldivar

Villagers – Jeffrey Lara, Van Nguyen, Jose Mejia, Robert Trujillo

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L. Guerra and K. Orozco in “W-I-S-H”

W-I-S-H

By BETH MARIE CANTU

Directed by Julio Martinez

Narrator – Katherine Orozco

Lilith / Brittany – Lesley Guerra

Mother – Beth Marie Cantu

Police – Jazmin Leyta

Priest – Elan Perez (Thur), Julio Martinez (Fri)

Demons – Dylan Mendoza, Van Nguyen, Joshua Osho, Caitlyn Castellano

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R. Trujillo (as Monster), J. Mejia (floor), E. Andrade (floor), and A. Martinez

GIRL AND HER MONSTER

By ANDREA MARTINEZ

Directed by Michael Verderber

Narrator – Christina Saldivar

Lucy – Andrea Martinez

Monster – Robert Trujillo

Father – Brandon Galvan

Friend – Elia Andrade

Boyfriend – Jose Mejia

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Andrade, Elie – This is Ms. Andrade’s first production with Zero Untitled.

Cantu, Beth Marie – A veteran with ZU, Cantu has appeared in The Factory, All Tied Up, All The World’s a Stage, etc, and wrote There’s No Snow in Texas.

Castellano, Caitlyn – Today’s performance is Castellano’s premiere with Zero Untitled.

Galvan, Brandon – He has previously appeared in The Wonderland Massacre.

Garcia, Marissa – Tonight’s show is Marissa’s first show with the company.

Guerra, Lesley – Having an ambitious first year, Guerra has recently appeared in Premature Punchline, From Inside, and The Wonderland Massacre.

Hardin, Kimberly – Those Present At The Time of My Death is Ms. Hardin’s first writing venture with ZU.

Lara, Jeffery – Tonight is Lara’s first production with Zero Untitled.

Leyta, Jazmin – She was last seen in the role of the clown Nobody in The Wonderland Massacre and did tech for Stranger in a Strange Land.

Martinez, Andrea – Up and coming in the ZU ranks, she has previously appeared in Wolfe of the West and the Message poetry video, among others.

Martinez, Julio – Julio is a long-standing ZU veteran with a ton of shows under his belt including the Café Triste poetry video and directing Textual Overture.

Mejia, Jose – Mejia has previously appeared in Nightmare of Oz and The Factory.

Mendoza, Dylan – Another relatively new actor with the company, Mendoza has been seen in Wolfe of the West and Stranger in a Strange Land, among others.

Nguyen, Van – Mr. Nguyen has last appeared in Textual Overture and The Factory.

Orozco, Katherine – Orozco is the co-head of the Main Stage and has written several plays such as Nightmare of Oz and First Names (among others). She has also appeared in several roles such as Mal de Ojo, Message, etc.

Osho, Joshua – This is Osho’s first production with ZU.

Perez, Elan – Perez has written and acted in several Zero Untitled works including A Winter’s Harvest, The Rape of Lucrece, and Saints and Gunshots.

Ramos, Rebekah – Zero Untitled’s official go-to girl, Ramos does all the major tech for ZU as well as dabbles in acting, as she did in Glamorgan and Premature Punchline skits.

Saldivar, Christina  – Another ZU veteran, her eclectic choices in performance have been Fishnado, It’s Not Very Effective, and (more recently) The Wonderland Massacre.

Trejo, Josh – This is Trejo’s first acting and percussive performance with ZU.

Trujillo, Robert – Lovingly nicknamed “Poodle,” Trujillo is in his first year with Zero Untitled and has already been involved with several shows such as From Inside, Wolfe of the West, and Premature Punchline, and others.

Verderber, Michael – As the creative director for ZU, he has acted, directed, and written shows such as The Man Who Walks Alone, Night by The River, Into Hell, and several others.

Official Trailer music courtesy of Kevin Macleod. And thanks to David and Ram for their help!

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Call for Scripts Information:

Last Call for “Causa Mortis” scripts! ZERO UNTITLED PRODUCTIONS is staging several short plays collectively called “Causa Mortis.” The production will be 3-4 page monologues that are narrated by the person who died, but are acted out by a chorus of 4-5 on stage. As the title suggests, the plays must be about HOW a person died.
Email scripts to zero_untitled_films@yahoo.com with title “SUBMISSION: ___” followed by name of your play. Performances will be on February 26-27, 2015. Deadline is January 21st at 11:59 pm.

Audition Information:

Thursday, January 22 at 7:00 in Sam Fore Hall on the campus of Texas A&M University – Kingsville.

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