MEET THIS LOCAL: Juan C. Sanchez, the playwright working on the immersive theater experience “Wynwood Stories” produced by Juggerknot Theatre Company, to be staged during the final days of The Wynwood Yard.
WHAT HE IS DOING: Sanchez is no stranger to finding the right characters with authentic and interesting stories to tell. He’s the playwright behind The Juggerknot Theatre Company’s resident playwright and the writer behind the successful Miami Motel Stories series in Little Havana and MiMo.
The theater company is set to debut “Wynwood Stories” on April 16. The concept of the play is to portray several different characters who stake a claim in the neighborhood. In the final weeks of The Wynwood Yard, none of the characters want their legacies to be erased as the neighborhood enters another chapter.
“In this particular case it really felt like different people from different times from the same community were all trying to tell the story, to remind people about what their contributions have been, how much they have helped make Wynwood what it is,” Sanchez said about his research. “And there was almost a sense of everybody was sort of being erased as the years went by.” Sanchez said about his research.”
FUN FACT: You can often find Sanchez on a bus working on one of his plays, which he says provides him with inspiration about the neighborhoods and a way to get around town since he is car-free.
QUOTABLE: “What happens when all of these different characters intersect with all of their points of views and their beliefs and what they hold to be true? Hopefully during these moments we find ways that they connect, that their dreams and wishes somehow align in some way, you know?”
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED: Tickets for Wynwood Stories are available now and the show runs April 16 through May 4 (each ticket includes two cocktails). You’ll get to choose which series of stories to experience, either route 2 or route 32. Wynwood Yard closes May 5.