Generosity Unmasked

The Event: Una Noche del Teatro, a celebration of Latino culture, food and talent presented by South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. “Viva Carnaval!” was the theme of Saturday’s outdoor festival and variety show, a benefit for SCR’s Hispanic Playwrights Project and community outreach programs.

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Fat Saturday: Carnaval is celebrated in the Caribbean, Brazil and other countries just before Lent. “It’s just like Mardi Gras. We’re celebrating Fat Tuesday on a Saturday in July,” said Alice Rumbaugh, a member of Las Amigas de la Cultura, three teachers who promote Latino culture.

Las Amigas created a display of authentic Latino carnaval masks and installed oversized masks as decorations throughout the SCR courtyard. “The idea of carnaval is to let loose, to hide your identity behind a mask,” Rumbaugh said. About 400 guests--without masks--mingled in the courtyard while sampling empanadas (spicy turnovers), Cuban black beans and other Latin-flavored hors d’oeuvres prepared by El Torito Grill.

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Quote: “This benefits the entire Hispanic community. We’re celebrating our heritage while increasing the Latino talent pool” in the theater, said Karen Merced Willner, chairwoman of Nuestro Teatro, a Latino support group for SCR.

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Faces: Onstage at SCR, Liz Torres, star of the “John Larroquette Show,” served as emcee, while actors Tony Plana (“JFK”), Jacob Vargas (“Selena”) and other guest entertainers performed comedy monologues written by Rick Najera, staff writer for “In Living Color.” Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) spoke in support of the arts and shared memories of attending the theater as a child. Among those in the audience: event chairman Dr. Pablo Prietto, Ernesto and Socorro Vasquez, David and Dolores Barr, Christina Duron, Sylvia Krenzien, Teri Rocco, Sandy Sanchez and Lola Romero Seymour.

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Bottom line: Guests paid $40, $65 or $125 per ticket, depending on choice of seating. Una Noche was expected to net about $30,000 for SCR. Proceeds will support the Hispanic Playwrights Project, which develops and produces new scripts by Latino playwrights,

and the Neighborhood Conservatory, a program of free after-school theater classes for at-risk youth.

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What’s Ahead: The Hispanic Playwrights Project will present three plays by Latino playwrights at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 8 and at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9. Tickets are $6. For information, call SCR at (714) 957-4033.