The Wedding March

JORGE B. MERCED is an acclaimed actor, director, dramaturg, songwriter, and arts educator. As Associate Artistic Director of Pregones/PRTT he plays a key role in the development of the company’s acting and music ensemble, creative methodology, and original repertory, and also leads its lifelong arts learning programs. A graduate of Escuela Libre de Música (Puerto Rico) and the CUNY City College Theater Department (NYC), he later trained in Cuba with Osvaldo Dragún, Eugenio Barba, Miguel Rubio & Teresa Ralli of Yuyachkani at the International Theater School for Latin America and The Caribbean (EITALC 89). He also studied Forum Theater in Brazil and in France with Augusto Boal. He has directed over 20 Off-Broadway Mainstage & workshop productions. Select directing credits include: Fellini’s La Strada, Verano Verano (IATI, NYC), Quarter Rican, Evolution of a Sonero, Aloha Boricua, Neon Baby, El Bolero Was My Downfall, The Marchers, Noche Tan Linda,Las Facultades (Pregones, NYC), Swimming While Drowning (Cara Mía Theater, Dallas, TX). Distinctions include the 2022 Simón Bolívar Lifetime Achievment Award (CUNY), the BRIO Award of The Bronx Council on the Arts, and multiple recognitions for his groundbreaking LGBTQIA-themed Asunción Playwrights Project and juried play competition.  Jorge served on the Nominating Committee of The Lucille Lortel Awards for excellence in Off-Broadway theater (2018-2023).

DESMAR GUEVARA, Resident Composer and Musical Director of Pregones/PRTT, is a recognized champion of new music idioms in Latin jazz, a composer of experimental and non-traditional music for live theater and film, and an in-demand pianist with numerous concert, touring, and recording credits. He has composed, arranged, and music directed dozens of ensemble theater productions of varying scale, from chamber to Off-Broadway. He is founding director of chamber jazz ensemble Taller Sicá, founding member of Afro Puerto Rican ensemble Viento de Agua, and has collaborated with many musical luminaries including Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Tito Nieves, Xiomara Fortuna, Andy Montañez, Soledad Bravo, and Danny Rivera. Recent premieres include Grados Inefables, which delves into the esoteric symbolism and philosophies of Freemasonry, co-commissioned by arts presenters in New York, Colorado, and California.