Award-winning literary figure Ana Castillo, under the direction of Henry Godinez, will present a staged reading and discussion of her latest work entitled “Psst… I Have Something to Tell You, Mi Amor,” in May.

A play from her two-play book, “Psst… I Have Something to Tell You, Mi Amor” will be performed at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., May 4 through May 7. The May 4 performance will begin at 7 p.m. Performances May 5 and 6 will begin at 8 p.m., and the May 7 performance is scheduled for a 2 p.m. matinee. Castillo will sign copies of her book “Psst… I Have Something to Tell You” at a reception following the performance May 4. A question and answer session will follow all of the performances.

Actors Sandra Marquez and Liza Fernandez have been cast in the roles of Ortiz and “The Other.” Donations will be accepted at each performance for Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition, an international organization of torture survivors working towards the abolition of torture and ill treatment practiced by governments worldwide.

Castillo’s play was inspired by the story of Sister Dianna Ortiz, a missionary and nun who was kidnapped in Guatemala in 1989 by a CIA asset who was trained in the U.S. Army School of the Americas. Ortiz was tortured and raped by her captives before she escaped by leaping from a car in which she was being transported. Castillo, who said she was moved beyond grief and anger by the account, wrote the two plays that comprise her latest literary tome to document Ortiz’s story.

On May 18, Castillo and Godinez will hold a conversation on the staging of “Psst…” at 6 p.m. in the DePaul Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., Room 314. A pre-discussion reception will be held at 5 p.m.

Both the performances and the discussion are free and open to the public. To make reservations for the play, call 773/935-6860. For more information about the conversation with Castillo and Godinez contact the DePaul Humanities Center at 773/325-4580, or aperson@depaul.edu.

Castillo has been a writer-in-residence and Sor Juana de la Cruz University Professor at DePaul since 2001. An acclaimed poet, novelist and essayist, she is the author of “Peel My Love Like an Onion” and “So Far From God,” among other works. She has published several collections of poetry, including “I Ask the Impossible” and “My Father Was a Toltec and Selected Poems.”

Godinez is an associate professor at The Theatre School of DePaul. An award-winning director, he has worked at the Goodman, Steppenwolf and other major theatres in Chicago, New York and beyond.