Albany Park Theater Project's HOME/LAND Debuts at Goodman Theatre, Now thru 7/28

By popular demand, Albany Park Theater Project (APTP) remounts its smash hit production, Home/Land, in a limited summer run at Goodman Theatre, concluding the 2013 Latino Theatre Festival. A powerful portrait of the human effects on American immigration laws, Home/Land's January 2012 premiere at Albany Park was extended three times, played to 100 percent capacity throughout its three-month run, and was hailed "truly astonishing" (Chicago Sun-Times), and "intimate, confronting, funny, activating and inspiring" (Chicago Reader).

Performed in English with Spanish subtitles and directed by David Feiner, a "director who knows how to fuse movement, story and self-expression with sophisticated artistry that shapes, hones, empowers" (Chicago Tribune), Home/Land runs tonight, July 18 - 28 in the Owen Theatre. Opening night isSaturday, July 20 at 8pm. Tickets ($10- $25) are on sale now and available at GoodmanTheatre.org/HomeLand, by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 North Dearborn).

"We wanted to make a play that was brutally honest about the unfairness of the immigration system as it now stands, but that would focus on people whose resilience and optimism provided us with hope," said David Feiner, producing artistic director and founder of APTP. "The stories of Home/Land hit especially close to home for our youth ensemble, many of whom are immigrants and nearly all of whom come from immigrant families. All of us at Albany Park Theater Project are thrilled at the opportunity to shareHome/Land with audiences at the Goodman as part of the Latino Theatre Festival."

Conceived, written, choreographed, composed and performed by APTP, a "prodigiously gifted, exquisitely directed youth theater ensemble" (Chicago Sun-Times), Home/Landis the result of a year-long process during which the company's youth ensemble and adult artists conducted interviews, attended rallies and examined the ramifications of immigration laws in their own lives. Home/Land features an ensemble cast of 25 multi-ethnic artists ranging in ages from 13 to 18, including Lesley Albarrán, Osbaldo Antuñez, Marilyn Carteño, Gibran Carrisoza, Stephanie Castrejon, Jancillin Chacko, Kayla Victoria Ciccone, RAndy Kim Dang, Lilia Teresa Escobar, Ely Espino, Kito Espino, David Gauna, JP Marquez, Nichole A. Martinez, Kimberly Mayo, Vincent K. Meredith, Luis Manuel Millan, Paloma Morales, Bladimir Orduño, Stephany Perez, Paola Rico, Raul Rico, Jalen D. Rios, Kyra Mae Robinson and Electra Tremulis.

Home/Land is directed by APTP's artistic staff including Feiner, Associate Director Maggie Popadiak, Resident Directors Colby Beserra and Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez and Resident Artists Mikhail Fiksel and Stephanie Paul. The production team includes Jeremy Getz (lighting), Mikhail Fiksel (music composition and sound), Scott C. Neale (set) and Mieka van der Ploeg (costumes).

FREE EVENTS AROUND HOME/LAND

Readings from the U.S./Mexico Playwright Exchange Program in association with Lark Play Development Center
July 13 - 14 - Goodman Theatre - Reservations are required; 312.443.3800.

Goodman Theatre partners with New York-based Lark Play Development Center and three Chicago-based theater companies to bring audiences readings of three brand new Mexican plays in translation. Developed as part of the Lark's U.S./Mexico exchange, these plays represent the most exciting new voices working in Mexican theater today, with new translations created by some of America's leading Latino playwrights.

July 13 at 3pm
Poor Kidneys to Soothe Despair by Alejandro Ricaño, translated by Daniel Jáquez Presented in association with Halcyon Theatre

July 13 at 6pm
Mestiza Power by Concepcion Leon Mora, translated by Virginia Grise
Presented in association with Teatro Luna

July 14 at 3pm
Alaska by Gibrán Portela, translated by Migdalia Cruz
Presented in association with 16th Street Theater
The reading of Alaska will be followed by a panel discussion focused on new translation and international exchange

Context: Home/Land - The Price We Pay: The Costs of Deportation and Mass Incarceration
July 17 at 7pm
Rumble Arts Center| Reservations are required; 312.443.3800
A conversation about immigration and criminalization policies and alternative justice initiatives in Chicago and around the world.

Lit Live! Story Hour with Goodman Theatre at Chicago Public Libraries
June 18, 22, 25 and 28 - Various Chicago Public Library venues
For families and children ages 3-6 Goodman Theatre's Latino Theatre Festival comes to life for story hour-in Español and English.

Play Talk: Immigration Reform
July 19 at 9:45pm - Goodman Theatre
Following the performance of Home/Land, stay for a panel discussion on the status of US Immigration reform, featuring top experts from the immigration law field.

Founded in 1997 by David Feiner and Laura Wiley, Albany Park Theater Project is a multiethnic, ensemble-based youth theater company that inspires people to envision a more beautiful and just world. APTP's work has been honored locally and nationally. APTP was recognized in 2011 by the National Immigrant Justice Center with the Midwest Light of Human Rights Award, in recognition of its commitment to using the arts to advance the human rights of all individuals. In 2004, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities honored APTP with the Coming Up Taller Award, the nation's highest recognition for arts organizations that nurture the creativity of young people and provide them with opportunities to contribute to their communities.

Latino Theatre Festival at Goodman Theatre has introduced Chicagoans to prominent Latino theater companies around the globe since its inception in 2003. Under the direction of Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez, Latino Fest transforms the Goodman into a hub of international artistic exchange; productions by local, national and international theater artists, plus a variety of events, define the experience. Among the expanding list of international Latino theater companies that have performed at the Goodman since 2003: Compañia Marta Carrasco (Spain); Comediants (Spain); Teatro Buendía (Cuba); Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes (Mexico); and Pia Fraus (Brazil). National artists of note have come to the Goodman from New York (Universes' Blue Sweat; Adrianna Sevan's Taking Flight) and Los Angeles (Luiz Alfaro's The Book of Titus and Other Latino Bible Stories; Culture Clash's AmeriCCa). Local participants have included Aguijón Theater Company, Albany Park Theater Project, Chicago Children's Theatre, Luna Negra, Teatro Luna and Teatro Vista.

Concluding the Goodman's 2012/2013 Season is The Jungle Book, a new musical based on the Disney animated film and the stories of Rudyard Kipling, adapted and directed by Mary Zimmerman (through August 11 in the Albert). The Goodman's 2013/2014 Season begins with Pullman Porter Blues by Cheryl L. West, directed by Chuck Smith (September 14 - October 20 in the Albert).

Named "Best Regional Theatre" by Time magazine and the "top dog of the Chicago theater scene" by Frommer's, Goodman Theatre is world renowned for the quality and scope of its artistic programming and its commitment to improving life in the community. Artistic Director Robert Falls' and Executive Director Roche Schulfer's leadership has earned unparalleled artistic distinction and experienced unprecedented success, staging more than 80 world premieres, earning numerous awards for its productions-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined (2009)-and producing more than 25 new-work commissions. Founded in 1925 and housed in a state-of-the-art two-theater complex in the downtown Chicago Theatre District, the Goodman is Chicago's oldest and largest not-for-profit producing theater. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. Ruth Ann M. Gillis is Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sherry John is President of the Women's Board and Lauren Blair is President of the Scenemakers Board, the Goodman's young professionals auxiliary group. Visit the Goodman virtually: watch artist interviews, view production photos, catch the latest news and more at GoodmanTheatre.org and our blog; Like us on Facebook; follow us on Twitter; peek behind the scenes on YouTube.

Pictured: Lilia Teresa Escobar, RAndy Kim Dang, Raul Rico, Stephanie Castrejon and Paloma Morales in Albany Park Theater Project's Home/Land.