The Stories of Dreamers are Told in Cal Rep's DREAMERS: AQUÍ Y ALLÁ
California Repertory Company, part of the CSULB Theatre Arts Department, begins its spring season with Dreamers: Aquí y Allá, co-directed by Andrea Caban and Julie Granata-Hunicutt opening February 16th at the CSULB Studio Theater. This new play represents the stories of 800,000 Dreamers whose way of life has been threatened by the cancellation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
The people at the heart of this play are Americans who have suddenly found themselves vulnerable to expulsion, job loss, and deportation. Dreamers... features testimonials from students in the California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program, as well as interviews from DACA students and community members; these stories of personal struggle invite the question: Who gets to dream the American Dream?
Dreamers... is part of Cal Rep's Devising Democracy series: a four-year long commitment to developing and producing devised work that grapples with the political, social and economic issues of our time. Artistic Director Jeff Janisheski says, "Dreamers: Aquí y Allá represents the best of what we do at Cal Rep. Cal Rep focuses on stories by and for Californians - and this piece is exactly that. The majority of Dreamers are living in California; and over a 1,000 Dreamers are on campus. This piece aims to tell their story."
Dreamers ... is a collaboration with California-Mexico Studies Center (CMSC), a non-profit organization founded by CSULB professor Armando Vazquez-Ramos which for the last 5 years has given Dreamers the opportunity to study abroad and visit their birthplace in Mexico. Cast members joined CMSC on their annual trip to Mexico in 2017. The stories, and words of Dreamers from this trip and from hundreds of hours of interviews conducted by CSULB Theatre Arts students, are incorporated throughout the production.
Director Andrea Caban is the Head of Voice and Speech in the CSULB Theatre Arts department. Caban, in collaboration with MFA Acting Pedagogy student Julie Granata-Hunicutt and a class of CSULB Theatre Arts students, dive into the lives and struggles of Dreamers. Caban says, "We have heard from lawmakers on both sides of this issue, time and time again, on the fate of the Dreamers; but these Dreamers are so much more than an issue. I thought it was time to hear from the Dreamers directly."
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