UCI Drama Looks at Immigration and Gender Equality in PLUMAS NEGRAS

UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Drama continues its 2017 - 18 season "The Business of Politics/The Politics of Business" with Professor Juliette Carrillo's original work Plumas Negras. Carrillo began this project while working with Cornerstone Theater Company in the East Salinas community back in 2013; she interviewed countless farmworkers, and as she heard story after compelling story, a narrative began to emerge. The play's narrative follows the lives of three generations of female workers, the struggles that tear their families apart, and the love that binds them together. Also partially narrating the action are two wise crows, as magical realism weaves throughout a script that is rich with serious explorations of workers' rights, gender inequity, and the perceptions and treatment of the immigrant population.

Plumas Negras, which is performed partially in Spanish with projected English supertitles, provides an exciting opportunity for UCI Drama's Latinx students to explore aspects of their heritage in a new way. Anica Garcia-DeGraff, who plays Perla, is excited about this challenge. "I welcome this chance to reclaim my Mexican heritage and identity, and to once again speak a language that was largely lost to me," she said. The work is also very personal to Professor Carrillo, as both author and director. "As the Latinx immigrant community has been at the center of the public eye in recent times, the necessity of sharing these deeply personal-and human--- stories has become infinitely important to me," she said. "I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to continue the development of this work here as a new professor in the UCI Drama Department."

The show's scenic elements include a mural inspired by the work of artist José Ortiz, as well as sound design that transports the viewer between realistic and magical narrative worlds. In a drama season that examines various ways in which the power and greed of the sociopolitical machine effect various populations, Plumas Negras gives clear and expressive voice to three generations of powerful women. We hope you can join us for this evocative work, as well as for the final two offerings of the UCI Drama season: Tony Kushner's topical A Bright Room Called Day, and Green Day's defiant American Idiot.

Performances and Ticket Information

Robert Cohen Theatre. Parking: 4000 Mesa Rd, Irvine, CA 92617

Evenings: Mar. 10, 15, 16, 17 at 8:00 p.m.

Evening: Mar. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Matinees: Mar. 11*, 17, 18 at 2:00 p.m.

General Admission $18 / Seniors & Groups 10+ $15 / UCI Students & Children under 17 $11. Box Office (949) 824-2787 or www.arts.uci.edu/tickets.

The UCI Drama production team will host a post-performance TalkBack on March 11th after the 2 p.m. matinee with the creative team and cast.

About UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts: As UCI's creative laboratory, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts explores and presents the arts as the essence of human experience and expression, through art forms ranging from the most traditional to the radically new. The international faculty works across a wide variety of disciplines, partnering with others across the campus. National-ranked programs in art, dance, drama, and music begin with training but end in original invention. Students come to UCI to learn to be citizen-artists, to sharpen their skills and talents, and to become the molders and leaders of world culture. For more information, visit www.arts.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.

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