Promoting Understanding Through Theater

Wednesday, 05 October 2011 22:11

Borderlands Theater showcases previously unheard voices from the U.S.-Mexico border region by producing and performing existing plays as well as commissioning new ones, and also through educational outreach.

Currently being performed is Quiara Alegria Hudes' one-act play "26 Miles," which is directed by Norma Medina. The 90-minute play tells the story of Olivia, a teenager who reconnects with her mother Beatriz, who she hasn't seen for eight years, while on a road trip across the country. Olivia is played by Kristen Islas and Beatriz is played by Yolanda Corrales.

At a recent performance of “26 Miles,” the smaller, more intimate cabaret theater could hardly be considered crowded with only a dozen audience members scattered in twos and threes throughout the room. However, the cast didn’t appear to notice, continuing to perform with zeal throughout the entire show.

Borderlands Theater was created in 1986 by Barclay Goldsmith as a non-profit with the hope of illuminating the previously unheard "diverse voices of the U.S./Mexico Border region," according to their website. Since then, their mission's scope has widened with the inclusion of brand-new commissioned plays as well as educational outreach programs and community activism.

With no permanent theater to call home, Borderlands Theater rotates among different venues for each performance. The show currently running, “26 Miles,” is being performed in the Cabaret Theater at the Temple of Music and Art in Tucson, Ariz.

“26 Miles,” written by Quiara Alegria Hudes and directed by Norma Medina, is the story of an estranged mother and her high-school-aged daughter who reconnect on a cross-country road trip after eight years apart.

Even with the lack of a permanent home, Borderlands manages not to only make the situation work but also prosper.

“It’s a beautiful mixed bag,” said Alida Wilson-Gunn, the educational outreach programs manager for Borderlands Theater.

“In so many ways, it would be helpful for Borderlands to have our own home, that we could say is ours and we could brand it, but there’s also a beautiful aspect of moving around the community, in that we choose a space, as much as possible to choose…and we still do a lot of community activism, so we still do readings in smaller venues sometimes, or we’ll partner with someone to do something in their space.”

That community activism is a vital part of Borderlands’ mission. As manager of their educational outreach programs, Wilson-Gunn spends a large amount of her time in the classroom working with students ranging in age from 5-year-olds to high school classes, along with the occasional college-level programs.

As part of the program, she goes into classrooms and holds workshops where the students share their own stories, and then Wilson-Gunn takes those stories and creates a play based on them.

“We would still fit the particular stories into the construct of that play, so then the whole play became about the kids writing about what they were writing about,” said Wilson-Gunn.

As another part of their community activism, Borderlands produces material that “not only is touching the community but empowering them, is giving them a voice,” said Wilson-Gunn.

Many of their shows touch on issues that Borderlands believe to be relevant to their community and audience, and are often controversial, such as an upcoming play that shares the personal stories and experiences of migrants crossing the border.

“We look at what’s happening, we look at political rhetoric, what are hot-button issues, and that influences what we produce,” said Wilson-Gunn.

As a result of this, the current controversial political climate creates an even greater opportunity for Borderlands’ particular style of theater.

 “We don’t strive to tell the public what is right or what is wrong, we strive to make the public ask questions and talk to each other,” she said.

She explains that the theater company exists for this reason, to stimulate discussion and shake up people’s understanding of the world around them, and that is why people come to their shows.

 “Basically the audience that we get is generally people who…know that they’re not going to leave the theater feeling comfortable all the time in their own skin,” said Wilson-Gunn.

Three ladies who were attending their first Borderlands Theater event saw the performance as an opportunity to try something new.

“We like to check out things that are happening downtown,” said Belinda Schipper, an audience member at a recent performance. She had heard about the show through an acquaintance and brought along two of her friends for an evening’s entertainment.

One of the key pieces to Borderlands Theater’s success is that by portraying sensitive social issues through the lens of fictional plays, audiences tend to be less biased and more responsive to the issues explored.

“When you present something as fiction, I think it allows everyone to sit back and enjoy it for what it is and they’re not quite as judgmental, so they’re listening to ideas and they’re listening to different perspectives but they haven’t already decided how they feel about it,” said Wilson-Gunn.

Alida Wilson-Gunn, Educational Outreach Programs Manager for Borderlands Theater, talks about the theater company's mission, programs, and what they hope to accomplish.

Written by Kelsey Jensen You are reading Promoting Understanding Through Theater articles