UN ENCUENTRO: Theater from the Borderlands

Two New Transnational Productions with Borderlands Theater and el Circulo Teatral (Mexico City)

Artistic collaboration on both sides of the boarder is something Borderlands has explored several times throughout the seasons, with shared work, artists, and the occasional touring production. What makes this process different this season is a deeper exploration of creating and producing the same productions from our different perspectives in the same season (look for more information on this creative exchange on our “What’s New” page). We are calling this exploration… Un Encuentro: Theater from the Borderlands

MARIA’S CIRCULAR DANCE

by Medardo Treviño, translated and directed by Eva Tessler

Colombian migrant Maria and her kidnapper Angelito whirl into a frenzied dance where dreams and reality, terror and courage dissolve.

TRASH

by Kara Hartzler, directed by Marc David Pinate

From the playwright of AZ: No Roosters in the Desert, comes companion play to Marias Circular Dance. A female US Detention Center prison guard holds the fate of a male detainee in her hands as they see each other mirrored in the face of the other.

Tickets & Reservations

 

February 13 – March 2, 2014
(performed together)

Zuzi’s Theater (738 N. 5th Ave)
Student Matinee: February 27th 10am

Medardo Treviño

playwright, “Maria’s Circular Dance”

has been characterized for giving voice to the inhabitants of Mexico by spreading the most intimate dreams of the men and women of this fringed border region. His theatre is authentic, truthful, magical and painful at the same time. To date he has published more than a dozen books, and has received several important awards such as: the National Award of Dramaturgy for the work Figuras de Lluvia; the National Award of Historic Theatre for the work Cantata a Carrera Torres; State Award for the best unpublished work on various occasions; State Award of journalism on eight occasions; and Specialized Critics Award for his work in The Belly Center. He has written 42 plays, and his works has been shown in several countries including: Croatia, Cuba, Spain, and Colombia.

Eva Zorilla Tessler

translator & director, “Maria’s Circular Dance”

please see Borderlands’ Staff

Kara Hartzler

playwright, “Trash”

kara-hartzler

received an MFA in Playwriting from the University of Iowa, where she was the recipient of the 1999 Richard Maibaum Playwriting Award and an Iowa Arts Fellow.  She is a full-time immigration lawyer and the Legal Director of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project.  Kara has participated in human rights delegations to Iraq and El Salvador and worked with migrant farm workers, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and indigenous communities in Chiapas, Mexico.  Her most recent play, No Roosters in the Desert, was commissioned and workshopped by Borderlands Theater in Tucson, Arizona and is based on interviews conducted with migrant women at a shelter along the Mexican border.   It received development support from the Lark Play Development Center and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Access to Excellence, the Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, and the National New Play Network (NNPN).  No Roosters was published in English by NoPassport and in Spanish by Libros de Godot.  It was an NNPN Rolling World Premier: workshopped and produced in Spanish in Mexico City at El Circulo Teatral in the fall of 2010; produced by Borderlands Theater in their 10-11 and 11-12 seasons, including a readings in Spanish; and subsequently produced at Prop Theater in Chicago, spring of 2011.  The play has toured to Phoenix, AZ and has had several productions at other theaters nationally.

Marc David Pinate

director, “Trash”

please see Borderlands’ Staff and Guest Artists.

Eric Aviles

actor, “Trash”

Eric-Aviles

is a performance artist, writer, educator, and activist. In New York he has performed at INTAR in Dance for a Dollar and Second Decade Project with Radical Evolution. In California: he wrote and performed In the Beginning accompanied by Grammy nominee John Santos; was in the world premiere of Oedipus: El Rey, at The Magic Theatre; and worked with El Teatro Campesino, Teatro Vision, Galeria de la Raza, and La Peña Cultural Center.  A native of Chicago, he has performed in several productions at Steppenwolfincluding the lead role in Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train; and at the Goodman Theater in, Zootsuit.  Eric continues to work in prison and schools using drama and playwriting to explore concepts of love and peace.

Carmen Garcia

actor, “Trash”

studied Performing Arts in Valencia, Spain at “El Laboratorio de Arte en Vivo.” While there, she performed in Recordis-Volver a pasar por el corazón.  In Madrid, she assisted with the play Kahlo-Viva la Vida naming her group “Kaly Teatro”. This resulted in subsequent productions of the play in Spain, the US and Mexico, including a presentation in 2013 in “El Festival del Altiplano en Tamaulipas.”  In Mexico, she performed with “Escenario Azul” in El gruñido del Cerdo; with “El Tequio,” La Tristeza de los Cítricos; and she toured during the “Festival Internacional Tamaulipas” with the play La Tristeza de los Cítricos with Medardo Treviño.  She currently resides back home in Matamoros.

Technical Crew

Franklin J. Calsbeek, Jr. (Technical Director and Light Design), please see Stage Tech 13-14
Kathy Hurst (Costume Design), please see Stage Tech 13-14
Jim Klingenfus (Sound Design), please see Stage Tech 13-14
Nicole M. Smith (Production Supervising Manager), please see Staff
Andres Volovsek (Scenic/Visual & Video Design & Construction), please see Stage Tech 13-14