LA JOLLA–The San Diego Museum of Man will partner with La Jolla Playhouse in a production of Border Crossing in 2015
The site-specific theatre program will immerse people in the experience of crossing the border illegally from Mexico into the United States. It will offer a vivid first-person experience, cutting through polarized political debates.
Actors will break stereotypes as they play a range of characters, including coyotes, migrants, Border Patrol agents, landowners, prospective employers, and more.
Participants will be challenged to walk in others’ shoes as they are led on a journey through the canyons of Balboa Park at night, encountering some of the scenarios and decisions faced by countless border-crossers.
Under development for more than two years, Border Crossing is the first collaboration of the two organizations.
“The goal is to expand the conversation about undocumented immigration,” said Micah Parzen, CEO of the museum. “This partnership means participants will be exposed to the kind of expertise and talent that La Jolla Playhouse brings through its Without Walls program. Their experience and success at taking theatre off the stage and bringing it into the community makes this the perfect cutting-edge collaboration.”
“The Museum of Man always brings a depth and sophistication to any subject they tackle, and never more so than with the complex conversation around the subject of undocumented immigrants,” said Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. “Border Crossing encapsulates so many tenets of the Playhouse’s mission — from our commitment to advancing theatre as a vital social and political platform, to the exploration of new theatrical forms like the Without Walls series – and we are honored to partner with the museum on this powerful, participatory project.”
Actor and playwright Raúl Castillo will pen the Border Crossing script. Castillo grew up near the border in McAllen, Texas, and has authored or produced many plays, including Knives and Other Sharp Objects; Between You, Me and the Lampshade; City of Palms; and Two Tears in a Bucket. He currently stars in the HBO comedic-dramatic series Looking.
The new production is being advised by a broadly inclusive advisory council made of community leaders, academics, US Border Patrol officials and others.
The San Diego Museum of Man is a 100-year-old nonprofit museum that focuses on inspiring human connections within the context of what it means to be human. Border Crossing represents a major step forward in the Museum’s mission to create transformational visitor experiences and to create opportunities for meaningful dialogue about the human experience.
The nationally-acclaimed, Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse is known for its tradition of creating some of the most exciting and adventurous new work in regional theatre. Numerous Playhouse productions have moved to Broadway, including the currently running hit Jersey Boys, as well as Memphis, Big River, The Who’s Tommy, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Peter and the Starcatcher and Hands on a Hardbody. For more than five years the Playhouse’s acclaimed Without Walls site-based theatre program has broken the boundaries of a traditional four-walled theatre space.
Border Crossing will open June 2015.
