Author: INTRODUCTION BY LUIS V ALDEZ, EDITED BY ISAIAH STA VCHANSKY , Feat: Hansol Jung, Martyna Majok, Mona Mansour, Charlie Oh, Mfoniso Udofia, Jesús I. Valles
Year: 2025
Geography: Americas > Northern America > United States of America
Synopsis: Seven award-winning plays by rising stars of contemporary theatre herald a profound shift in what it means to be an American, an immigrant, and an artist on today’s stage. Wolf Play: In a world where people struggle to have children, one American couple decides to ‘un-adopt’ their young Korean son because they have a newborn at home. After an internet chat room search for the right family, the father ‘re-homes’ the boy with a lesbian couple, where one half is desperate for a child and the other half is fighting for her career. As the boy — who thinks he’s a wolf, but is really a puppet – adjusts to his new life, he forms bonds with the unlikeliest of culprits while the rest of the adults squabble about what is ‘best for the child.’ Wolf Play is a messy, funny, and moving theatrical experience that grapples with where family allegiance lies. Sanctuary City: Tells the story of two teenagers — known to us only as G and B — growing up in Newark, New Jersey in the early 2000s. Both were brought to the United States as children. Both have built their lives here, forming bonds and building dreams in a city they call home. And both live with the uncertainty and risk that come from being undocumented. For G and B, questions about prom, graduation and the lure of delicious chicken Parmesan are inseparable from questions about safety, housing and whether they can remain in the only home they have ever truly known. At it’s core, Sanctuary City tells a story about two friends fighting to hold on to each other, the lives they’ve built and the futures they hope to create. The Hour of Feeling: It’s 1967 and the map of the Middle East is about to change drastically. Fueled by a love of English Romantic poetry, Adham journeys from Palestine to London with his new wife, Abir, to deliver a career-defining lecture. As the young couple’s marriage is tested, Adham struggles to reconcile his ambitions with the pull of family and home. But what if seizing the moment means letting go of everything he knows? Coleman ’72: Jenn, Michelle and Joey look back at the summer of 1972, when their Korean American family piled into the Buick for an All-American road trip—spontaneously orchestrated by their father. From Milwaukee to Los Angeles and back again, they hit the open plains, stocked with kimchi, banchan and lemon drops, rickety Coleman camper in tow. But Korean parents and American kids hold conflicting ideas of what they’re looking for and the real purpose of their journey comes to light. Sojourners: Introduces audiences to the central character of The Ufot Cycle, recent immigrant and newlywed, Abasiama Ekpeyoung. As part of the first major influx of Nigerian immigrants, Abasiama, along with most of the Nigerian sojourners of the 1970s, hoped to fulfill the Nigerian Dream – immigrate, educate, marry, have babies, and return home. All of this was in hopes of rebuilding Nigeria after the devastation of the first modern African War [the Biafran War.] However, her plans are not turning out as expected. Love, marriage, duty, and her husband, Ukpong Ekpeyong’s, newfound love of America are taxing her allegiances. In the end, we are left asking: “Will Abasiama be able to manifest the Nigerian Dream now that she has encountered America?” a river, it’ s mouths: Struggling with severe depression, You return to your hometown in Texas, right by the river that raised You, right on the border with Mexico. It’s the summer of 2019 and the Rio Bravo keeps claiming migrants’ lives during their perilous crossings. However, the people in your hometown are much more interested in talking about “The Rio Grande mermaid,” a creature rumored to haunt the river, clawing its way out of the sand, out of the water, into the air, into your head, haunting the mouths of family, friends, and strangers. Something in the water calls to You. “Come,” the river says, “Come to me.”
Publication: https://restlessbooks.org/bookstore/what-this-place-makes-me
