DREAM ACTS

A Dream Act Union Project | 2011-2013

Written collectively by Mia Chung, Jessica Litwak, Chiori Miyagawa, Saviana Stanescu and Andrea Thome

DREAM ACTS has been developed over the last year, supported by the generosity of Lark Play Development Center, New York Theatre Workshop, INTAR, Re/Union Company, NYU Gallatin, and New Generations Theatre Ensemble and a community of devoted artists.

PROJECT HISTORY

Imagine that you don’t have a country. It doesn’t matter if you believe you’re American, because no one else believes you—not potential employers, not banks that issue student loans, not the government. There is no way to become legally American. You don’t exist. Worse, you are hunted for deportation. You love this country, but the country does not love you back.

In DREAM ACTS, five undocumented teens—from Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey, and Ukraine—meet the extraordinary challenge of living ordinary lives under the radar. Each story is moving and urgent. Some are funny. Others are tragic. Through these characters, we learn about the DREAM Act and the secret lives led by undocumented youth.

PROJECT HISTORY

DREAM ACTS at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
SUNDAY, MARCH 10th, 2013
A staged reading and panel discussion presented by NYU Office of Global Services and the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts

Cast | Carlo Albán | Heidi Armbruster | Jackie Chung | Rachel Holmes | Ryan Shams
Stage Manager | Jennifer Birge
Line Producer | Amanda Feldman

The read was followed by a panel discussion featuring:
Alejandra Rincon, author, Undocumented Immigrants and Higher Education; Dan H. Berger, Esq., Curran & Berger LLP; the playwrights and performers; and undocumented students eligible for proposed DREAM Act benefits. The panel was moderated by playwright Saviana Stanescu and introduced by David B. Austell, Ph.D, Assistant Vice President and Director, Office of Global Services, and Associate Professor of International Education, the Steinhardt School.

DREAM ACTS at HERE’s Spring Artist Lodge
March 23-25, 2012

Photos: Alban Andreu

Re/Union Company and Immigrant Artists and Scholars in New York presented the panel: DREAM ACTS: The Role of Theatre in Social Change

The panel featured DREAM-eligible undocumented youth Yelky Ramos and Nataly Lopez and special guests: Thanu Yakupitiyage (DREAM Fellowship Coordinator, New York Immigration Coalition), Carlo Albán (theatre/film artist, author of the autobiographical solo show “Intringulis”, about his life as an undocumented immigrant), Marcy Arlin (artistic director of Obie-winner Immigrant Theater Project, CUNY professor), Meiyin Wang (associate producer of “Under the Radar” Festival and Symposium in New York). Moderated by playwright Saviana Stanescu.

February 10, Staged Reading at INTAR

January 16, 2012 – Workshop at NYU Gallatin

December 21, 2011 – Workshop at La Mama Experimental Theatre

October 21, 2011 – Workshop at Lark Play Development Center

June 26, 2011 Workshop at New York Theatre Workshop