(RED BANK, NJ) -- Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) is an annual celebration of new plays and music by Latinx theater artists presented at Two River Theater. This year, the festival is curated by José Zayas, and takes place in a series of recorded Zoom readings for FREE virtual viewing, available from September 13 through October 10.
Plays in this year's festival include: Ciertas Astillas/Certain Shards by Paz Pardo; Machine Learning by Francisco Mendoza; Syzygy or, The Ceasing Of The Sun by juliany f. taveras; and Option Boss Battle by Nick Malakhow.
While the Crossing Borders festival is free, Two River Theater hopes you consider making a gift of $10 to support programs like this which enhances their mission to develop and produce new work and cultivate new audiences.
Ciertas Astillas/Certain Shards by Paz Pardo; directed by José Zayas. A splintered playwright tries to find a way to tell her story; two wanderers walk away from their memories—or lack thereof; two private investigators search for a missing person in a warehouse of boxes slowly filling with chinchillas. Ciertas Astillas/Certain Shards is a fragmented fable of identity, memory and motherhood, grappling with the family history that was lost when my father emigrated to the US from Argentina and my grandmother’s memory was stolen by Alzheimer’s.
Cast and crew includes Olivia Jampol (Paz), Jacqueline Guillén (Una), Socorro Santiago (Otra), Karina Curet (Stage Directions), José Zayas (Director), Elis Cesar Arroyo Jaime (Stage Manager), Irene Sofia Lucio (Playwright)
Machine Learning by Francisco Mendoza; directed by José Zayas. When his estranged, alcoholic father is diagnosed with liver cancer, computer scientist Jorge dreams up a nursing app to manage the disease in his stead. As the machine’s capabilities grow, however, the possibility of leaving it in charge of the treatment becomes more real, forcing Jorge to reckon with his responsibilities as a son—and as a creator.
Cast and crew include Jake Ryan Lozano (Jorge), Reynaldo Piniella (Arnold), Aadya Bedi (Anita/Teacher/Doctor/Leena), Gerardo Rodriguez (Gabriel), Donovan Monzón-Sanders (Young Jorge), Matthew Cubillos (Stage Directions), Elis Cesar Arroyo Jaime (Stage Manager), José Zayas (Director)
Syzygy or, The Ceasing Of The Sun by juliany f. taveras; directed by Dominique Rider. On the cusp of the 22nd century, in a city (or whatever it is that’s left), a star-crossed, makeshift family of five is born. a meditation on how love & chaos behave when it feels like the world is falling apart, SYZYGY is both a microscope on a handful of humans & a telescope on the world they struggle to survive in & care for. climate & cosmos; past & present; bodies & burdens; life & legacy—what does it mean for us if, in fact, the world has always been ending? how do we love? how do we fight?
Two River Theater recognizes Francesca Fernandez McKenzie’s participation in the 10th Annual Crossing Borders (Virtual) Festival as a Still Standing Artist in Residence at Stonehenge NYC.
Cast and crew include Jackie Torres (Yajaira), Francesca Fernandez McKenzie (Xenia), Esco Jouléy (Andi), Imani Russell (Kai), Socorro Santiago (Maiara), Andrea Negrete (Stage Directions), Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez (Stage Manager), Dominique Rider (Director).
Option Boss Battle by Nick Malakhow; directed by Rebecca Martínez. Like teens all over the world, Alonso and Ruben are forced into remote learning in March of 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. Icy acquaintances at their bougie prep school, they forge an unlikely friendship when new-in-town, grieving Ruben realizes he lives just around the corner from agoraphobic Alonso in Hackensack, NJ. A story about processing grief, forging connection, coming to terms with identity, and caring for one’s mental health in tumultuous times.
Cast and crew include Reynaldo Piniella (Alonso), Jake Ryan Lozano (Ruben), Ana Grosse (Ruben's Mom), Zuleyma Guevara (Alonso's Mom), Jorge Cordova (Mr. Gruber), Peter Ruiz (Stage Directions/Mattie), Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez (Stage Manager), Rebecca Martínez (Director).
Crossing Border Festival Curator/Casting: José Zayas; Line Producer/Asst. Video Editing: Kat West; and Video Editor: Jaime Vallés with AJV Media.
Two River Theater produces a theatrical season that includes American and world classics, new plays and musicals, programs for young people, and festivals of new work. Each year, we also offer 40+ events that reflect our diverse community of Red Bank, New Jersey. Two River produces work on two stages—the 350-seat Rechnitz Theater, and the flexible 110-seat Marion Huber Theater. The theater’s recently opened Center for New Work, Education and Design is a three-story facility that includes two rehearsal studios, artist labs, classrooms, expanded shops and centrally located offices. Two River Theater has commissioned and premiered original projects including Be More Chill by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz (the theater’s first Broadway production) and Hurricane Diane by Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George (which won an Obie Award for its Off-Broadway run). In June 2019, Two River was nationally recognized by USA TODAY as one of “10 great places to see a play” across the U.S. Two River serves thousands of students and community members through arts and humanities programs at the theater, in schools and throughout its region. Two River Theater is led by Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst.
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