Dear Borderlands Supporters,

AN URGENT APPEAL

Today Borderlands Theater is on a Precarious Border of its own. We search for an answer: Do we CLOSE or STAY OPEN? Unfortunately we have less than two months to raise $25,000, or close our doors. We have 25 years of telling stories from the vast complexity of our “Place,” here on the border. Please make a choice and DONATE NOW and allow us to share more stories in the years to come!

TIME LINES: Due to the generosity of our friends in the last month, we have already raised $5,000 toward our goal. We still need to raise $8,000 by June 30th to meet our immediate obligations. We need to raise an additional $12,000 by July 20 to guarantee another season.

HOW TO GIVE: We welcome any amount but would like to remind you if everyone can reach deep into their pockets with an amount of $10, $20, or even $30, we will reach our goal in no time and will end this campaign successfully with our artistic backbone restored. You may use the DONATE NOW button below, send us a check in the mail (Borderlands Theater, P.O. Box 2791, Tucson, AZ, 85702), or call our office (520-882-8607) to make other arrangements.

WHY GIVE?: While ticket sales were up this season and we had a successful Annual Pachanga Fundraiser, individual giving in larger amounts and funding from grants and foundations continues to decline and your ticket purchases cover only about 40% of production costs.

But most of all: We champion the development and production of NEW plays with NEW playwrights and as a founding member of the National New Play Network we have demonstrated this with collaborations with other theaters across the country and in Mexico; We are known nationally and internationally for supporting all voices of the region, including our core Latino/Chicano/Mexicano voices; We are known for partnering with numerous area organizations committed to civic action; and our Education Outreach Program has reached countless young people, especially in rural communities in Southern Arizona.

Go to www.borderlandtheater.org to donate if you can. I attended their poignant production of “No Roosters in the Desert” last Fall (click here)and enjoyed it a lot. Please help if you can.

WomanKraft’s multi-media theater production of “The Lost Illegal” is a “contemporary drama/comedy set in Tucson, exploring complex human relationships created by, and resulting from, Mexican-American Border policies.”

The plot below of “The Lost Illegal”, an original, new play by Linn Lane and directed by Gayle Swanbeck– “illustrates the difficulty we face in living with the laws we make.”

Lesbian elders Julia and Allie have already paid their personal and political dues; the couple are both proud of, and frightened by their granddaughter Tanya, who is walking a familiar path. During a stint in jail Tanya meets Joe (a homeless activist) and Inez (the lost illegal) who has her own reasons for being in the US.
The complicated relationship between these five brings them into contact with Roger, the Arizona ICE officer in his various authoritarian guises

Starring:
Lindy Bowser as Julia
Edin Sirak as Allie
Cuffs as Joe
Christina Pflueger as Tanya
Sophia Moreno as Inez
Vic Roych as Roger (Immigration & Customs Enforcement agent)

(Photo of Vic Roych as “Roger” and Christina Pflueger as granddaughter “Tanya”)

5 performances at:
Dunbar Dance and Art Academy
325 W. 2nd Street
Tucson, Arizona 85701

Production dates:
Saturday, November 20, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 21, 2:00 p.m.
Friday, November 26, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 27, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 28, 2:00 p.m.

Tickets available at:
WomanKraft Art Center, 388 S. Stone Avenue from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., Tuesday – Saturday, 520-629-9976, and at Antigone Books, 411 N. 4th Avenue during regular business hours, 520-792-3715.

Ticket prices:
$12.00 WomanKraft Members
$13.00 general public (advance)
$15.00 general public admission on day of show
$10.00 bulk price for 10 tickets in advance of show

Sounds like a very contemporary play especially as it deals with humans affected by the Mexican-US border and immigration issues. And my husband and I are personally acquainted with actor Vic, who also performs in Borderlands Theater‘s “A Tucson Pastorela” every year.

Photo above of Sophia Moreno, as “Inez”, the lost illegal (subject of the play’s title).

“The Democracy Forum” on October 30 at the Arizona Historical Society

“Your chance to help address the vitriol, threats and inaccuracies in today’s political climate with a model of decency, generosity and civil discourse”

Schedule below:

1:30 to 2 p.m. Patriotic Costume Contest (with prizes)

2:00 to 4 p.m. “The Democracy Forum”

at the Arizona Historical Society, 949 E. 2nd St. (west of Park Avenue)

Free admission, free refreshments, seating is limited so arrive early.

Moderated by Dr. Peter Likins, President Emeritus of the U of A

Special guests: Congressman Raul Grijalva (D) and Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R). They will each present their “position on immigration and the economy then the audience will ask questions, discuss the issues and vote on them”.

Performance by Borderlands Theater –excerpts from its recent show “Arizona: No Roosters in the Desert,” a play about four Mexican women who endure hardships as they trek across the border toward the “American dream” (read my previous blog about that play here).

Music by Ted Warmbrand (community activist/singer)

Discussion by Dr. Bruce Mason, Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University, will speak about “the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances and explore the history of protest movements in America since colonial days.”

Discussion by Dr. Rudy Byrd, Sons of the American Revolution, will explain “why Spanish soldiers voluntarily sent parts of their salary to the Revolutionary army and how, records show, teenagers and minorities endured extreme hardships to win America’s democracy.”

Video of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and other celebrities
including Morgan Freeman, Reese Witherspoon, and Whoopie Goldberg heralding the
Declaration of Independence and current American freedoms.

“Our forum’s purpose is to counter that trend, exemplifying how bipartisan discussions and disagreement can exist within a context of decency,” said Gloria Kirshner, president of the National Student/Parent Mock Election (NSPME).

Sponsored by the National Student/Parent Mock Election. For more info: call (520) 797-7590, email nspme@aol.com.

The NSPME is the nation’s oldest, largest and most successful voter-education project, dating from 1980. Since the first Mock Election in 1980, nearly 50 million young voters have cast their ballots and, in the process, discovered what it means to be an American citizen and the value of citizenship in our democracy.