Two River Theater Unveils Lineup for 13th Annual Crossing Borders Festival

Two River Theater’s Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) Festival of new plays by Latine playwrights is set to run Thursday, August 1 through Sunday, August 4 in Two River’s Joan and Robert M. Rechnitz Theater. In its 13th year, the festival is the theater’s annual joyful celebration of the power, diversity, creativity and talent of Latine theater artists. All festival events are free to the public.

The festival features four readings of plays by thrilling contemporary artists exploring family, love, loss, time, the tension in a NFL locker room and more. Capping off the festivities is a blast of summer fun with Flaco Navaja and the Razor Blades, back after their rousing 2019 Crossing Borders performance, blending infectious salsa with heartfelt spoken word. The festival kicks off with a community event on Thursday, August 1 from 5:00PM-7:00PM on Two River’s Plaza, with live music from local musicians, information tables helmed by Two River’s community partners, and delicious eats from neighborhood restaurants. 

"This year's festival is another sensational line up showcasing the wide range of stories celebrating the enormous talent and breadth of storytellers in the Latine community,” raves the festival’s award-winning curator, José Zayas. “Moving, stirring, raucous, passionate, magical and absolutely unexpected, these playwrights take great risks and take on the hilarities and complexities of our election process, themes of grief and loss, dementia and its effects on a family, sports and masculinity, and the breathtaking intricacies of a mother's first love filtered through the lens of her son.” 

Zayas continued, “It is always with a great sense of joy that I invite the Two River audience to share these stories with us and to participate in the development of these new works by some of our greatest up and coming contemporary writers.”

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Thursday, August 1 at 5PM:

Community Kick-Off Celebration

Live music on the plaza with food, fun, and feasting!

Thursday, August 1 at 7PM:

that drive thru monterey by Matthew Paul Olmos

Is Monterey living her life in 1971, pursuing a nursing degree and discovering a tender first romance? Or is it all something that she’s remembering? Inspired by the playwright's mother, that drive through monterey is a touching and fresh memory play that blurs the line between what will be and what was.

Friday, August 2 at 7PM:

Saturday Mourning Cartoons by Iraisa Ann Reilly

Surrounded by sofas and lingering grief, nurse Jessica struggles to help her mother Marta care for her ailing grandmother in early 2020. Over the course of a year’s worth of holidays, this family finds their way back together through Batman cartoons, Snapple facts, loads of furniture priced to move, and a lot of love.  

Saturday, August 3 at 2PM:

The Ice Bath by Juan José Alfonso

The locker room is a tough place for an NFL kicker—the guy on the team who scores the most points and gets the least respect. It’s even tougher when the only guy who gets what you’re going through is the person doggedly competing for the one spot on the team. Who’s going to come out on top: Buck, the homegrown hero who was born to play this sport? Or Tomás, a former fútbol player looking for his shot at redemption? 

Saturday, August 3 at 8pm:

Flaco Navaja and The Razor Blades

A rousing salsa-fusion concert in the Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater! Flaco Navaja is a Bronx-born poet, actor, singer. Renowned for his captivating spoken word/Salsa music performances, he blends his Puerto Rican heritage with urban influences. Currently based in Chicago, Navaja's poetry is powerful and emotive, reflecting personal experiences and cultural pride. He has appeared in films, television shows, and stage productions, showcasing his versatility as an actor. His work in music includes singing with a soulful style that complements his poetry. Navaja's dynamic presence and multi-faceted talent have made him a significant figure in the arts, resonating with diverse audiences, leading to multiple collaborations with Lin Manuel Miranda.

Sunday, August 4 at 2pm:

The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote by Bernardo Cubría

Breaking assumptions as she breaks the fourth wall, academic Paola takes a political consulting job for THE political party (the one you’re thinking of, not the bad one, the good one, yeah that one…) to try and win over the Latino vote before the Big Election. The money’s great— as she has fertility treatments to finance, but— maybe all this chaos just isn’t worth the paycheck. 

FREE TICKETS/ACCESS

To register for all festival events, visit: https://tworivertheater.org/whats-on/crossing-borders-cruzando-fronteras/

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