Borderlands Theatre Presents BARRIO ANITA

Borderlands Theater presents the theatrical event Barrio Stories in Barrio Anita, conceived and directed by Marc David Pinate, with collaborating artists Adam Cooper Teran, Heather Gray, Sarah Gonzales, and Wesley Creigh. Special two-day performance April 20-21, 2018

After a year of research and community collaboration, artists present an extravaganza for the senses for two nights in Barrio Anita! Staged outdoors in historic Barrio Anita, this community based, immersive experience tells the story of Barrio Anita through large scale video projections, live music, shadow theatre, performed poetry, historical reenactment, heritage foods, and audio tours.

The event will take place outdoors in the area in and between Oury Park and Davis Bilingual School and garden. The event starts right before sunset at 6:45pm. It's a pay what you will donation based event. Free to residents of Barrio Anita.

The Barrio Stories Project was born out of an impulse to honor and celebrate Tucson's historic Mexican American Barrios. Barrio Stories in Barrio Anita is deeply embedded in the neighborhood and is driven by professional artists working along side current and former residents of Barrio Anita. The artists met weekly with residents to asses community needs to create an experience reflective of the neighborhood. Residents were interviewed on video. The video oral histories and community memories make up a large part of the event. Other attractions include a resource fair and various activities to engage Barrio Anita residents in fostering community and barrio preservation.

While the first iteration of Barrio Stories in 2016 focused on creative place keeping by re-inhabiting the Tucson Convention Center grounds with stories of Tucson's original Mexican-American barrio. The current Barrio Stories in Barrio Anita project is focused on building stronger connections amongst current Barrio Anita residents. After surveying neighborhood residents last November, it was clear they felt disconnected from their neighbors. There were feelings on the part of long time (multiple generations) residents that newer inhabitants were not aware of the rich heritage and history of the neighborhood. Working with a small contingent of Anita residents looking to reestablish an official neighborhood association, project artists have designed the culminating event as a way of bringing residents out of their homes to viscerally experience the history of where they live, and generate enthusiasm and opportunities to get to know each other and organize themselves. Towards this end, the Barrio Stories Project in Barrio Anita was accepted as part of the first cohort of the Arizona Commission on the Arts' Creative Communities Institute (CCI). The CCI is a groundbreaking initiative focused on embedding artists in communities in order to achieve community development goals.

Oral History Projections - interviews with long time residents and archival photo collages projected on large-scale screens and buildings throughout the neighborhood. Culminates with a movement performance by Pima Community College students choreographed by Milta Ortiz.

Performed Poetry - Spoken Futures youth poets roam throughout the area performing original poems inspired by Barrio Anita history and heritage.

Mariachi Stage - An homage to the awe inspiring after-school Mariachi programs throughout Tucson that began at Davis Bilingual Elementary in 1983 with Dr. Alfredo Valenzuela.

Shadow Theater - University of Arizona Mexican American Studies students in Dr. Michelle Tellez' class, bring to life stories of Barrio Anita through the magic of shadow theater.

1950's Style Backyard Barrio Fiesta - Barrio Anita resident Bobby Benton and musicians play music of the Barrio in the Davis Garden. Heritage food sampling.

Audio Walking Tour - Using your smart phone and headphones hear a GPS guided tour of Barrio Anita heroes as you stroll through the neighborhood.

Architectural Tour - A walking tour of Barrio Anita that will highlight the historical and architectural significance of structures found in Barrio Anita. Led by architect Sharayah Jiménez of Poster Frost Mirto Architects. (Saturday, April 21 at 5:30pm only).

Davis Bilingual student Ballet Folklorico and Poetry Performances

Family Interactive Activities:

• Audio recording stations to share audience member's own stories and reflections.

• Barrio Haiku writing station.

• Giant map for families to mark where they lived.

Resource Fair

MORE ON THE DIRECTOR:

Marc David Pinate is the producing director of Borderlands Theater and a theatre artist, musician and educator. This theatrical event ends his third season leading Borderlands. the company has received national recognition for the site-specific production, Barrio Stories, the recreation of the neighborhoods that used to occupy Tucson Convention Center. His acting career includes work with Teatro Visión, Shadowlight Productions, Su Teatro, Campo Santo and the Magic Theatre where he played the role of Tiresias in the world premiere of Luis Alfaro's award winning play, Oedipus El Rey. As a director he has worked with El Teatro Campesino and Stanford University in California; Steppenwolf and American Theatre Company in Chicago; and Arizona Theatre Company to name a few. He teaches theatre at Pima Community College. He's taught acting at San Jose State University's department of Television, Radio, Film and Theatre. In June 2013, he completed an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago.

MORE ON THE COLLABORATING ARTISTS:

Adam Cooper-TERÁN (ACT) is a native son of Tucson, Arizona, born from a mixed heritage of Mexican, Yaqui, and Jewish cultures. He is perhaps most known for his performance-spectacles with the annual All Souls Procession, Flam Chen Pyrotechnic Theater, the bi-national multimedia collective, Verbo•bala Spoken Video, and the infamous Steven Johnson Leyba, among other theater companies, rabble-rousers, and musicians. His work as a DIY performer, producer, and designer has led to residencies at Project Row Houses in Houston, Latino/Chicanx arts organization MACLA in San Jose, Teatro Tespys in El Carmen de Viboral, Colombia, Universidad Cd. Juárez, and the University of Rostock, Germany. Adam has garnered praise and support from academic and cultural institutions such as the MAP Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, National Performers Network, Network for Ensemble Theaters, Arizona State University, Belle Foundation for the Arts, National Hispanic Cultural Center, and the International Sonoran Desert Alliance. Adam's primary interests involve the creation of transformative experiences for audiences, while undermining mainstream media however possible.

HEATHER GRAY is a multifaceted artist and designer working in film, television, and stage. She is also a community organizer in her neighborhood. Her work has animated many public and digital spaces, bringing a critical lens to everyday surroundings and the social relations they produce. She contributed videography and projection design in this iteration of barrio stories.

J. SARAH GONZALES serves as Co-Director of Spoken Futures, Inc developing programs to create space for youth to address issues such as the school to prison pipeline, LGBTQ rights and migrant justice through spoken word poetry. She is also the founder of a national social justice consulting company, TruthSarita, LLC, which supports building collective power to dismantle inequity. Sarah is a published poet, community organizer and currently works with the Cultural Centers at the University of Arizona.

WESLEY FAWCETT CREIGH lives and works in Tucson, Arizona. In 2008 she completed her Bachelor's Degree at Prescott College in the self-designed major of Public Art with an Emphasis on Social Impact. Since this time she has produced artworks as an individual, as a member of artist collectives, and as a scenic designer for performance collaborations. Her work has been shown throughout the Southwest and Mexico including MOCA Tucson and el Museo de Arte de Nogales. She has been awarded grants and residencies from organizations such as the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, The Puffin Foundation, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Springboard for the Arts, and the Santa Fe Art Institute. She is proud to have contributed to this creative endeavor.

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