PULLMAN, Wash. – Las Memorias 2011, an original production inspired by the life stories of 21 high school students from central Washington, isn’t about the past. It’s about the future.
Among the cast are children of agricultural workers, children whose parents have been disabled by their work, children who have lost a parent, children who have grown up close to the bone. In this 45-minute production they hint at some of their trials and tribulations, but mostly they want you to know that they have plans, not just dreams.
One plans to become a doctor, another plans to become a dentist, a third plans to graduate from high school, then from college, and make his parents proud.
One plans to become a doctor, another plans to become a dentist, a third plans to graduate from high school, then from college, and make his parents proud.
Las Memorias 2011 opens at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, in Jones Theater in Daggy Hall before moving on to performances in Moses Lake, Pasco and Wenatchee. The production is part of a WSU college readiness program called Performance as Education.
“It’ll make people realize that we do go through a lot of things, but we rise from it and it makes us who we are today,” said Betsy Hernandez, 16.
Participants make up a diverse group with diverse goals, but they share a certain maturity born of watching their parents struggle, said Balen Gomez, 17. Sitting with the rest of the cast during a break from rehearsals, Gomez explained, “We get it. We understand that. This world is big and we are ready for it. Even if we have to fall on our knees, we’ll get back up.”
Participants make up a diverse group with diverse goals, but they share a certain maturity born of watching their parents struggle, said Balen Gomez, 17. Sitting with the rest of the cast during a break from rehearsals, Gomez explained, “We get it. We understand that. This world is big and we are ready for it. Even if we have to fall on our knees, we’ll get back up.”
Last winter, with the support of teachers and administrators at Warden High School, Mabton High School and Pateros High School, students were invited to apply to the Performance as Education program in much the same way as students apply to college: they filled out an application and wrote essays about their life goals and challenges.
“I took their writings and, as a playwright, put them into a script,” said John Fraire, WSU vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. A published playwright, he is the founder of the New Latino Visions Theater Company and a Washington State Arts Commission member.
Together, he and director AnaMaria Correa collaborated on the final script.
“This is not a high school production of ‘Grease’ or ‘Mary Poppins,’ ” Fraire said. “We expect the students to act a head taller of where they are in their lives.”
And the result is a professionally produced, serious production that is also uplifting.
“The stories are about triumph,” said Correa, who traveled from New York to direct the production. Though most of these students are Latinos or Latinas, their struggles to find their place and achieve more than their parents are part of the immigrant experience.
“This is America’s story,” she said.
The public is invited to all of the free performances:
Aug. 12, Washington State University, Pullman, Jones Theatre in Daggy Hall, 7 p.m.
Aug. 19, Wallenstein Theatre, Big Bend Community College, Moses Lake, 7 p.m.
Aug. 26, Wallenstein Theatre, Big Bend Community College, Moses Lake, 11 a.m.
Aug. 26, Columbia Basin College, Pasco, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 2, Performance Arts Center of Wenatchee, Stanley Civic Center, 10 a.m.
Aug. 19, Wallenstein Theatre, Big Bend Community College, Moses Lake, 7 p.m.
Aug. 26, Wallenstein Theatre, Big Bend Community College, Moses Lake, 11 a.m.
Aug. 26, Columbia Basin College, Pasco, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 2, Performance Arts Center of Wenatchee, Stanley Civic Center, 10 a.m.
Fraire grew up in the Mexican-American neighborhoods of Gary, Ind. He has worked with the Castillo Theatre in New York City. Washington Governor Christine Gregoire recently appointed him to a second term on the state arts commission.
WSU is partnering with Columbia Basin College, Big Bend Community College and the Wenatchee Center for Performing Arts in making the inspirational stories told in Las Memorias 2011 accessible to underserved communities. Performance as Education is sponsored by Enterprise Rental Car, State Farm Insurance and WSU alumnus Bob Felton.