The passion to build walls that divide us is very real and current in America. … ‘Nuevo California’ is especially timely in its plea for tolerance and change. — Richard Ruiz<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Connecticut Repertory Theatre production of \u201cNuevo California,” which runs from Oct. 27 to Nov. 6, is a case in point at a time when immigration issues are at the forefront of the 2016 Presidential election.<\/p>\n \u201cNuevo California,\u201d which was first presented in 2003, is set in 2028, after an earthquake has wiped out Los Angeles and Orange Counties. A Mexican-American pope comes to the region to bless the demolition of the border wall that was built between Mexico and the United States, inspiring murder, mystery, and a budding bicultural romance. Reviews of the original production describe it as a \u201cbinational play.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile this play is a work of fiction, the passion to build walls that divide us is very real and current in America,\u201d says veteran actor Richard Ruiz \u201994 MFA, who directs the CRT production. \u201cDespite the obvious parallels to our current political climate, \u2018Nuevo California\u2019 is especially timely in its plea for tolerance and change.\u201d<\/p>\n Soon after rehearsals for \u201cNuevo California\u201d began in early October, CRT brought together an audience of students, faculty, staff, and members of the community to see a preview of scenes from the play that served as a starting point for a discussion on immigration, borders, and public discourse. The group of approximately 30 guests included a prospective student and her parent.<\/p>\n The conversation, moderated by Anne Gebelein, associate director of El Instituto and a specialist on border and immigration issues, moved from relationships between individuals, to inter-group dynamics on campus, to the meaning of physical and political borders and how the arts can help to explore issues in society.<\/p>\n Students also discussed sense of belonging on campus, and distinguished between group identity and group exclusion. One student talked about how when attending an on-campus party, \u201cyou gravitate to people you think are like you.\u201d A student who is considering transferring to UConn said she grew up Afro-Latina in a largely white town and after enrolling in a community college in Connecticut, found solidarity she had never known in finally being surrounded by students who looked like her.<\/p>\n Participants considered how the political climate inflames sensitivities and emphasizes difference. \u201cI think we need to not take ourselves so seriously,\u201d one woman said about how some people react to comments made by public figures in news coverage. \u201cNot everything is a personal attack on you.\u201d<\/p>\n Gebelein said the event was “a wonderful opportunity for actors and audience to explore complex themes of a play before its performance. It allowed us all to prepare ourselves differently for the play, in considering the arguments the script offers and how we understood those arguments and related them to our lives. Border tensions exist everywhere, and the arts help us navigate those tensions.\u201d<\/p>\n Two students in the cast of \u201cNuevo California\u201d said hearing the reaction of the invited guests to the scenes they performed helped them to better understand the potential influence the production can have on how the audience sees the issues.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you watch the protest scene, [the characters are] both saying horrible things have happened to them and their families,\u201d said Shavana Clarke \u201917 (SFA), who is in the role of Rebecca, a news reporter. \u201cThey refuse to acknowledge the fact that bad things happen no matter who you are and where you come from, and it\u2019s not just because I\u2019m this and you\u2019re that. If there was empathy \u2013 human to human \u2013 I think a lot would be solved.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Sam Kebede, an MFA student who portrays Albert, aide to the pope: \u201cWe had a moment of regrouping before [resuming] rehearsals and we touched base on what had happened and how it reminded us all of the importance of this piece \u2013 what we\u2019re doing, why we\u2019re doing it and, most important, who we\u2019re doing it for. I honestly feel we happen to be blessed to be working in a craft that forces us to be empathetic. I do feel it is our duty to spread that, because when you look at other art forms, nothing encourages or demands empathy as much as theater. As performers it is our civic duty to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Shavana](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/NCPress14-002.jpg\")
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