FARMINGTON, ME (March 7, 2018) — The University of Maine at Farmington proudly presents “American Dreams: Immigration Stories,” a new play that will premiere in a staged reading at 7 p.m., March 22 and 23, in the performance space of the UMF Emery Community Arts Center. The play is free and open to the public.
The play is written and directed by Linda Britt, an award-winning playwright and director and UMF Spanish professor.
American Dreams: Immigration Stories features monologues based on the experiences of immigrants from multiple countries, told in their own voices. The stories focus on different aspects of immigration, from the motives of those who undertook the journey, to the difficulties in the crossing, to their experiences in the United States.
One true-to-life account features an immigrant who was a refugee from war-torn Syria. Another narrative tells the story of a Cuban immigrant who came by boat in the 1980s. Yet another character, from France, won the diversity lottery. No two stories are the same; no two immigrants had the same experience.
Britt has recruited a cast of students, staff, and faculty to portray the diverse immigrants in the play. The cast includes Aurora Bartley, Sarah Carnahan, Mary Ellms, Sylvie Fenderson, Steffon Gales, Jacqueline Gleason-Boure, Dan Gunn, Nicole Kellett, Misty Krueger, Heather Leet, Tim Maciel, Gavin Pickering, Andrés Quevedo, André Siamundele, Paul Stancioff, Clarissa Thompson, Alexandra Veilleux, Steve Wenz, and Maddi Whittington. Hope Lash is the stage manager.
Britt’s plays have been performed in Maine with Out of the Box Theater Company, Community Little Theatre, Freeport Community Players, and the Stonington Opera House, as well as in California, Washington State, Massachusetts and New York.
Three of her full-length works, “Chosen,” “Mirrors and Memories,” and “Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington,” as well as two short musicals co-written with her son, Colin, have recently been published by Leicester Bay Theatricals. As a director, she helmed three Moss-Hart winning productions with Out of the Box, “Medea,” “Death of a Salesman,” and “Hamlet,” recognized by the New England Theatre Conference for outstanding community theater productions. She collaborated on these shows with Stan Spilecki, who designed the set and lights for each production, and who is providing the lights for American Dreams.
This event is sponsored by UMF International and Global Studies and the Office of International Education
For more information, contact Linda Britt at 207.778.7459.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Image can be found at:
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