Ignite/Arts Dallas Co-Presents Touring Play on DACA
Acclaimed one-man show “WET: A DACAmented Journey” to visit multiple cities
SMU Meadows School of the Arts’ Ignite/Arts Dallas, Cara Mía Theatre Co. and Arts Emerson (Boston) are co-presenting the national tour of WET: A DACAmented Journey, the acclaimed one-man show written and performed by California playwright Alex Alpharoah. The play, originally developed as part of the True Story program at Ensemble Studio Theatre/Los Angeles, is based on Alpharoah’s struggles as a recipient of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) to become a permanent U.S. resident. The play will be directed by Brisa Areli Muñoz of The Public Theater in New York.
The tour will launch in Dallas with performances September 21-30 at Theatre Too, the smaller performance space at Theatre Three, 2800 Routh St. in Dallas (75201). It will then travel to Teatro Vivo in Austin (Oct. 4-7); the Destinos Latino Theatre Festival in Chicago (Oct. 11-13); St. Joseph’s University in West Hartford, Conn. (Oct. 18-20); University of North Texas in Denton (Oct. 31-Nov. 3); and Arts Emerson in Boston (Nov. 8-25).
WET: A DACAmented Journey focuses on Annir, a DACA recipient who is currently seeking permanent U.S. residence. First, Annir must establish legal entry from his home country of Guatemala, which was never registered when he arrived as an infant. Feeling pressure from the results of the 2016 presidential election, Annir flies to Guatemala in the hopes of securing a new passport to reenter legally into the United States. He must overcome obstacles at every turn or run the risk of turning his dream into a nightmare and never returning to the country he has always called home. WET captures the precarious, red-tape-ravaged life that’s aptly nicknamed the “DREAMer” experience of those trying to realize their own American dream.
This is the second touring production undertaken by Cara Mia Theatre and co-presented by Ignite/Arts Dallas. Last year, they teamed up to present the acclaimed play Deferred Action at five venues in Texas and California.
WET: A DACAmented Journey will be presented at Theatre Too from Friday, September 21 through Sunday, September 30. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday – Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Regular tickets are $13-18. SMU students, faculty and staff may purchase tickets for $10 with code smumeadows. The show includes strong language. For tickets and more information, contact Cara Mía Theatre at 214-516-0706 or caramiatheatre.org.
About Ignite/Arts Dallas
Ignite/Arts Dallas launched at SMU Meadows School of the Arts in 2015 to integrate artistic practice and community engagement in ways that involve Meadows students, the wider SMU campus, the city of Dallas and the arts field at large. Ignite/Arts partners with artists and organizations throughout Dallas and across the country to support and develop meaningful cultural programs that benefit the local community, connect Dallas’s cultural energy to other creative communities, and introduce students to the arts’ critical role in social engagement. Its mission is to challenge the imaginations of students and citizens to create more just and vibrant communities through art. For more information, visit here.
About Cara MíaTheatre Co.
Cara Mía Theatre Co. (CMTC) presents live accessible theatre by producing critically acclaimed published plays and creating new and experimental works while developing innovative and educational youth arts programming reflective of the Latino experience in the U.S. Founded in 1996, CMTC boasts a 15-member resident artistic ensemble that offers both new works and classic plays by the most acclaimed Latino playwrights in the nation. For more information, visit caramiatheatre.org.
About Arts Emerson
Founded in 2010, ArtsEmerson is the professional presenting and producing organization of the Office of the Arts at Emerson College in Boston, and is Boston’s leading presenter of contemporary world theatre. Arts Emerson is dedicated to engaging all communities through stories that reveal and deepen our connection to each other. By cultivating diversity in the arts and in the audience, it ignites public conversation around our most vexing societal challenges as a catalyst for overcoming them. For more information, visit here.