Crossings

By Brenda Grande

Crossings is a performance based on real interviews from immigrants. The stories are about the experiences that each immigrant faced when he or she came to the United States. Every actor plays their part extremely well and makes their stories come to life. Some actors even play multiple parts.

The play begins with so much energy. The nine actors are spread out on the stage and sitting down with the audience when the lights go off. All of a sudden you hear screaming, laughing, singing and music all at the same time. The lights come up to reveal a game show where the winner gets a green card. This part of the play is hysterical and fun to watch.

After the game show, we hear the stories of the characters. You start to feel the pain, happiness, fear and ambition of the characters as they struggle to come to the United States. Each person had a different reason for coming here. Almost all of the characters did not speak English when they first came to the United States and had to face a lot of difficulties.

One of the actors who stood out to me was Mi Sun Choi. She cried, screamed and was not afraid to look weird. Her character, a Korean woman, gave up everything so that she could come to the United States.

These stories are true and are important to be heard because this country is made up of immigrants. As someone with immigrant parents, I think it is important for everyone to understand why so many people try to come to the United States.

I was very impressed with Crossings and I recommend this show to everyone. This is a must-see show!

http://www.stagesonthesound.com/

In Conflict

By Brenda Grande

Have you ever…fought for something that you didn’t believe in?

In Conflict is a play about 15 young American soldiers who served in the Iraq War. The actors tell their stories directly to the audience through monologues adapted from interviews of young Iraq veterans.

All of the actors from In Conflict are either college students or recent college graduates, which made them seem so similar to me. One of the actors looked right at me as he spoke about his experience enlisting in the military, and it sounded so different coming from a peer. Some soldiers were excited to leave for Iraq, but others only joined the army so they could pay for college. When they returned from war, many soldiers had a difficult time readjusting to the American lifestyle, in addition to dealing with injuries and nightmares. Family and friends had a difficult time understanding what happened in Iraq and many soldiers did not have the words to describe their experiences.

I spoke with the author, Yvonne Latty, about her process of creating In Conflict. Ms. Latty interviewed veterans and wrote a book, which was then adapted into a play at Temple University with the young people I saw perform.

Culture Project presents Temple University’s production of In Conflict, based on Yvonne Latty’s book, adapted by Doug Wager.

$15 student tickets with ID• Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow St. Visit www.cultureproject.org for schedule and more information.