- 2023-10-08
American Dreams | WEST COAST DIGITAL DEBUT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2020
MARIN THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES THE WEST COAST DIGITAL DEBUT OF
AMERICAN DREAMS BY LEILA BUCK | IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WORKING THEATRE (NYC)
MILL VALLEY, CA—Marin Theatre Company is thrilled to announce its partnership with Working Theatre (NYC) and five other theatre companies this Fall in presenting the West Coast Digital Debut of Leila Buck’s exciting interactive theatrical experience, American Dreams.
Adapted exclusively for the digital landscape, American Dreams is a participatory performance that imagines a world where the only way to gain U.S. citizenship is by competing in a nationally-televised game show run by the government. Through our most valued (and complicated) of democratic processes, audience members choose by majority rule their favorite of three contestants in each of several rounds, culminating in a final vote for their newest fellow citizen.
Sentiments from Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis
Marin Theatre is honored to partner with Working Theatre and so many other amazing companies to produce Laila, Tamilla and the entire creative team’s incredible vision of where our country’s immigration policy is heading. With deep insight, wit and ingenuity, the creators will lead our audiences through a participatory game show set in a troubling not so distant future. Throughout our digital run we’ll be offering audiences a chance to come together to talk about the experience and we will also be highlighting organizations that are fighting for immigration rights in our region.
— Jasson Minadakis | Artistic Director
National Press
“This thought-provoking, interactive satire...has been effectively transferred to Zoom…[using] razzmatazz and carefully managed suspense.” — Elisabeth Vincentelli | New York Times
“The contestants add humor, liveliness and intensity, and [the show’s] varied format is bracing, as is the interactivity.” — Celia Wren | Washington Post
About the Play
A funnel for both unarticulated and spoken fears and divisions most current in the U.S., American Dreams meets audiences where they are in debate(s) on borders, immigration, security, and citizenship, and creates a space for connection and dialogue in and between communities about what it means to be(come) a citizen of this country.
The show transforms abstract political debates into personal, tangible questions: What shifts when we aren’t talking about distant borders but potential neighbors? What kinds and levels of bias do we bring to the conversation? Who would you take a chance on? How far would you go to advocate for your choice? Do you trust the system? If not, why and how do you continue to participate in it?
At a time when so many feel a deep divide between various definitions of who “we” are, American Dreams strives to offer something more essential than ever: the opportunity to connect our hearts and minds with people, places and ideas we might not encounter otherwise.
About the Playwright
Leila Buck is a Lebanese American playwright, actor, facilitator and educator. She has performed and developed her work at the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Culture Project, Brooklyn Museum, BRIC Arts, Cleveland Public Theatre, Mosaic Theater at Arena Stage, and the Wilma Theater (Barrymore Award), and in France, Spain, Finland, Denmark, Tunisia, Lebanon, and China. She is currently working on two commissions, for En Garde Arts and California Shakespeare Theatre. A State Dept Speaker Specialist and Cultural Envoy, she has lived, performed, and taught theatrical tools for literacy, conflict resolution, and intercultural engagement with NYTW and Lincoln Center and to youth, educators, aid workers, UN delegates, and others across the U.S., Europe, China, Australia, and 11 Arab countries. As artist-in-residence for Wesleyan University’s Doris Duke Foundation Building Bridges grant, she created interactive work about the (mis)representation of Muslims in the U.S., and received the Edgar Beckham Social Justice Award. Her work is featured in American Theatre; TCG’s Finding Home Essay Salon; Stages of Resistance (ed. Caridad Svich); Innovation in Five Acts; Etching Our Own Image: Voices from the Arab American Art Movement, and Four Arab-American Plays. She is a member of the Public Theater’s inaugural Emerging Writers Group, a Usual Suspect with New York Theatre Workshop, and teaches Participatory Performance and Civic Engagement and Writing Beyond Our Borders at NYU, from which she holds a Master’s in Theatre for Cross Cultural Education. Leilabuck.com
CALENDAR LISTING
Theatre | Performing Arts
WHAT
American Dreams
WHO
Written by Leila Buck
Directed by Tamilla Woodard
Created and developed by Leila Buck and Tamilla Woodard with Jens Rasmussen in collaboration with Osh Ghanimah, Imran Sheikh and the company.
FEATURING
Ali Andre Ali
Leila Buck
India Nicole Burton
Jens Rasmussen
Imran Sheikh
Andrew Aaron Valdez
WHEN
November 10 - 15, 2020
PERFORMANCES
OPENING NIGHT: Tuesday, November 10th
Evenings
Tuesday - Saturday, 7:00PM
Matinees
Thursday, November 12, 2:00 PM
Saturday, November 14, 2:00 PM
Sunday, November 15, 2:00 PM
WHERE
Streaming via ZOOM: Ticket holders will be directed to the AmericanDreamsPlay.com website to access their show on the night of their ticket. There they will be asked to input their ticket confirmation number. This sends them into the opening questionnaire which is how the show starts! Once audiences fill out the questionnaire, they’ll be sent into the performance “room”.
ABOUT
American Dreams invites YOU to participate in the newest game show sensation - where you, the audience, decide who wins the ultimate prize: citizenship to “the greatest nation on earth.” Redefining online theater, this is a participatory performance which changes every night.
GA Streaming Tickets: $30 | ON SALE OCTOBER 27
Season Membership Tickets: $25, as part of a Full or Partial Season Membership subscription purchase. PURCHASE HERE.
Press Photos can be found HERE.
BOX OFFICE CONTACT
marintheatre.org | (415) 388-5208 | boxoffice@marintheatre.org
ABOUT MTC
Marin Theatre Company is the Bay Area’s premier mid-sized theatre and the leading professional theatre in the North Bay. We produce a six-show season focused on new American plays. We are committed to the development and production of new plays, with a comprehensive New Play Program that includes productions of world premieres, two nationally recognized annual playwriting awards and readings and workshops by the nation’s best emerging and established playwrights. Our numerous education programs serve more than 4,500 students from over 40 Bay Area schools each year. MTC strives to create intimate, powerful and emotional experiences that engage audiences to discuss new ideas and adopt a broader point of view. We believe in taking risks and inspiring people to participate in live theatre, regardless of personal means. MTC celebrates the intellectual curiosity of our community, and we believe that theatre is an important tool to help build empathy. MTC was founded in 1966 and is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
PRESS CONTACT
Sara Waugh, Director of Marketing and Communications
(415) 388-5208 | saraw@marintheatre.org