“Ground,” by Lisa Dillman, will offer what popular opinion tends to overlook—an opposing viewpoint on illegal immigration.
The Theatre Group at City College will be presenting the play at the Jurkowitz Theatre beginning Wednesday, April 23.
“On the surface the theme is about immigration, and being in California that’s an important issue for us as a state,” director, Michael Gros said. “There are a number of things that play into modern politics—ethical and moral dilemmas about keeping people out and separating families.”
The play begins with Zelda Preston, played by Jennifer Marco, when she inherits her father’s pecan farm and decides to move back to her home, which lies on the border of New Mexico and Mexico.
The play shows many of the viewpoints surrounding illegal immigration, without swaying the audience.
“My first take was: I love the story. It had something to say, the playwright did not take a strong position—she allowed the audience to make up their minds about how they felt about the issue so she wrote very evenhandedly in terms of the characters on the different sides of this issue,” Gros said.
“Ground” first premiered at the Humana Festival of New American Plays, in 2010, where only new works are featured.
Gros attends the festival in Kentucky every year, which is where he first heard about the play and became determined to bring it to City College.
“I thought, ‘well this is a hot political topic and theater should be about the world of today,’” Gros said.
Carl Zelaya, who is played by Adrian Marquez, 27, a chemical engineering student at City College and an Iraq war veteran was able to bring a special relationship to his character on stage.
“I’m so used to something different than drama or music, but I still had some kind of drive to it (the play),” Marquez said.
But being a veteran helps Marquez bring something special to the role.
“I can understand the characters mentality on having to follow certain types of orders and upholding certain things,” Marquez said. “All of my military experience pushed me to be the person I am today—and if it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t have found myself auditioning for a play.”
Gros was excited to expose Marquez to theater, since he hadn’t been in a play since about the third grade.
“Here’s a young man who has been in uniform so he is portraying a character who is in a military like organization,” Gros said. “He really represents, in many ways, the character he is playing.”
Gros won’t reveal too much about the play, because it has many twists and turns that he wants the audience to discover.
He has also created a special set for the play with shadows of trees and a special screen to project images. This allows the characters to interact in indoor and outdoor environments, despite being in such an intimate theater setting.
The show will also bring together many theater aficionados from all walks of life, including a Tony Award winning sound designer.
“Ground” will be playing at the Jurkowitz Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sundays, April 23 to May 10. Tickets for the show are $22 for general admission, $15 for students and $13 for seniors, available at www.theatregroupsbcc.com.
