The city of Los Angeles’ Latino Theater Company is partnering with Cara Mía Theatre in Dallas to stream Cara Mia’s world premiere production of Ursula, written, performed, and directed by Mexican-born theater artist Frida Espinosa Müller. Müller’s extraordinary performance as an unaccompanied minor arriving at the U.S.-Mexican border will stream on demand from May 20 through May 30. A moderated online panel will discuss the immigration crisis through the lens of Central America, Mexico, and the United States on Tues., May 25 at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET. Audiences can watch both Ursula and the online conversation for free at latinotheaterco.org/ursula.
Ursula tells the story of seven-year-old Nadia, who becomes separated from her mother after seeking asylum at the border. As Nadia waits for her asylum to be processed, she remembers the life she left behind in Honduras and wonders about the new one she’s facing. Original music by Armando Monsivais will transport audiences inside Nadia’s mind as she tries to make sense of everything happening around her. Staged imaginatively with puppets and handmade dolls, Ursula reveals the inner world, desires, and resilience of a child seeking a better life by immigrating to the United States.
“We are thrilled to partner with Cara Mía to present this beautiful, touching, and important new work,” says Latino Theater Company artistic director José Luis Valenzuela.
According to Cara Mía Theatre executive artistic director David Lozano, “Ursula sheds light on the reality that the rise of unaccompanied minors at the southern U.S. border is an ongoing international problem, and not a sudden occurrence. Partnering with an organization like the Latino Theater Company is precisely what a play like Ursula needs in order to bring attention to this decades-long crisis to as many people as possible.”
Ursula is performed mostly in Spanish with some English. Subtitles in both languages are provided.
The broadcast is funded by Mid-America Arts Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the state arts agencies of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. The filming was partially funded by the NEA.
Frida Espinosa-Müller is a Mexican-born artist who earned her B.F.A. in dramatic literature and theater from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and studied physical theater at the Diplomado Teatro del Cuerpo (DTdC) in Mexico City. In 2005, she joined Cara Mía Theatre’s resident ensemble, where she has served as an actress, designer, and teaching artist. She has written and directed several children’s plays centering on Mexican, Mexico-U.S., and Indigenous cultures, as well as on the experience of Latinos in the U.S., that have become part of Cara Mía’s repertory. She has also served as director, editor, and ensemble member on Cara Mía’s Broadway en Español Series at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. She teaches theater, puppetry, and visual arts as part of Cara Mía’s Educational Programs for Youth and also through the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture’s Community Artist Program (CAP).
Click here to view the promo trailer. There is no fee to watch the play.
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