New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

2016 Crossing Borders Festival Kicks Off Tonight In Red Bank


By Gary Wien

originally published: 08/03/2016


(RED BANK, NJ) — On Wednesday, August 3, the 2016 Crossing Borders Festival begins at Two River Theater in Red Bank.  The festival, which celebrates the work of Latino artists, runs from August 3 to August 7.  It begins with a neighborhood party on the Two River Plaza at 5:30pm.  The party offers attendees the opportunity to meet the artists involved in the festival along with food and live music.  Admission to the party and every event in the festival is free.

Following the party, a lecture entitled, “What Makes A Play Latino?” will be presented at 7:00pm by Brian Herrera, the Assistant Professor of Theater at Princeton University.  Herrera’s first book, Latin Numbers: Playing Latino in Twentieth-Century U.S. Popular Performance (University of Michigan Press) was recognized with the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism.

The lecture was developed by Herrera for the festival on the invitation by Stephanie Ybarra (the curator of this year’s festival and the Director of Special Artistic Projects at The Public Theater in New York City) and Stephanie Coen (Associate Artistic Director and Press at Two River Theater).  Herrera says he will be offering a brief overview of the tradition of Latino playwriting as it has evolved over the last 50 years or so.

“Latina/o writers are always writing plays that address the complexities of the Latina/o heritage and the diverse ways of being Latina/o in the United States,” explained Herrera. “I believe it is profoundly important — not only for young people and first time theatregoers, but also for longtime theatre patrons — to encounter the breadth and complexity of the Latino theatre tradition in its most contemporary iterations.  The Crossing Borders festival provides that opportunity, while also permitting the communities of Red Bank to encounter each other as well.”

Herrera goes on to say that there isn’t a single characteristic that makes a play Latino. It doesn’t mean a play has Latino characters or was written in a particular voice  Instead, he suggests that Latino plays use theatrical form and thematic content to convey the complex experience of being Latino.




Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info



“I’m not sure I believe there is such a thing as a ‘Latino play,’” said Ybarra.  “If I am Latino and I make a piece of art, it is inherently Latino.  I think that one of the recurring frustrations among Latino artists — and I’ll go as far as to say I’ve heard this from various artists of color or whatever culture of ethnicity that doesn’t belong to you — there is an expectation of ingredients to be there when they write a play or the play isn’t deemed ‘Latino enough’ because it doesn’t center on a Latino-enough story.  Forget about the fact that the playwright is Latino or the actors are Latino.  I feel like I’ve run into that over and over and over again through the course of my career.  So, trying to honor the traditions of Latino diaspora and all that history — both good and bad and what comes with that — while also honoring the fact that a Latino artist can write about whatever they want!  They can write about America and there doesn’t need to be a single Latino character in the play for me to consider it a piece of Latino theatre.”

Two River Theater is located at 21 Bridge Street in Red Bank, NJ.  For more information on the festival visit www.tworivertheater.org




Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at gary@newjerseystage.com.



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info


FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


The

The Wizard of Oz

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 2:00pm
Algonquin Arts Theatre
60 Abe Voorhees, Manasquan, NJ 08736
category: theatre


 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre


 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 2:00pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre


 

The

The MAC players at the Middletown Arts Center present "Hairspray"

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748
category: theatre


 

The

The MAC players at the Middletown Arts Center present "Hairspray"

Sunday, July 13, 2025 @ 2:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748
category: theatre


 



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info





 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Brookdale

Brookdale Summer Shakespeare presents William Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

(LINCROFT, NJ) -- Brookdale Performing Arts Center's Summer Shakespeare returns for its 23rd season with a free production of one of William Shakespeare's most gripping and haunting tragedies, Macbeth. This annual outdoor event continues to be a beloved tradition, offering free, high-quality theater to the community in the scenic setting of the college's Great Lawn. Performances run July 10-13 and July 17-20, 2025.



Monmouth

Monmouth University Center for the Arts presents National Theatre: Broadcast in HD - "A Streetcar Named Desire"

(WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- Monmouth University Center for the Arts presents the National Theatre: Broadcast in HD of A Streetcar Named Desire on Thursday, August 7, 2025 in the Pollak Theatre. From visionary director Benedict Andrews, this acclaimed production was filmed live during a sold-out run at the Young Vic Theatre in 2014. Showtime is 7:30pm.



The

The Artist Collective Troupe presents "The Trail to Oregon"

(POINT PLEASANT, NJ) -- The Artist Collective Troupe presents The Trail to Oregon from August 1-2, 2025 at the Woman's Club of Point Pleasant.  Based on the nostalgic video game, the musical follows a dysfunctional all-American family on the ultimate road trip down the Oregon Trail.



PHOTOS

PHOTOS from "42nd Street" at Surflight Theatre

(BEACH HAVEN, NJ) -- Surflight Theatre presents 42nd Street from July 8-27, 2025. Surflight's adaptation of the 1980 staged musical 42nd Street, based on the book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, directed and choreographed by Paula Hammons Sloan, takes us on the journey of Peggy Sawyer as she attempts to make her mark in the big apple. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.



This

This Weekend – Vanguard Theater & Essex County Launch the First-Ever Montclair Theater Festival: Once Upon a Stage!

(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- The inaugural Montclair Theater Festival: Once Upon a Stage makes its highly anticipated debut this Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Glenfield Park in the heart of Montclair's historic Fourth Ward. Brought to life by local creative powerhouse Vanguard Theater in partnership with the Essex County Board of Commissioners, this one-day celebration promises an unforgettable blend of live theater, interactive activities, family fun, and local flavor for people of all ages.