This play by Silvia Gonzalez S. depicts the familiar situation of the immigrant family living in two worlds.

Papa longs to return to Mexico and attempts to dominate his son, forbidding hip-hop and the English language. His son Henry is a fully-adapted university-bound Latino. Mama tries to quiet the waters disturbed by Papa’s attempts at dominance. Oliviero is a freelance philosopher outside of the family who consoles Henry. The Girl is a sweet character who can only be seen by Papa. Four unseen spirits intermingle with the characters.

2012 The play LOS MATADORES is a finalist. “I say that’s pretty good. Don’t mind being a bridesmaid.”

With this weekend’s production of The Migrant Farmworker’s Son, popular drama teacher Jane Martin is once again bringing something innovative to theater at Sonoma Valley High School. The play by Silvia González explores the multi-layered tensions in the family of a man and his wife who emigrated from Mexico to Arizona in the hopes of finding a better life. We see Henry, the teenage son, dealing with questions and issues inherent in the challenge of living in dual cultures – a challenge that is experienced daily by many students in the Sonoma Valley. How do their parents’ language, traditions and values relate to their own lives?

All the Latino actors in the cast are having their first–ever stage experience. They spoke about how working with the play has helped them better understand their own families and wrestle with these challenges.

Read more at Sonoma Valley Sun

El Vagon (BOXCAR) at Frida Kahlo Theater in Los Angeles. A book signing with Silvia and five other authors of BORDERS ON STAGE where El Vagon (BOXCAR)  is included.  Book signing on November 2 at 4pm with the play El Vagon at 6pm.

“The passion of the five immigrants transcends language; their longing for their destination is palpable in their physicality.” -Backstage

“…a moving snapshot from the front lines…elegantly designed and fiercely acted…” -Village Voice

‘Wonder Tierra’ mixes best of Lewis Carroll, Oz
12:53 PM CDT on Monday, September 17, 2007
By LAWSON TAITTE / Theater Critic

The Literature Network – Alicia and the Wiz: THEATER REVIEW: ‘Wonder Tierra’ combines the best of Lewis Carroll, Oz. (online-literature.com)

You could hardly ask for a better way to spend Mexican independence day than watching Alicia in Wonder Tierra.

Mike Stone / Special to DMN
Rosaura Cruz and Amanda Fae Elrod explore a fantastical dreamland in Alicia in Wonder Tierra. Cara Mia Theatre Company is performing this family show by Silvia Gonzalez S., appropriately enough, at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts (the home of Dallas Children’s Theater). It’s all about understanding – and loving – one’s cultural roots.

Alicia in Wonder Tierra, as the name suggests, is a loose adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s two Alice books – but it also owes at least as much to The Wizard of Oz. Alicia, an adolescent Mexican-American who doesn’t speak a word of Spanish, reluctantly visits a shop dedicated to Hispanic arts – all the while agitating for a later stop by the mall.

Vaguely browsing through a back room, she climbs up to examine a piece of pottery. She falls, breaking the pottery and conking herself out.

For nearly two hours, she follows various figures through a dreamland that introduces her to Mexican culture. Ms. Gonzalez’s play never really finds a strong enough structure to keep us feeling that it is moving forward, but is inventive moment to moment.

‘Wonder Tierra’ mixes best of Lewis Carroll, Oz
12:53 PM CDT on Monday, September 17, 2007
By LAWSON TAITTE / Theater Critic

You could hardly ask for a better way to spend Mexican independence day than watching Alicia in Wonder Tierra.

Mike Stone / Special to DMN
Rosaura Cruz and Amanda Fae Elrod explore a fantastical dreamland in Alicia in Wonder Tierra. Cara Mia Theatre Company is performing this family show by Silvia Gonzalez S., appropriately enough, at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts (the home of Dallas Children’s Theater). It’s all about understanding – and loving – one’s cultural roots.

Alicia in Wonder Tierra, as the name suggests, is a loose adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s two Alice books – but it also owes at least as much to The Wizard of Oz. Alicia, an adolescent Mexican-American who doesn’t speak a word of Spanish, reluctantly visits a shop dedicated to Hispanic arts – all the while agitating for a later stop by the mall.

Vaguely browsing through a back room, she climbs up to examine a piece of pottery. She falls, breaking the pottery and conking herself out.

EL VAGÓN (Boxcar) written by Silvia González. Directed by René Buch.

(965) Vagón (Boxcar) A scene from the play at Repertorio Español – YouTube

A Hispanic border patrol officer is forever changed as a witness recounts the story of how he and several men used coyotes to cross the border and what happened when they did.  Available in both English and Spanish. Winner of METLIFE VOCES and produced in NYC at the famous the Repetorio Espanol.

Tragedy 7 M Unit Full length

“Looking for a life in the United States, FIVE Mexicans and a teen from El Salvador wait for someone, even the border patrol, to open their sealed boxcar in the insufferable heat.”

Set in a Texas, Border patrol officer Roberto is just doing his job and deporting undocumented workers along with his partner Bill. Meanwhile, five Mexicans and an Salvadorian teen are riding in a sealed boxcar to ready employers. They feel they are going to get across safely until the engine develops mechanical problems. They are left in the desert and each hour the temperature rises. Manual pleads for all to remain calm and conserve their air until rescue. The others disagree and try everything they can to escape. When border officers reach them, it is too late for all but one man.

Set in Texas, BOXCAR/EL VAGON is based on a true story

Performance in the Borderlands offers spring events with EL VAGON by Silvia Gonzalez S.

The Performance in the Borderlands Project at ASU introduces another exciting and thought-provoking series of screenings, performances and discussions with artists, critics and scholars on topics related to cross-cultural performing arts. The events will be held through April 14 and are free, unless otherwise noted. “One of the most exciting aspects of this series is the focus on conversations with guest artists and performance practitioners who are collaborating with ASU students and faculty,” says Ramon Rivera-Servera, an assistant professor of theater and a Southwest Borderlands scholar. “The series offers the public a unique opportunity to learn about these artists, and to preview some of the most interesting work being produced in the Southwest.” The Performance in the Borderlands Project, part of the Herberger College’s School of Theatre and Film at ASU, is a research, education and public programming initiative dedicated to the understanding and promotion of cultural performance along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Boxcar” Receives Rave Review by Martha Humphries

The Jesuit Philothespic Society, in association with the Jesuit Multicultural Student Union, produced the award-winning play Boxcar by Silvia Gonzalez S., a play about risk, courage, and desperation based on an actual incident in Sierra Blanca, Texas, in July 1987. Tragedy struck this small west Texas town when 18 men died in a sweltering boxcar left on a rail siding. The men, who were journeying northwards into the United States in hopes of a better life, suffocated in temperatures that reached 130 degrees.

At Jesuit’s invitation, the award-winning playwright, who currently lives in Powell Butte, Oregon, attended the opening night performance. “This is the first high school to do the play. I wanted to see if it could work at this level because it is such heavy duty material,” says Gonzalez. “I just had a sense that this performance was going to be something special, and it was. It’s like a professional production. I can’t believe they are kids.”Father Gene Sessa, Jesuit teacher and director, says the play has two purposes – to tell the story of the immigrants and to provide a better understanding about the struggles they face. To prepare the students for the play, Fr. Sessa arranged for them to speak with someone who actually came into the country in a boxcar and took them to visit the local Holocaust Museum. While at the museum, they encountered a man who himself had been transported in a boxcar during World War II.