Two plays to see in Portland this month: DNA and La Ruta

We have seen two powerful plays in the past few weeks, "DNA" at the Oregon Children's Theatre and "La Ruta" at the Artist's Repertory Theatre. One is about spoiled teenagers ala "Lord of the Flies" and the other is about Mexican women and girls going missing at the border.

DNA

Shameless confession: Kieran, my oldest son, is in DNA, a psychological thriller by British playwright Dennis Kelly. It's produced by the Oregon Children's Theatre's Young Professionals (YP). Broadway World describes it: 

One of many tense conversations
 in "DNA" at Oregon Children's Theatre
Photo by Briana Cerezo

"When a local teen is presumed dead, a group of their peers begins a dangerous spiral down into guilt and panic. What unfolds is a complex unraveling of reason and the chaos of group mentality."

Kieran and Sylvia Grosvold (who plays the talkative Lea) were interviewed for the radio along with YP director Dani Baldwin and Michael Hammerstrom (marketing & communications director). The interviewer seemed to know Oregon Children's Theatre as the company that produces children's shows like "The Hungry Caterpillar." This is not your stereotypical children's theater!

A modern-day mini Lord of the Flies, the YP cast does an excellent job tackling the British accents and difficult content during dialogue-rich, spell-binding scenes. It's the second play Kieran's been in this year when he's played a sociopath. Hope this is not a trend. How about a nice leading-man role next time? (Seriously, though, he and my oldest son Chris are both drawn to these darker plays, so maybe no leading man role anytime soon!) Kieran is in only the first half of the play, and then he mostly disappears.

Kieran as the menacing John Tate
Photo by Briana Cerezo

Don't you dare cross him!
Photo by Briana Cerezo

"DNA" is a study of what can happen with groupthink and peer pressure. Who will stand up against the group to do the right thing? Who will speak up for the underdog? Who will keep them all from descending into guilt and in some cases, madness? The YP troupe of 60 teens chooses their shows and then produces and performs them with college-level training. This is the second YP show we've seen in the past year that addresses the role of the bystander. "Good Kids," which Kieran house-managed earlier in April, handled the weighty topics of date rape and "slut shaming" and shared the bystander theme.

In addition to performing and producing, the YPs do all their own work behind the scenes as well. As Broadway World notes, "The success of these positions is immediately apparent: several members of the creative team for DNA were themselves former members of the YP company." Kieran has loved being a YP--he's getting hands-on experience and building theater connections and friendships that will last a lifetime, while performing and producing extremely challenging work.

DNA is headed into its closing weekend, and tickets are going fast! They'll be performing on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (with a talk-back afterwards). You can purchase tickets here.

La Ruta

And because our Kieran is drawn to the dark and serious plays, we got to see one of the first nights of "La Ruta" at Artists Repertory Theater (temporarily housed at the Portland Opera). I will not forget this play for a very long time.

As I'm sitting in my sister's house writing this blog post, I hear Spanish being spoken in the background by her home improvement contractors. I am reminded of the silenced voices in our mainstream U.S. society and the unspoken stories that go along with them.

On the border near El Paso, Texas, tens of thousands of young women go to work in Juarez to earn $55/week in 330 maquiladoras operated by multinational companies like General Electric, Alcoa, Foxconn, Boeing, Johnson Controls, Siemens, and DuPont. Juárez is nicknamed “the capital of murdered women," and it's marked with memorials and monuments, crosses, and messages left in memory of over 1,500 femicide victims.

Here's the description of the play from the Artists Repertory:

"Since 1993, the women of Juárez, Mexico have been disappearing and no one has solved the mystery. The bus route that takes these women to and from their U.S.-owned factory jobs is often the last place they are seen. Based on real life testimonies, each woman represented in La Ruta bears witness to the secrets buried under the hot desert sun. Bouncing back and forth in time and featuring live music, the intensely harrowing La Ruta gives a passionate voice to the women who have disappeared."

The Trump administration's brutal immigration policies and attitudes have put even more women in harm's way. According to one organization, six women are killed in Mexico every single day. The Globe and Mail reports,

"According to the UN, more than 2,500 deaths of women in Mexico every year can be attributed to gender-targeted violence. The National Citizen Femicide Observatory, or OCNF, says at least six women are targeted and killed every day in Mexico. Of those, less than a quarter are investigated. Of those investigations, fewer than 2 percent lead to a sentence."

UPI reports that

"Mexico has the highest rating for impunity--exemption from punishment or freedom from consequences--of any country in the Americas, according to the Global Impunity Index. Its national statistical office, INEGI, reported in 2017 that 93.2 percent of crimes in Mexico go unreported. Mexico's impunity rating afflicts Ciudad Juárez, which is dominated by organized crime engaged in trafficking of drugs and people, and where socioeconomic inequality feeds violence."

"La Ruta," written by Isaac Gomez, tells the story of these women and the women who love them and who are searching for answers. The Artists Rep version is only the second time this play has been produced, the first being at Steppenwolf a year ago. Steppenwolf describes "La Ruta":

"To the U.S.-owned factories in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, La Ruta is just a bus. But to the women who live, work and often disappear along the route, it's so much more than that. Inspired by real testimonies, and using live music to evoke factory work and protest marches, La Ruta is a visceral unearthing of secrets buried in the desert and a celebration of the Mexican women who stand resiliently in the wake of loss."

The all-female, all-Latina cast shines in this gorgeous, gut-wrenching piece of art and reality. The play is a stark reminder of the harsh realities of free trade, manufacturing, poverty, and immigration...and the way that women are so often viewed as commodities in the economy and criminal underworld. I feel heartbroken for these mothers who have lost their daughters, especially with no answers. Women who have organized for answers have received death threats.

I highly recommend you see this riveting play...or find another way to learn more about the lost women of Juarez. I plan to plow into some books and movies to further educate myself. "La Ruta" is on until December 1. You can buy tickets here.

I'll close with words from the playwright, and I've included an interview between the director and playwright at the bottom of this post.

“Every single woman in this play is based on a real person. And although some names have been changed for their protection, the violence they face and their resilience have not. I made a promise to these women that their stories would be heard by as many people as humanly possible...we are one step closer to keeping that promise -- to bear witness and carry their stories forward. As a queer Mexicano from the border, I owe my entire existence to Mexican women. This play is for them. Para todas. Para siempre.”

#NaBloPoMo2019