Borderlands Theater

Borderlands Theater strives to build equitable, joyful, and meaningful collaborations with the local community through innovative theater and responsive cultural programs ingrained in the heritage, narratives, and lived experiences of peoples rooted across the Sonoran Desert. Born out of the legacy of the Chicano Theatre troupe, Teatro Libertad, Borderlands Theater has produced over 120 productions over 38 seasons as the only Latiné company in Southern Arizona. Positioning an Indigenous-Latiné couple to lead the company in 2014 upon the retirement of its founder, Borderlands Theater made bold changes to center the narratives and heritage of Mexican-American and Indigenous communities. This initiated the Barrio Stories Project which has invested $400,000+ into creative placemaking strategies directly influencing the re-establishment of a neighborhood association, re-opening of a public pool, reactivation of a community center, downtown development projects, and increased pride and civic participation in barrio communities. We are a tight-knit ensemble of 5 theater-makers, influenced by the ideals of the Chicano theatre movement, the aesthetics of experimentation and post-dramatic leanings, and the principles of civic practice. Our aesthetics combine large scale digital projections with popular theatre forms such as giant puppets and shadow theatre. Much of our work is presented site-specifically in riverbeds, under freeways, in churches, and parks – we go to the community. Borderlands Theater has collaborated with nationally renowned theater makers to develop and premier new works such as Joan Holden and the SF Mime Troupe for “13 Dias” (1995); Guillermo Reyes, “Deporting the Divas”(1996); MacArthur genius, Luis Alfaro “Electricidad” (2003); Emmy winning writer Hilary Betis “Ghosts of Lote Bravo” (2016); Virginia Grise’s adaptation of Helena Viramontes’ “Their Dogs Came With Them”(2019); Richard Montoya and Campo Santo “Nogales: Storytellers in Cartel Country” (2016).

@borderlandstheater