While the mainstream media continues to portray Arizona as a center for bigotry, Arizona’s schools continue to be vehicles for propaganda. To that end, ASU Prep high school students will portray undocumented students in their first drama/musical production, March 7-9, at ASU Preparatory Academy, 735 E. Fillmore Street in Phoenix.
“In and Out of Shadows” chronicles the lives of undocumented high school students growing up in California.
Playwright Gary Soto, award-winning author and poet, will attend opening night on Friday, March 7. Soto, now retired from teaching, taught at University of California, Berkeley and at University of California, Riverside. Soto was a ‘Young People’s Ambassador’ for the United Farm Workers of America.
ASU Preparatory Academy operates tuition-free K-12 public schools located on or near the ASU campuses, in affiliation with Arizona State University. Each ASU Preparatory Academy is composed of an elementary, a middle and a high school program integrated into a single educational community.
This will be the first show produced by the ASU Preparatory Academy Drama Club. ASU Prep students have been rehearsing for the performance for several months.
ASU Prep students and families, and the public are invited to attend.
“These actors have really embraced direction and script analysis in a way that enables them to tell a story on stage,” said high school drama teacher Andrea Enger. “I am very proud of each student actor, and I can’t wait to see them perform such an important play.”
A parents-only show will be held at 7:30 p.m., March 6. Opening night for the public is 7:30 p.m., March 7. There will also be a 7:30 p.m. show on Saturday, March 8 and a Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m., March 9.
According to the organization, James Blasingame, an ASU English education professor, made it possible for ASU Prep’s students to option the rights to perform the play.