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Aug. 8-Sept. 15
Las Memorias offers uplifting performances
Friday, Aug. 10, 2012
By Steve Nakata, Office of Student Affairs and Enrollment
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| Students (l-r) Alexys Jolley (Warden HS), Brenda DeLeon (Warden) and Edson Rivera (Mabton HS), work with John FraireJohn Fraire, WSU’s vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment, to prepare for Las Memorias 2012. |
The performances will be part of Washington State University’s Las Memorias 2012 — a program that provides a fresh approach to helping youth build skills that will help them become more successful students. The skills include writing, public speaking, working in teams and setting priorities. The end goal is to provide at-risk students with the tools they need to graduate from high school and go to college.
Students from Warden, Pateros and Mabton are writing about their life experiences and how those experiences have helped shape them as people. The students will choose pieces of their writings to develop into on-stage performances.
The public is invited to attend any of these free performances:
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Pullman, Aug. 8, 12, 13, (all begin at 7:30 p.m.), Washington State University, Jones Theater in Daggy Hall
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Moses Lake, Aug. 9, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 13, 11 a.m., Big Bend Community College, Wallenstein Theater
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Yakima, Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m., The Allied Arts Center
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Wenatchee, Sept. 14, 11 a.m., The Performing Arts Center of Wenatchee, Stanley Civic Center
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Tacoma, Sept. 15, 2 p.m., Theatre On The Square
Now in its third year, the vision for Las Memorias came from John Fraire, WSU’s vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment. Fraire grew up in the Mexican-American neighborhoods of Gary, Indiana. He is a published playwright, founder of the New Latino Visions Theatre Company, and has worked with the Castillo Theatre in New York City. Washington Governor Christine Gregoire appointed him to a second term as a Washington State Arts Commissioner.Fraire said one of the key components of the program is bringing together the students and their writings with professional theater personnel.
"The students bring an incredible amount of enthusiasm and creativity to the process,” he said. "With the formal training we provide and a lot of rehearsing, they blossom into confident orators who deeply inspire their audiences with their stories.”
Las Memorias 2012 will be directed by Anamaria Correa, a bilingual actress who has worked extensively in the New York City theater community. Musician Sandra Aguilar, a well-known artist among Latinos, will also be featured.
Contacts:
John Fraire, Vice President, Student Affairs and Enrollment, 509-335-5900, jfraire@wsu.edu
John Fraire, Vice President, Student Affairs and Enrollment, 509-335-5900, jfraire@wsu.edu
Steve Nakata, Manager of Communications, Student Affairs and Enrollment, 509-335-1774, nakata@wsu.edu
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