After being forced to cancel in-person stage performances, Arizona Theatre Company is launching its digital season with “Alma,” a new work by emerging playwright Benjamin Benne.
The script has won all sorts of accolades, including ATC’s 2019 Latinx Playwriting Award. The two-character play will be online Aug. 18-22.
The story centers on a mother who came to the States illegally and a daughter who was born here.
“It follows an evening in the life of this mother and daughter and how they have very different visions of the States,” says Benne, speaking from his family’s home in Spokane, Washington.
“There’s lots of humor and pathos,” says Elaine Romero, who heads up ATC’s Latinx Playwriting competition. “Through their conversation you understand why they have the dynamic they have.”
Benne, who is working toward a master’s in playwriting at Yale School of Drama, first began the script in 2016.
“(Donald) Trump was using his platform to aggressively attack immigrants,” says Benne.
That was personal for him — his mother had legally immigrated from Guatemala.
“I began thinking of the time that this country provided a pathway to immigrants, and other times when they were turned away and villainized,” says Benne. “This play was born out of a moment of deep uncertainty of what would unfold, and there’s always a thread of hope,” he says. “I think we are living in that moment again — it feels uncertain, maybe scary, but I’m seeing a ray of light poking through.”
“The award is about a playwright we want to keep hearing from,” says Romero.
“He has a beautiful (writing) voice. That’s what I’m looking for in a playwright.”
