February 19, 2020 1211 PM
EL PASO — Marfa Live Arts in association with MISD will travel to El Paso with Marfa High School playwrights for the launch of their new book, 21 Short Plays for the 21st Century, by Marfa Shorthorns (NoPassport Press) on Tuesday, February 25.
The welcome reception will include a performance of short excerpts from the book, brought to life by actors of El Paso’s The Border Theatre troupe.
In spring of 2019, Marfa Live Arts brought playwright Monica Sanchez into the classroom for their annual Playwrighting Program. Students drew on personal experiences to craft their own plays, a handful of which were performed in Marfa that year.
21 Short Plays for the 21st Century contains 21 award-winning plays written during the Spring 2019 program. The Shorthorns in this collection are: Febi Brimhall, Georgina Brugette (Class of 2019), Adrian Cataño, Odalys Chacon, Tais Chanez, Ana Guerra, Elena Hernandez, Alyanna Hernandez, Levi Hinojos, Shelby Laviers, Luis Lozano (Class of 2019), Brooks Marginot, Ian Marquez, Juan Martinez, Isabella Morales, Eduardo Ocon (Class of 2019), Cristian Ontiveros, Yessenia Sanchez Duran (Class of 2019), Uriel Torres, Andrea Torres and Ruben D. Watts-Ortiz.
Since 2011, Marfa Live Arts has worked with MISD to teach the Playwriting Program. The program emphasizes skills that build self-confidence and critical thinking while helping kids to find — and express — their inner voices. Each spring, an invited guest playwright facilitates a series of writing exercises with students, opening the door for students to develop characters and plots based on their own experiences, stories and imagination. To date, the Playwriting Program has produced more than 775 student-written plays.
There will be a Marfa book launch of 21 Short Plays for the 21st Century by Marfa Shorthorns with student playwrights in attendance on April 14 at The Crowley Theater.
The El Paso book launch and performance will take place Tuesday, February 25 th at Café Mayapan, 2000 Texas Avenue, El Paso, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. It is a free event and open to the public. For more information go to www.marfalivearts.org
