Forest Park will celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month in March with a performance of “New World,” a one-act play about three refugee women from Afghanistan, Bosnia and the Republic of the Congo.
The one-hour play is an original work by Gitana Productions, a non-profit arts and education organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural awareness and collaboration by bringing international music, dance and drama to the St. Louis community.
The performance is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, in the Mildred E. Bastian Center for the Performing Arts on campus. Students, faculty, staff, friends and family are invited. Admission is free.
The play premiered last year. It’s returning to the stage this year “because of its power at a time when the question of immigration and acceptance of refugees continues to be relevant and controversial in America,” Gitana’s Executive Director Cecilia Nadal stated in a press release.
“The play gives voice to women who make up the refugee community and tells their stories,” she said. “Most often, the policy debates do not include the voice of women when the face of immigrants and refugees in the U.S.A. is more female than male.”
“New World” also will be performed at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 1, at Webster University and 7 p.m. Thursday, April 5, at Central Library in St. Louis. Admission is free for those performances, too.
The play was written by Lee Patton Chiles based on “interviews and documented accounts of three women who came to St. Louis, hoping to create a new world by healing old world wounds,” according to the press release.
The women are portrayed by actors Vivian Anderson Watt, Jessica Alvarado and Natalie Walker. After the Forest Park performance, faculty members Sandra Osburn and Layla Goushey will lead a Q&A session.
The original 2017 cast of “New World” included, from left, Sheri Gonzalez, Jessica Alvarado and Jeanitta Perkins. (Photo provided by ProphotoSTL)