American Dreams

About the Play

A funnel for both unarticulated and spoken fears and divisions most current in the U.S., American Dreams meets audiences where they are in debate(s) on borders, immigration, security, and citizenship, and creates a space for connection and dialogue in and between communities about what it means to be(come) a citizen of this country.

The show transforms abstract political debates into personal, tangible questions: What shifts when we aren’t talking about distant borders but potential neighbors? What kinds and levels of bias do we bring to the conversation? Who would you take a chance on? How far would you go to advocate for your choice? Do you trust the system? If not, why and how do you continue to participate in it?

At a time when so many feel a deep divide between various definitions of who “we” are, American Dreams strives to offer something more essential than ever: the opportunity to connect our hearts and minds with people, places and ideas we might not encounter otherwise.



About the Playwright

Leila Buck is a Lebanese American playwright, actor, facilitator and educator. She has performed and developed her work at the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Culture Project, Brooklyn Museum, BRIC Arts, Cleveland Public Theatre, Mosaic Theater at Arena Stage, and the Wilma Theater (Barrymore Award), and in France, Spain, Finland, Denmark, Tunisia, Lebanon, and China. She is currently working on two commissions, for En Garde Arts and California Shakespeare Theatre. A State Dept Speaker Specialist and Cultural Envoy, she has lived, performed, and taught theatrical tools for literacy, conflict resolution, and intercultural engagement with NYTW and Lincoln Center and to youth, educators, aid workers, UN delegates, and others across the U.S., Europe, China, Australia, and 11 Arab countries. As artist-in-residence for Wesleyan University’s Doris Duke Foundation Building Bridges grant, she created interactive work about the (mis)representation of Muslims in the U.S., and received the Edgar Beckham Social Justice Award. Her work is featured in American Theatre; TCG’s Finding Home Essay Salon; Stages of Resistance (ed. Caridad Svich); Innovation in Five Acts; Etching Our Own Image: Voices from the Arab American Art Movement, and Four Arab-American Plays. She is a member of the Public Theater’s inaugural Emerging Writers Group, a Usual Suspect with New York Theatre Workshop, and teaches Participatory Performance and Civic Engagement and Writing Beyond Our Borders at NYU, from which she holds a Master’s in Theatre for Cross Cultural Education. Leilabuck.com



CALENDAR LISTING

Theatre | Performing Arts

WHAT
American Dreams

WHO
Written by Leila Buck
Directed by Tamilla Woodard

Created and developed by Leila Buck and Tamilla Woodard with Jens Rasmussen in collaboration with Osh Ghanimah, Imran Sheikh and the company.

FEATURING
Ali Andre Ali
Leila Buck
India Nicole Burton
Jens Rasmussen
Imran Sheikh
Andrew Aaron Valdez

WHEN
November 10 - 15, 2020

PERFORMANCES
OPENING NIGHT: Tuesday, November 10th

Evenings
Tuesday - Saturday, 7:00PM

Matinees
Thursday, November 12, 2:00 PM
Saturday, November 14, 2:00 PM
Sunday, November 15, 2:00 PM

WHERE
Streaming via ZOOM: Ticket holders will be directed to the AmericanDreamsPlay.com website to access their show on the night of their ticket. There they will be asked to input their ticket confirmation number. This sends them into the opening questionnaire which is how the show starts! Once audiences fill out the questionnaire, they’ll be sent into the performance “room”.

ABOUT
American Dreams invites YOU to participate in the newest game show sensation - where you, the audience, decide who wins the ultimate prize: citizenship to “the greatest nation on earth.” Redefining online theater, this is a participatory performance which changes every night.

GA Streaming Tickets: $30 | ON SALE OCTOBER 27

Season Membership Tickets: $25, as part of a Full or Partial Season Membership subscription purchase.

BOX OFFICE CONTACT
marintheatre.org | (415) 388-5208 | boxoffice [at] marintheatre.org