“De Novo” is a documentary theatre piece crafted from immigration court transcripts, letters and interviews conducted by the theatre company with so-called “alien” children (and their advocates) in immigration proceedings in New York, Arizona, Colorado and Los Angeles. The play illustrates the experience of an undocumented immigrant youth who fled from Guatemala to the United States in order to escape gang violence and find his mother. The play is performed by bilingual actors in English and partly in Spanish.

The performance features the images of Donna DeCesare, a UT journalism professor and an award-winning photojournalist known for her groundbreaking coverage of the spread of Los Angeles gangs in Central America.

More information online. For information on the use of this play in high school and college curriculum, and to reserve seating for class groups, contact Lindsey Engelman at lengelman@austin.utexas.edu.

Location: Utopia Theatre in the School of Social Work, University of Texas, 1925 San Jacinto, Austin, 78712