Immigration
Mainstage Programming
I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams
An immigrant story.
Premiered September 20th, 2019 at Emerson Paramount Center, Robert J. Orchard Stage, Boston
Jorge Sosa, composer
Cerise Lim Jacobs, creator + librettist
Two children, worlds apart—one flies, one walks—to America.
Two girls, divergent lives—one green card, one undocumented—in America.
Two women—different struggles, disparate hopes—for America.
Two friends, shared dreams, one journey—through America.
From Librettist and Opera Maker, Cerise Jacobs:
I am a new American, an immigrant of ethnic Chinese origin, from Singapore. I grew up when my country was still a British colony. My ancestors, originally from China, came to South East Asia as part of the great Chinese diaspora, in search of a better life. Then it was my family’s turn to leave to find a better life, a life without racial turmoil, or race riots and fear of Chinese communism as the British got rid of all their colonial possessions. They settled in Australia, but I continued on – to Oxford, England, then to Canada and America, sponsored by a Polish Solidarity member who had jumped ship in New York and who knew what it was like to be without a country. Immigration is in my DNA, it seeps through every pore in my body. On September 5, 2017, President Trump, with one stroke of his pen, revoked Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), upending the lives of DACA recipients—Dreamers—in the country that had become their home.
Community Programming
Sing Out Strong: Immigrant Voices
Multicultural Arts Center | August 1, 2019
Our ongoing series where we reach out to individuals in our community to create texts on activist themes. Sing Out Strong: Immigrant Voices explored the stories and experiences of Boston area immigrants. Featured composers from Peru, Latvia, India, China, Taiwan, and Mexico and writers from Haiti, Vietnam, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and China. Composers and writers have been paired up to amplify stories of the immigrant experience through song and to celebrate the contributions of immigrant artists to our city and culture.
Sing Out Strong: Immigrant Voices + Panel Discussion
WBUR CitySpace at the Lavine Broadcast Center | August 22, 2019
Panelists included:
Denzil Mohammed – Director, Public Education Institute, The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc), Sabrineh Ardalan– Assistant Director Harvard Immigrant and Refugee Clinical Program (HIRC) and Assistant Clinical Professor, Harvard Law School
Sabato Visconti– Visual Artist, Former DACA Recipient
Shannon Dooling– Moderator; New England News Collaborative Reporter Immigration Reporter, WBUR
Immigration: Dreaming of a Real Future
Live on Zoom | August 6, 2020
A panel of immigrants and Dreamers will discuss the unprecedented racism and anti-immigrant sentiment exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their hopes for the future of undocumented young people in the United States.
To see the full list of panelists, click “Learn more” below.
Immigration Resources
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