New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) in collaboration with the Foundry Theater delivered a theater performance at the Queens Museum of Art to an audience of more then 75 guests. “Mira al Horizonte/Look at the Horizon,” is a play about the lives of recently arrived immigrant workers in New York City. The members of NICE were the performers of this play. The performance took place last Sunday, May 8th.
As an organization dedicated to building power amongst newly arrived immigrant workers in Western Queens, NICE sought to create a theater program that empowered immigrant workers to tell their stories. Foundry Theater is a theater company known not only for innovative theater but its commitment to social justice. For seven months, director Lisa Roth and actor Carlo Alban worked with immigrant community members at NICE to develop their personal expression and stories yielding a powerful performance that was debuted this Sunday.
“Through ongoing exercises and conversations in the theater program our community members analyzed their experiences and struggles as immigrant workers” says Adriana Escandon, NICE’s Community Organizer, “With the artist, they found a creative space that helped them to gain strength and hope in their daily lives as immigrant workers“
Community members also developed new forms of communication and expression through the program and the performance. “Through this work, I purposefully explore the vastness of my work life,” says Maria Luisa Frettel, NICE member and performer, who will be delivering a monologue about the wide diversity of work roles that she has held as an immigrant worker.