Playwright: Shannon Matesky and the ensemble. At: About Face Youth Theatre Ensemble at various venues. Information: www.aboutfacetheatre.com or www.nightoutintheparks.com; free admission. Runs through: Aug. 1
A night out dancing with friends in Boystown results in disastrous immigration consequences in Checking Boxes, a world premiere piece devised by playwright Shannon Matesky and members of the About Face Youth Theatre Ensemble. But that's just one aspect of the show, which tackles different opinions, viewpoints and even ignorance when it comes to issues of immigration in the U.S. today.
Checking Boxes plays like a poetry-filled revue, with some queer and straight-allied cast members making statements about immigration. Some reflect on their own families' immigration experiences and privileges, while others ponder more overarching political issues tied to the broken U.S. immigration system.
The cast also go out of their way to likening the fear that some people have at coming out as gay with the fear that some immigrants express when they risk coming out to others as undocumented. This aspect is played up in the tale of the Mexican immigrant Donny ( Donny Acosta ), who illegally crosses the border to escape an abusive anti-gay grandfather so he can find work and hopefully go to school in Chicago.
Matesky and the cast create some good scenes as they show Donny's struggle to find work, and how his friends react when he reveals that he's undocumented. Some of his friends are very supportive, while others ( one in particular played by Brittany Stokes ) feel angry and betrayed.
Now as a free touring production that is part of the Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks initiative, Checking Boxes certainly does its job of enlightening audiences about immigration and hopefully serves as a call to action ( despite its very pessimistic ending that likely reflects how many U.S. residents feel about the topic ). Understandably, the production design backdrop assemblage of street signs and fences by Sotirios Livaditis is adaptably simple for touring, while some of Ali Hoefnagel's direction is rudimentarily simple.
Yet, Checking Boxes could do with some stronger performances, particularly in the dramatic scenes involving Donny. Based upon the final preview performance at Washington Park, Donny Acosta didn't fully embody his character's nerve-rattling fear and hopeful ambition of being an undocumented worker in America. The high-stakes risks could also be more pronounced among actors like Ruben Adorno, Kyla Norton and Rolo Rodriguez, who play Donny's friends and relations.
But since Checking Boxes is a youth production that charges no admission, one can't get too hung up on the aspects that aren't quite up to a professional level. Checking Boxes certainly makes a strong case that the fight for equal rights in the LGBTQ community isn't that far of a cry for those living in the United States who are undocumented.
