Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) 2022

Joselin Xochitecatl Escalona is a 17-year-old girl born in Mexico Puebla but at only four months old Joselin was brought here to the United States. Ever since then, she has been raised in Red Bank, N.J., and she’s not afraid to have her voice heard. If she sees the chance to speak up for herself and others she will for sure do it. She hopes to one day become a successful undocumented woman that can be the key that opens many doors for her family. A family that faced many obstacles in their life but no matter what their chin was up. Joselin is entering her senior year at Red Bank Regional High School.

Nathalia Garcia is a first-generation Brazilian-American studying English education at Georgian Court University to become a high school English teacher. When not lost in a novel, she takes several classes at Project Write Now and assists at a few of the after-school programs. Born in the spring, she used to often pick pretty flowers and, overcome with their loveliness, would pop them into her mouth and eat them! She seeks connection through poetry and what she likes to call haunted prose. These days, Nathalia can be found either on a river enjoying blooming lilies or at her home in Long Branch where she resides with a loving partner, their two cats, and 100+ houseplants.

Hane Linares is a senior at Red Bank Regional where she is part of the Visual Performing Arts Academy majoring in creative writing. She grew up with two
strong women, her mother and grandmother. They have both pushed her to pursue her writing dreams.

Nathaly Segura is an ambitious young writer who seeks to encourage others to express their voices through poetry, short stories, and other forms of writing. Nathaly will begin her freshman year at Rider University this fall.

MATT BARBOT is a Nuyorican writer from Brooklyn, NY.  His play EL COQUÍ ESPECTÁCULAR AND THE BOTTLE OF DOOM (Kennedy Center Darrel Ayers Award, Kennedy Center Latinidad Award) received its world premiere at Two River Theater in January of 2018. The short piece “Spray Cap,” Matt’s contribution to Lynn Nottage and Miranda Haymon’s THE WATERING HOLE at Signature Theatre featuring Liza Colon-Zayas, received special praise from The New Yorker and The New York Times. His piece FRIJOLES, starring Raul Esparza, is available to view on YouTube. Matt recently workshopped his new plays THE BEAUTIFUL LAND I SEEK (LA LINDA TIERRA QUE BUSCO YO) at Fault Line Theatre, and TRILOGY, a commission for Two River Theater, both with director José Zayas. PRINCESS CLARA OF LOISAIDA and SAINTS GO MARCHING were featured on Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater Company’s “The Mix” list. His short play “A List of Some Shit I’ve Killed” was published as part of the Red Bull Theater’s anthology Red Bull Shorts Volume III. Matt’s first play for young audiences, STOO’S FAMOUS MARTIAN AMERICAN GUMBO, was commissioned by Peppercorn Theatre. Roundabout Theatre Company awarded THE VENETIANS the 2019 Columbia@Roundabout prize. Additionally, Matt has worked with comic book creator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez as an editor and co-writer for Darryl Makes Comics’ DMC, as well as Somos Arte’s La Borinqueña. Matt is a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellow and has an MFA in playwriting from Columbia University.

Marisela Treviño Orta is an accidental playwright. She found her way to the genre while completing an MFA in poetry at the University of San Francisco. Eventually, she returned to graduate school and acquired an MFA in Playwriting from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop.  Her plays include: A Place to Belong, Alcira, Braided Sorrow, Ghost Limb, Heart Shaped Nebula, Return to Sender, The River Bride, Shoe, Somewhere, WMB, Wolf at the Door, and Woman on Fire. Her work has been presented at ACT Young Conservatory, American Players Theatre, Arizona Theater Company, Brava Theatre, Kitchen Dog Theater, Nashville Children’s Theatre, New Jersey Repertory Company, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Shotgun Players, Su Teatro, and Teatro Público de Cleveland. Marisela’s awards include the 2006 Chicano/Latino Literary Prize in Drama, 2009 PEN Center USA Literary Award in Drama, 2013 National Latino Playwriting Award Co-Winner, and 2019 Kendeda Finalist. She is a former resident playwright at the Playwrights Foundation in San Francisco, a former Core Writer at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, and a former Playwrights Unit member at the Goodman Theatre. Currently, Marisela is under commission by SPARC (Shakespeare Performing Arts Regional Center) and by the Latino Theatre Company as part of its Imaginistas Circle where she is working on a climate change play called Basilosaurus and a movement piece entitled A Girl Grows Wings, respectively. Her Audible commissioned play Nightfall is available on their platform.