Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) Festival
Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) is an annual community celebration that offers music and togetherness with a spotlight on new plays by Latine theater artists. This year’s festival is curated by José Zayas and features four new plays to be read in our Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater.
This festival is free and open to the public.
COMMUNITY KICK OFF
Thursday, Jul 31 / 2025 @ 5:00 PM
Live music provided on the Plaza with food, fun and feasting!
Miss America Pretty
by Iraisa Ann Reilly
Directed by José Zayas
Who wants to be Miss America when you could have the whole Universe? Cristina is an Atlantic City casino worker living in the shadow of generations of pageant queens. With a scholarship and a better future for her family hanging in the balance, Cristina has one glamorous chance to prove that she deserves the crown. Steeped in memory and surrealism, Miss America Pretty examines conformity, grief, and how far we’ll go to reinvent ourselves for the sake of systems that exclude us.
MEET THE ARTIST
Iraisa Ann Reilly
Iraisa Ann Reilly (Playwright) is a writer, actor and educator originally from New Jersey. She recently appeared Off-Broadway at Ensemble Studio Theatre in her one-woman show A Bodega Princess Remembers La Fiesta de Los Reyes Magos, 1998, a co-production with Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Lucille Lortel Theatre, and Latinx Playwrights Circle. Prior to the New York production, Bodega Princess was produced in Philadelphia by Simpatico Theatre Company, and won the Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play, 2025.
As a playwright, her work has been developed and recognized by Teatro del Sol, Soho Rep, Atlantic Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Two River Theatre, Arkansas New Play Festival, Bay Area Playwright’s Festival, Theatre Exile, The New Harmony Project, Texas A&M University, Michigan State, Sol Project, Simpatico Theatre Company, Latinx Playwrights Circle, Art House Productions, Repertorio Español and the Yale Drama Series. She is currently a part of Roundabout Theatre Company’s Underground Residency, and under commission with Arden Theatre Company.
As an educator, Iraisa Ann is an adjunct professor of Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch and is a teaching artist with Roundabout Theatre Company and ESPA Primary Stages. MFA Dramatic Writing from NYU. BA Theatre and English from the University of Notre Dame. iraisaannreilly.com
Disaster Preparedness
by Eliana Pipes
Directed by Taylor Reynolds
Mitigation. Preparedness. Response. Recovery. Mama and Honey like to be ready for anything. When Mama comes face to face with the Ghost of her own mother and Honey begins to think about moving on, the two women start to question their strategies. Exploring motherhood and caretaking, the third play in Pipes’ New America Cycle reminds us that there are some disasters we’ll never see coming.
MEET THE ARTIST
Eliana Pipes
ELIANA PIPES (PLAYWRIGHT) is a writer based in her hometown of Los Angeles. Her plays include Bite Me (World Premiere Off-Broadway WP Theater & Colt Coeur, published by Concord Samuel French); DREAM HOU$E (World Premiere co-production Alliance Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, and Baltimore Center Stage, published by Concord Samuel French); Hoops (World Premiere commission Milwaukee Chamber Theater, also produced with Company One Theater and Boston Playwright’s Theater). Awards include the Academy Gold Fellowship through AMPAS, Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship, Alliance Kendeda Prize, Leah Ryan Prize, KCACTF Harold and Mimi Steinberg Prize and Ken Ludwig Prize, Arizona Theater Center National Latine Playwrights Award, UCSD Gaffney Playwriting Prize. Her work has been developed or presented at the New York Theatre Workshop Dartmouth Residency, Playwright’s Realm Scratchpad Series, South Coast Repertory Pacific Playwright’s Festival, NNPN National New Play Showcase, Old Globe Powers New Voices Festival and more. In television, she’s written on seasons one and two of the upcoming spinoff “SPARTACUS: House of Ashur” with Starz/Lionsgate. She’s a board member for the nonprofit YoungStorytellers, and a 4th grade alum of their Script to Stage Program. BA English Literature Columbia University, MFA Playwriting Boston University. www.elianapipes.com.
Vidas Privadas
by Christina Pumariega
Directed by Eddie Torres
Celia loves Tatum. America loves Cesar. Divorcees Celia and Cesar (still) love each other. But when they all honeymoon in adjacent hotel rooms in Ibiza, the café hits the fan. Hearts and tempers flare rocketing from old world to the new, from passion to politics in a no-holds barred immigrant debate where Cesar and Celia ask if change is actually possible. A fresh, Cuban comedy inspired by Noël Coward’s Private Lives.
MEET THE ARTIST
Christina Pumariega
Christina Pumariega acts and writes. Often simultaneously. This spring she performed in the world premiere of her play ¡VOS! at Two River Theater. ¡VOS! was developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and received the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. This summer she develops VIDAS PRIVADAS, her adaptation of Noël Coward’s PRIVATE LIVES, at New York Stage & Film and TRT. She attends Hedgebrook this fall and is a 25/26 member of Center Theater Group’s LA Writers’ Workshop. Other plays include LABOR (Leah Ryan honorable mention), JOAN DARK (DCPA Summit), HARBOR GIRLS and HER MATH PLAY (EST/Sloan Grant). She is currently under commission by MTC/Sloan, DCPA and TRT. TV writing credits include Disney+ and NBC. Acting on and Off-Broadway and in television and film, Pumariega has cross examined Coach Taylor, made out with the Fly and set a Cuban pharmacy ablaze in a corset. MFA, NYU Graduate Acting Program. christinapumariega.com
The Myth of the Two Marcos
by Tony Meneses
Directed by José Zayas
When Marco meets Marco in 1997 Albuquerque, an unlikely friendship begins between two boys with the same name but vastly different personalities and outlooks on life. When they discover a mutual love of comic books, the local comic shop becomes a sanctuary for both teens as they’re introduced to an Aztec superhero who becomes their guide through a time long forgotten.
MEET THE ARTIST
Tony Meneses
STORIES FROM THE HEART
Friday, Aug 1 @ 5:30PM
Throughout the school year, Red Bank Middle School’s 7th and 8th grade AVID [Advancement Via Individual Determination] students have been crafting original pieces in weekly writing sessions with Project Write Now. A new addition to the Festival, this thrilling showcase will feature poems, stories, and all-around love from these young storytellers. This is your chance to hear the words and voices of our incredible neighbors!
CROSSING BORDERS PARTNERS
coLAB Arts
coLAB Arts engages artists, social advocates, and communities to create transformative new work. coLAB Arts facilitates creative conversation through innovative programs and artist infrastructure, connects artists with community partners and mentors, and executes productions that challenge perceptions and inspire action.
Project Write Now
Project Write Now is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit transforming individuals, organizations, and communities through writing. Since 2014, we’ve been committed to building a vibrant writing community for youth and adults. We provide a wide range of fee-based classes, editorial services, and literary events. At the heart of our mission, our community outreach programs empower youth and adults to develop essential writing and communication skills—fostering resilience, encouraging personal growth, and supporting academic or professional success.
COMMUNITY KICK-OFF PARTNERS
