‘The Frontera Project’ Playing Outdoors In West Orange, Montclair

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An outdoor series from Luna Stage in West Orange will bring Mexican and U.S. artists together for a “bilingual, interactive performance experience” in October.

Luna Stage will launch its in-person 2021-2022 season with “The Frontera Project,” co-conceived by Ramón Verdugo and Jessica Bauman.

All performances will take place at 7 p.m., and will be held outdoors. Tents will be provided in case of inclement weather. From Thursday, October 7 through Sunday October 10, performances will be held at Lackawanna Plaza, 294 Bloomfield Ave in Montclair. The following Thursday, October 14, to Saturday October 16, performances will take place outdoors at Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road in West Orange.

The production will mark Luna Stage’s return to full in-person performances. The theater recently joined more than two dozen New Jersey Theatre Alliance members that will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from audience members.

• See related article: West Orange Theater Announces Vaccine, Mask Requirements

To ensure audience safety, proof of vaccination (or negative test for those under 12) and masking will be required. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish ($20 suggested), and are available at www.lunastage.org/fronteraproject.

Here’s what people can expect, Luna Stage said:

“The Frontera Project brings Mexican and U.S. artists together in a unique, bilingual, interactive performance experience. Fusing theater, movement, music and play, this dynamic piece engages the audience in a compassionate, often joyous conversation about the border that celebrates the richness, complexity and humanity of Fronterizo life.”

“The Frontera Project started with the desire to tell different stories about the border, stories that lift up the humanity of people who build their lives in this complicated and sometimes contradictory territory,” said Jessica Bauman, who co-conceived the production.

“In this historic moment, we believe that theatre can create a dialogue with the world today – with its needs, inequities, fears and joys,” agreed co-conceiver Ramón Verdugo. “We do not want to provide an answer to what the world should be, but create an opportunity to build other possible worlds – more inclusive, more generous, kinder, and of course – more human.”

The project is supported by Valley National Bank, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and BDP Holdings LLC.

“We are so grateful to be able to welcome our audiences back with this piece, and to all the community partners who have supported our transition to outdoor performance,” said Luna’s Artistic Director Ari Laura Kreith. “Frontera invites our audience to engage not only with the piece but with each other, to deepen and re-imagine our relationships and connections to our local and global communities.”

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