Eugenia Woods, Playwright and Producer for Taproot Productions is proud to be collaborating with ZUZI! Dance Company and Director Marc Pinate on this workshop production of THE MIGRATION PROJECT, a theatrical docudrama about human migration and our efforts to create a safe and enduring home.

We live in a time of rapid and dramatic demographic change, with the rate of migration higher than at any other time in human history. People are migrating at unprecedented rates due to war, global warming and its impact on the environment, globalization and its impact on local and regional economies, and oppression associated with race, religion, sexual and gender orientation.

For the past 2 years, Woods has been gathering stories from refugee, immigrant, indigenous and homeless communities, weaving together the challenges of the journey, the lives left behind, and the dreams of a new life into a dynamic, interdisciplinary performance. We have traveled to the sacred Hopi mesas to talk with traditionalist elders and a younger generation struggling to balance the lure of city life with the spiritual call of the kivas. We have played theatre games and conducted story making activities with refugee children and witnessed their mothers' stories in the intimacy of a closed story circle. We have visited the homes of undocumented immigrants whose multi-generational families straddle a dangerous and militarized border. We've engaged the general public in interactive art installations and created performance poetry on the fly at the Tucson Museum of Art. Now it is time to bring the voices of our diverse program participants to the stage.

The project, funded in part by Tucson Pima Arts Council, is scheduled for a workshop production on November 14, 15, 21 and 22 at ZUZI! Theatre in Tucson, Arizona. We are committed to sharing this important work free of charge to 135 people (mostly project participants) on November 14, and need to raise extra money to pay artists, purchase wardrobe and props, increase technical value of the production by renting video projectors and buying time for audio and video editing. A word here about paying artists: grant money helps artists develop and produce work, but generally speaking, most artists cannot make a living with the stipends they are paid. We are losing great talent every day due to financial stress, and that will unquestionably impact the quality of art you consume, and the quality of life in your community.

It is our hope that, through this work, audiences will recognize the common issues we face when we are compelled to leave our home of origin to pursue a new life in a foreign land. It is our hope to foster empathy and a welcoming attitude in our changing communities. Even the smallest donation helps to break resistance and move these voices further into the mainstream of our national conscience. We cannot afford to ignore or resist the changes that are happening in our world, and the growing diversity of our communities.

Even if you cannot afford to contribute anything financially, please do consider spreading the good word about THE MIGRATION PROJECT.  Many thanks to you all for your attention and for lending your energy to this work.

THE MIGRATION PROJECT opens November 14, 2014 for one free performance for project participants, collaborating artists, and the theatre and dance community.

Performances continue November 15, 21 and 22, 7:30 p.m. at ZUZI! Theater, 738 N 5th Ave in Tucson.

Tickets are $18, $15 for students, seniors and military.

For more information or to reserve tickets call 520 975 4021 or email the migration project at themigrationprojecttucson@gmail.com.