As an immigrant, what speaks to you about Lloyd Suh’s play?
The word immigrant is so loaded, with good and bad. I applied with my work permit and was approved, so technically, I’m a non-immigrant visa holder. However, I was born and raised in Mexico, and I came to the U.S. for my graduate program. It’s the same experience but on paper it's a different term.
With the play, I have strong feelings. I’m especially connected to the character Luna. She’s trying to make the best out of her situation, but questions herself. She essentially says, “Okay I’m here, and I sold my heart to be here, and I keep questioning if I did the right thing; I miss home, I miss belonging, I miss my family”. And I question that every day.
I’m here pursuing my dreams, and humbly I can say my passion and career is going somewhere. However, friends are getting married, friends are having babies, my parents are growing older. It feels like a huge sacrifice. And so, I question, like Luna: Am I doing the right thing?
I’m missing home dearly, but I know that it's to advance myself. In the case of Luna, she’s there for her husband’s dreams. I don’t know if I could be in her shoes knowing the sacrifice is not even for herself, that it's for this man. That hits close to home for me.
We can also talk about the language barriers, cultural shock and all that, but it’s—the missing home piece and being unsure of yourself and your choices. That’s what resonates with me most.
What makes you feel at home?
My people. Calling and texting my friends, looking through Mexican memes. The comedy. The food. Talking in Spanish. Using my slang, my cultural jokes, reminds me, okay I’m not fully in a capsule of nostalgia.
Do you have stories of finding connections or friendships in America?
I have a few Mexican friends I met through work. They’re not even close friends, but just the fact that they are Mexican, or not even precisely Mexican, but Latinx, means we have the same experiences.
It’s also hearing stories from immigrants. For example, at the Production Kickoff meeting, Danilo was talked about loneliness, about how he feels and why we are doing this show and it was incredible to realize, “Oh, you're going through these things. I’m not alone.”
What are you most excited to contribute, design-wise?
I like the way that Danilo focuses on the comedy. I love that we are not aiming for it to be a tearjerker. We’re focusing on the feel-good. It’s not just—let's show how sad we are in this political climate. It's also, we’re making it through.
We’re grounding the design in the era but also highlighting the comedy, so audiences will see very vivid colors and very exciting patterns.
My background is in architecture, so my designs are always architectural. There’s truth behind structure. There’s truth behind the way that space interacts with human beings.
In line with that, this is 1970s, but it's a college town, so those houses have been there forever. We wanted to show the history of it through architecture. There’s also a plethora of students who’ve lived there, and all of them have brought in their own charm. It’s also a cheap apartment, yet it’s a dignified space, it’s not completely dilapidated or falling apart. So, finding the ways these pieces intersect with comedy has been exciting.
Where do you find the resilience to make theater in America right now?
I question myself every day. Am I doing the right thing? Mexico has a lot of culture and theater as well. So, do I need to be here, when I can also thrive in my country?
But I’m given the opportunity to pursue something that goes further than my home. Not everyone gets that. I owe it to those people to try. To represent our culture. To be a part of the teams telling the stories that need to be told. And hopefully make a difference in the world.
How did you go from architecture to scenic design?
Back home where I grew up, in Monterrey, up North, there aren’t a lot of theater opportunities.
I needed to pursue a degree in something, but there weren’t any theater degrees. So, I thought, I like drawing and visual design, maybe I can pursue architecture. I went to school for architecture, and my particular school had a great extracurricular theater program. They announced they were going to do The Sound of Music. In my own research for the audition (I was an actor at the time), I saw these beautiful photos of The Sound of Music in Mexico City. It was a Mexican designer who came to the U.S. to do their grad school. It was a huge revelation.
At that point, my architecture classes became less about drawing and more about numbers. It didn’t feel like art. So, when that Sound of Music spark ignited, I realized I could pursue theater and architecture. And then I met other designers in Mexico City who convinced me there’s a future in scenic design. It was like—this is it.
Are there any shows you would love to work on?
New work. Something that is Mexican. Something that brings in the story of my people. I’m dying to do opera, too.
Anything else you would like to share?
I invite everyone to support theater. Especially theater from marginalized communities. It’s important we share those stories. They need to be told. If we continue to support these new plays, that’s how we can start changing the world. So we can become more empathic. It takes a village.