Brownsville Bred

July 14 – 31 @ 59E59
BUY TICKETS
www.brownsvillebred.com

“For a long time, I had secrets. There were so many things from my past I didn’t talk about. I wanted to tell the whole story in a way everyone would understand. Once I started writing my play, Brownsville Bred, I had to write it. I learned to keep a pen at my bedside, prepared for the voice from my youth; It was filled with rich emotion and memories, and shouted at me to awaken each night. I knew I wanted to speak through that poor and street-smart, young minority voice—an often ignored voice—with the same heart, spirit and potential people recognize in me today.

As I started performing Brownsville Bred, I worried if the specificity of my true story would only reach those like me. I accepted the possible circumstance and began to consider it as an opportunity to introduce new audiences to theater.

To my surprise, I found a diverse audience compelled to share the impact the play had on them. Not just with me after the show—when suddenly, strangers wanted to share things they had “never said out loud before.” But, I also saw the human bonding experience and spirit within Brownsville Bred—when audience members felt a need to share it, returning with their family, friends and colleagues, bringing Brownsville Bred into their Colleges, High Schools and Corporations. I heard people, from all backgrounds, laughing together and crying together, and best of all, I felt them hoping together.

Brownsville Bred does not preach. It doesn’t say “hold on to your dream and look toward the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.” Instead, it says a teenager’s life may be bad, sad or funny, but it is a life. A life lived is valuable not just for what you can become, but because of what you are. Yes, terrible things happen but beating them back gives you a confidence and specialness that no one can take away from you. It is about finding the strengths I never knew I had, and learning to recognize the good in everything. It speaks of shame, fear, circumstance, and loss. But, it is also about truth, laughter, family, and hope. It is the inner child that yearns to be understood and dares to ask “y’know?” A few years ago during a painting class, my teacher asked “Why do we paint?” The answer, he said,was the same for every artist: “To prove we exist.”

- Elaine Del Valle 2011

Brownsville Bred by Elaine Del Valle
July 14 – 31 @ 59E59
BUY TICKETS
www.brownsvillebred.com