WET: A DACAmented Journey  HartBeat Ensemble

10/23/2018

The performance was a vivid depiction of the life of undocumented immigrants. It was intriguing not only in terms of raising social awareness but also as a work of art. I am not familiar with performance art, but I could see that he acted quite well so that even though he switched characters back and forth, I know clearly what character it was. There were saddening moments since the topic was not pleasant, but I liked his dramatic acting and those funny parts. From the Global-Studies’ perspective, this monodrama was a great example of art as a medium reflecting social issues, and it did a good job at bringing attention and impact on the viewers’ thinking. 

Initially, I thought undocumented immigrants were the same as refugees. But then I realized that they were linked to different sub-issues: the status of not having the paper could lead to a life in constant fear, a controversy of where to belong, family separation, and even criminalization of DACAs’ parents.