Andrew Sianez-De La O’s work centers on the culture of the borderlands. He writes about the diaspora of his identity through stories of myths and monsters. He reveres science fiction and fantasy and writes across different genres and mediums. His play Borderline has opened with a world premiere at Milagro Theatre and runs through May 18. Dmae Lo Roberts spoke with the playwright, who lives in Baltimore.
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Podcast highlights: Siañez-De La O talks about:
Living on the border as a child: “We would get taught at a young age you need to act a certain way. You need to play the parts or else they’re going to grab you and they’re going to take you away. And that’s really what Borderline is about. It’s telling this ghost story again, to this young cast of characters and how they tell it to each other.”
Writing about cultural trauma: “When it comes to the trauma plays I think for me what I really enjoy doing as a writer is distilling that common sob story, the familiar traumatic story and telling it through genre fiction instead, and Borderline really leans into a horror play into a science fiction play.”
Writing for audio theater podcasts: “Every single script I’ve ever written always features a character of color in the fantastical world that I get to jump into, so you get these with audio, you get this wonderful ability to have magic.”
Dmae Lo Roberts saw a reading of Borderline at Milagro before the pandemic. She asked Sianez-De La O if he could adapt the character of Ofelio into a monologue for MediaRites’ The -Ism Project of touring monologues. During the pandemic she worked with director Francisco Garcia and actor Phillip Ray Guevera on a short film version of the monologue, with music by the late Gerardo Calderon. View on YouTube with a discussion with the artists.
Mila Kashiwabara in Borderline. Photo: Miri Foto.
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Andrew Siañez-De La O is a Mexican-American writer whose work often centers the culture of the Borderlands and his diasporic identity through myths and monsters. With a reverence for sci-fi and fantasy, Andrew has collaborated on projects across multiple genres and mediums and continues to use their skills to help bring under-represented narratives to life. He is a writer for The Elder Scrolls Online, an award-winning franchise and ongoing AAA MMO as well as an organizing committee member of the WGA Audio Alliance working towards an equitable future for audio fiction writers. More about his work at: https://www.andrewsianezdelao.com/
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Borderline
- Written by Andrew Siañez-De La O
- Directed by Anthony Green Caloca and featuring Mila Kashiwabara, Eli Ingraffea, Patrico Mendoza, Christine Angelle and Osvaldo “Ozzie” Gonzalez.
- English, with some Spanish
- Tickets: Adults $30, seniors $26, students$22
- Performance is suitable for ages 13 and up
- Run Time: 1 hour 40 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission
I left my comment before I finished listening to the podcast. I failed to mention that I was one of four puppet designers for “Along Came A Dog”, the traveling Youth Play that Fresno State performed this year. I have been hooked on puppets since Sesame Street! I am intrigued about your use of puppets in your play. Can you elaborate?
I am a senior at Fresno State university, and I am majoring in theatre arts, with a specific interest in lighting, sound and set design. Borderline is one of the plays that I had to choose from, for my final assignment, in my sound design class. I was tasked with making a sound cue sheet for the play, and then creating them. I will deliver a presentation about the history of the play and why I chose my sounds. While doing my research, I came across this lovely podcast. I love to listen to the artist because I get a sense of who they are and it helps me to better develop lights, sounds and sets for their show. It was lovely to unofficially meet you both. Your play is a triumph! Viva la Raza. I will watch the movie of Borderline.