Highland Park Is Here was produced and performed November 19 – 22, 2020.

Click here to download the program for Highland Park Is Here or click here to view the program online.

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The murals, the music, the taqueros and tamaleros, the Christmas parade and lowrider parades, the gardens, the hills, the arroyo…and the people. Highland Park is Here connects the fractured stories—past and present—of this iconic LA neighborhood in this moment of community change, searching for shared spaces and experiences. From our homes to our street corners to on-line, if you are there, then Highland Park is Here.

Performed by a cast of 30+ people from Highland Park, Occidental College and Cornerstone, Highland Park is Here. takes us on a virtual journey from York to Figueroa and the Arroyo, from yesterday to tomorrow, from fact to fantasy, all told through the stories of the people who live there.

The play is told in two paths, Llegamos – the multigenerational story of one family from the 1950s to today – and Movements & Moments, local stories from the 1990s to today.

Running times: Llegamos (92 minutes), Movements & Moments (86 minutes)

Attend two performances if you want to see all of HIGHLAND PARK IS HERE, but each path can be experienced without the other, too.

Performances are FREE, please consider making a donation at checkout.

Artistic Team

Michael John Garcés, Director
Mark Valdez, Playwright
Page Leong, Choreographer
Carlos Melgar, Composer

Production Team

Kerry Farmer, Production Manager
Lynn Jeffries, Production Designer
John Nobori, Sound Designer
Jared Mezzocchi, Creative Director for Virtual Performance
Jenna Morris, Costume Design Assistant

Stage Management Team

Nikki Hyde, Production Stage Manager
Autumn Scott, Assistant Stage Manager
Gina DeLuca, Assistant Stage Manager

Cast

Adrianne Alvarez-Jackson, Karla Antone, Rebecca Bermudez, Kendell Byrd, Sevan Cash, Jayleen Chavarria, Alejandro Chavez, Dolores Chavez, Naomi E. Cornejo, Marita De La Torre, Rose G. Donahue, Adam Flores, Alejanda Flores, Cecille Forsyth Rios, Simran Fulton, Zachary Goldsmith, Blanca Gutierrez, Peter Howard, Sarah Kozinn, Joshua Lamont, Afreen Majumdar, Beret Malmgren, Ebony McConico-Garcia, Michael Mejia, Magaly Meza, Daniela Naranjo, Irene Narvaez, Elisa O’Malley, Hoyeon Park, Kenny Ramos, Gabriel Rodriguez, Elinor Taylor, Richard Tom, Isabella Vidal, Ralph Waxman, Jona Yadidi

Highland Park Is Here is made possible in part by grants from the Annenberg Foundation; the California Arts Council, a state agency; Capital Group; the James Irvine Foundation; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Shubert Foundation; the Edgerton Program in Theater at Occidental College; the Kathryn Caine Wanlass Charitable Foundation; and US Bank.

Postcard Image: Judith F. Baca(c)1977, “History of Highland Park” 25ft x 200ft. acrylic on cement. Mural located on the Highland Park Pacific Telephone Building. Sponsored by Pacific Bell. Courtesy of the SPARC Archives, SPARCinLA.org.