Immigration is a hot-button topic, but it is not a new hot-button topic. From the time the first Europeans displaced the indigenous peoples in this hemisphere (and probably even before that), who was welcome to make their home here has always been up for heated debate.
So it makes sense that theatre, which often holds up the mirror to society and culture, would tackle the subject as well. In the darkly funny One House Over, currently onstage at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, playwright Catherine Trieschmann explores what it means to be from someplace else and how it feels to want to stay where you aren't wanted.
One House Over is a world premiere and a product of the Rep's new play development program. Programs like this are crucial to creating new work for the theatre. Trieschmann explains that's because the real challenge with a new play is you don't know what it's going to be like just from the page. "You have to get it up with actors and see how it really operates."
