THE ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY Fall 2017 | Baruch College | Macaulay Honors

Opera Title:

Defend the DREAMERS

Topic:

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals/ Children of Illegal Immigrants

Overall Message:

No matter if their parents are illegal, anyone born in this country should be given legal citizenship and the opportunity to get their education.

Plot Summary:

Born in Ecuador, Allen and Elena Esposito began their lives on two ends of the country. Both top students from their respective schools, their main ideal in their future partners was intelligence. As fate would have it, they were united in their early 20s while at a National Science Fair held by the US Embassy. Although neither won the Science Fair competition, they won each other’s hearts. Over the years, they decided to get married and start their own family. However, the importance of education and opportunity was vital for both of them. They wanted their future kids to be given the best opportunity and education around, and they knew the one place they could get that from was America. As they continually failed to receive proper immigration papers, they followed their frustration and it led them to illegally cross the border. Although they got into the States, they knew that the hardest part would come in the years to come. Their first child was born in the State of California. He was named Sam, after the great American Symbol of Freedom, Uncle Sam, because they wanted their son to always be free to follow his dreams in this great country. As he aged, Sam followed in the footsteps of his parents, and excelled in school, catching the eye of his AP Biology teacher in his senior year of High School. Mr. Smith truly believed that Sam would make a great Doctor and made it his job to help Sam get into the best Medical Programs for College in the state of California. The worst nightmares of Mr./Mrs. Esposito began to become a reality when Sam faces difficulty applying to college due to their illegal immigration. Advocates, like Mr. Smith, do everything in their power to make sure Sam is allowed to stay in America to pursue his higher education. Watch the rest of the Defend the DREAMERS Opera to find out the conclusion of what happens to the Esposito Family.

Conflict:

Although top of his class, and an all A’s student, Sam has a difficult time applying to college because many Universities see him as an illegal immigrant. Despite the fact that he was born here, Sam must figure out a way to overcome this challenge with the help of Mr. Smith and his parents. He must figure out what needs to be done to continue his further education here in America without being deported back alongside his parents to Ecuador.

Characters:

Child (Main Character): Sam Esposito >> Top of his class and like every other 17-year-old boy his age. Chasing after girls and good grades is the only concern Sam has until he realizes the importance of his family history when it comes to applying for colleges.

Father: Allen Esposito >> Hardworking father who leads by example. Has worked hard his entire life to give Sam and Elena the best lives possible. Allen can only work at jobs that are far below his education level. He is currently at a local auto shop, where he struggles to interact with customers due to the language barrier and becomes easily frustrated at times. However, having left a great life behind in Ecuador, he still knows that everything is worth it when he sees the smile on Sam’s face when he comes home from basketball practice every day.

Mother: Elena Esposito >> Very similar story as Allen. Elena is a passionate mother that only wants the best for her family. She left behind her family and dreams of becoming a veterinarian when she fled Ecuador to come to America. Working as a clerk at the local supermarket, Elena was able to pick up the English language very quickly.

HS Teacher: Mr. Smith >> A bright young mind at the local High School Sam attends. A previous Teacher of the Year, Mr. Smith is known by many of his students and faculty as someone that goes out of their way to make sure everyone gets an equal opportunity to succeed. Coming from a background where his family struggled for money, making it difficult for him to receive an expensive college, Mr. Smith worked hard to gain full ride scholarships into some of the best colleges of his time. He now tutors and works with students that may come from similar situations and reminds them that there is always a way out.

Set:

Located in the Los Angeles Area of California. Most scenes portrayed in the office of Mr. Smith or at the Esposito Family home. Few scenes shot at the college university application process rooms and a few flashback scenes from Ecuador.

Costumes:

Normal everyday clothing as it fits to the school/work/social culture at the time, with an exception with the clothes worn during the long journey to America and their new country.         

Music:

Ecuadorian music played throughout the trip to America as the Esposito’s cried, leaving their life behind for the thought of their future child. Sam continues to grow up balancing his Ecuadorian lifestyle while connecting to the everyday common music played on the radios here in America. The Music throughout the opera itself would be played by the Orchestra and would help to capture the feelings and emotions of the play.

Lighting:

Spotlight would be used for solo character soliloquies, where main characters could share with the audience their true emotions and feelings of uncertainty.

Significance:

Southern California >> A location for many illegal immigrants and quick access to easy off the book jobs.

Names >> Allen and Elena are meant to resemble the word used for many illegal immigrants, Alien. Sam is used to represent the freedom the young boy deserves by reminding viewers of Uncle Sam.

Reflection:

Overall, I wanted this Opera to place an emphasis on a current day issue that relates to our peers. From the beginning of our first Semester in college, many of us have followed the DACA issue after it was rescinded by the Trump Administration in September 2017. This topic directly talks about issues many of our peers around us face and I thought it would be vital to bring light to this issue. Main characters like Sam and the rest of the Esposito family represent the hard working immigrant community within our nation. Operas help to bring discussion to areas where it is needed, and I believe that if this Opera came to life, controversy and healthy discussion would definitely stem from it.

– Abishek Johnson (AJ)

Opera Graphic Summary

Act I:

Scene I: Home (Background)

 Nothing fit. She wasn’t fat, but she wasn’t skinny either. Her clothes were bland, loose fitted. Nothing that hugged any area too tight. She wasn’t bad looking, but she wasn’t someone men were interested in sleeping with either. When she made an effort to be. She looked older than she was. She missed being young. She dreamed of being wealthier. She longed to be skinnier. She ached to be loved. She ached to feel wanted. She had messy brown hair, sporadic acne, and chapped lips. Her eyebrow arch was disappointing. Her husband barely paid much attention to her anymore. It’s not like he was so impressive either, but women liked him. Women were drawn to him. Maybe because he was tall and didn’t talk about his family much. More importantly, did not talk about her much.

Scene II: Walking passed Mannequins (Commute to Work)

The Big Apple swallowed her whole; she often felt like the worm inside it. She intentionally walked by Bloomingdales daily on her way to work, admiring all the women who were able to afford walking in and envying the women with full ‘big brown bags’ walking out. Yet, what she idolized most was not the lucky woman walking through, but the impeccably dressed, thin mannequins that stood flawlessly in the store windows. She saw herself in their lifeless and featureless faces. She was constantly trying to align her reflection to match up with their gorgeous figures. She tilted her head to the perfect angle, coordinated her arms and legs to match the woman behind the glass window, but when it came to her hips, breasts, and stomach, her body never matched up to their perfectly sculpted bodies. She never thought about how silly she must have looked trying to imitate the mannequins because she was always just too busy envying every part of them. The mannequin’s outfits were changed regularly, always flaunting the chicest trends and were positioned seductively, showing off their hollow curves. She spent minutes ogling the beautiful plastic women before until averting her eyes and eventually forced herself to continue walking.

Scene III: Work

Even during work, she could not wait till her lunch break to go back to the big spotless windows to look at the molded woman in luxurious clothing. Her eyes always wandered towards the plastic black and white clock that hung near the bulletin board across from her desk. She was rarely productive at work. She just constantly scrolled through designer clothing on her laptop and wished she had a thick enough wallet to afford anything in her online cart. The gorgeous plastic mannequins danced around in her head, stopping to do their perfect poses, flashing their Louis Vuitton hand bags and clicking their expensive heels as they walked around in circles in her mind. Christmas was coming and the thought of the famous holiday store front windows on Fifth Avenue made her mouth drool until an abruptly obnoxious ring from her office phone awakened her. She hoped it was a call from her husband checking in, but of course it was not. It never was. She answered the phone in the same monotone voice she always did, repeating the lines she was told to memorize when addressing a customer. She despised her boss who had flowers delivered to her from her fiancé daily, and she hated having to put them on her bosses desk. The letter attached to the bouquets were always romantic, seductive, and charming, which the She envied. When she read them on her way up the elevator, she lived vicariously through them, falling more and more in love with the words on the card. She always made sure to tuck the mini card back into its mini envelope, double checking that her tears didn’t stain the heartfelt masterpiece.

Act II:

Scene I: Waiting in Bed

As she washed up for bed after a long day at work, she sifted through her underwear drawer, pushing aside the lingerie she hadn’t worn in months. She carefully got into bed, pretending like she had a sleeping husband by her side whom she wanted to wake up to. Falling asleep was hard for her. She was always half awake, due to the hope of her husband returning, however, her husband would arrive after she would fall asleep. Waiting for him was exhausting. Though it always took time for the sadness to subside, her dreams took her to a place of pure bliss and relaxation, where she danced around in lavish clothing amongst the long legged slim mannequins.

Scene II: The Wish

One morning, her 7:00 AM alarm shrieked as she threw her hand across her body to press the snooze button on her iPhone. She pushed aside her scattered hair, hoping to see her husband sleeping beside her. It was the second night in a row that he hadn’t come home. As she swung her legs off the bed and placed her feet on the floor, she felt a weird sensation in her feet. Her toes felt numb. When she looked down at her once flesh colored toes, she saw that her whole right foot was bleach white. She quickly swung her leg over the other and tapped her chipped nail polish fingers against the white plastic foot that was attached to her leg. She pulled her foot as close to her face as possible examining the familiar looking white piece of plastic that was now a part of her body. It did not take her long to realize why the body part looked oddly familiar, her foot looked just like the mannequin’s foot on Fifth Avenue. As she stood up from the bed, the artificial whiteness spread up her leg till her hip. Amazed, she walked towards the bathroom, grabbing her glasses from her night stand, cleaning them with the corner of her loose tank top. Her thoughts took her to hopeful and optimistic places. She couldn’t wait for her husband to see her perfect figure. Maybe he would come back. Maybe he would finally find her sexually appealing. She would finally be able to fit into form fitting clothing. Her skin was turning into a beautiful gleaming white which hid her acne and imperfections. She was ecstatic to stand perfectly and beautifully in the New York City department store windows in her ostentatious wardrobe. Maybe her husband would actually look at her longingly. Maybe he’d make time to see her. Her heart soared when thinking about the big brand names she would model for, Gucci, Prada, and Burberry. The expensive brand names were music to her ears. She even felt warmth at the idea of the quality clothes hugging her slim body, her stomach turned with excitement. She felt the plastic crawl up her other leg and stomach as she took each step. She took a long look into her full-length mirror and gasped. Her right thigh was made out of a glossy plastic, but was large and bulky compared to her left thigh. She looked down and saw that her right toes were thick, bleach white, and beefy, sticking out of her attached plastic sandal. Her left toes were perfectly sized and glazed with what looked like white nail polish. When looking straight into the mirror, she saw that her breasts were uneven in size and appearance. Her waist was lopsided, and her neck was at an odd angle at which she could not move from. She looked at her reflection perplexed and unsatisfied. The plastic continued to creep up her body, but it started to settle and dry like new concrete on a city sidewalk. As it moved up to her face, the plastic washed over her chapped lips and all the hair on her head fell to the floor. She could no longer move. She could no longer talk. She was stuck, as usual, facing her imperfect reflection in the mirror. She longed for something else, for a different body.

My reflection:

This opera focuses on the contemporary issue of longing for the ideal body image which society constructs. The opera ends tragically due to showing a contemporary issue and not ending with a “fairy tale”. How society and advertisement portray media is a contemporary issue which goes unspoken for and this fictional story is one based on non-fictional experiences. The opera takes place in a 21^st century society and each scene is set in the most common places locations: home, commute to work, work. She receives no attention from her husband and seeks to be a non-existent object in which society constructs as being ideal. When she gets her wish, she realizes she is unhappy with being a mannequin and longs to be her original self. In today’s world, people have a constant desire for wanting something else instead of being satisfied with what they have. This opera can teach one many lessons such as be happy with what you have, you don’t realize how good you have it until something is lost and society creates social constructs which can alter a person’s happiness. Additionally, this story’s two main characters purposely go unnamed and are called by their pronouns due to their names being symbolic and correlated to each person’s gender. Lastly, throughout each scene there will be songs but mostly sad ones due to the girls sad life and there will not be many characters, rather, there will be a narrator and many internal dialogues.

Andrew Langer