The Program for Learning and Community Engagement (PLACE) at Texas A&M University-Texarkana will host actor, writer and director Alejandro Garza for a dramatic workshop and his solo show “Coconut” on Thursday, Sept. 15, in Eagle Hall of the University Center on the A&M-Texarkana campus, 7101 University Ave., Texarkana, Texas.
At 11 a.m., Garza will deliver a dramatic workshop for interested participants to discuss his writing process and how he develops his shows. The participants will also write and perform brief autobiographical monologues.
At 7 p.m., he will perform one of his solo shows, “Coconut,” which portrays the struggles of Latino-Americans.
PLACE is a faculty-led program designed to create a community of learners comprising A&M-Texarkana students, faculty, staff and the community at large. PLACE chooses an annual theme around which to organize a lecture series and other activities that provide focal points for learning and discussion. This year’s theme is “Race and Ethnicity.”
Garza was born in Houston, Texas, and was raised all over south Texas. He has been acting, writing and directing plays for over 20 years. He received a Master of Arts in theatre from Eastern Michigan University, and he has acted professionally with several theatre companies in the Austin area.
Garza has received recognition for four of his plays from the Texas Educational Theatre Association and has written a number of solo shows, including “The Journey of Tam,” “The Baby Harp Seal Diaries” and one of his favorites, “Abuelita’s Christmas Carol,” which he has performed throughout south and central Texas, as well as in California.
He has been performing “Coconut” for several years, and he enjoys sharing his life stories with audiences, especially stories written as tributes to his family.
Future PLACE events include the following:
September
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 9-10:30 a.m. – Dr. Michael Perri – SuperLecture, “Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois: A Study in Contrasts” – University Center 210
Thursday, Sept. 22, 7-9 p.m. – Terry Taylor, Robert Jones, Jasmine Crockett, Lieutenant Thedford White and Officer Latriesha Shanks – Symposium, “Sharing Some Thoughts on African-American Men and the Legal System” – Eagle Hall, University Center
October
Monday, Oct. 3, 6-10 p.m. – Dr. Drew Morton – Screening and Discussion, “Color Adjustment” – University Center210
Thursday, Oct. 6, 2-3:30 p.m. – Dr. James Presley – “Superfund Drama in Texarkana: The Battle of Carver Terrace” – University Center 210
Tuesday, Oct. 18, 12-2:30 p.m. – Dr. Kim Murray – SuperLecture, “Cultural Appreciation or Cultural Appropriation? A Conversation about Halloween Costumes” – Eagle Lounge, University Center
Wednesday, Oct. 26, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. – Dr. Corrine Hinton – SuperLecture, “‘God decreed it so’: The Rhetoric of Destiny in 1963” – University Center 210
Thursday, Oct. 27, 7-8:30 p.m. – Dr. Daniel Fairbanks – Everyone Is African: How Science Explodes the Myth of Race – Eagle Hall, University Center
November
Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2:30-3:45 p.m. – Dr. Doug Julien SuperLecture, “Digitally Mapping Race in Texarkana” – University Center 210
Tuesday, Nov. 1, 6-10 p.m. – Screening and Discussion with Dr. Drew Morton – “Do the Right Thing” – University Center 210
Tuesday, Nov. 8, 1:30-3 p.m. – Dr. Kevin Ells – SuperLecture, “Verifying Sources in Science Reporting or How NOT to Broadcast about Race” – University Center 210
Thursday, Nov. 17, 7-9 p.m. – Dr. Leo Chavez – “The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation” – Eagle Hall, University Center
