Selected for 2023-24 Salon Reading Series - Angels Theatre Co.
In 1000 Miles, Vanessa Garcia sets her story of immigration and refugees in a fictional and fantastical land. This saves Garcia from allusions or direct commentary of a specific refugee crisis (or crises) in our world. It also allows the human story to resonate powerfully. It’s a clever strategy, and effective in opening our hearts to characters bound together in a world that tries to separate them. Highly recommended.

The omission of specific years or place names allows the play to resonate differently depending on where it's staged, and the experience and perceptions that the audience carry in with them. Yet still, what rings so heavily in the story is the specificity in the fears, actions, and intentions of the characters, along with what they bring to the City from far away. The use of space is a beautiful way of expressing the play's themes on stage, striking and distinct, yet I can imagine a production bringing it to life in any number of ways.

So much is packed into this compact play, yet it never seems overstuffed. Rather, Garcia has all of the elements working together and has us thinking about identity, the notion of home, and the barriers we put up within ourselves and against others. Though it is set in a fictional place the correspondences with immigration and refugee debates taking place all over the world resonant powerfully. Though epic in scope, the piece focuses on five characters and uses simple staging to achieve wonderful moments of pure theatre. A truly incredible work from Garcia.