The Immigrant Experience

Fear of strangers and love of strangers. The students of Glendale Community College’s theater arts department combine the two in “Xenophobe/Xenophile,” three one-act plays that open tonight.

The idea for the production came when faculty from the English as a Second Language program asked the theater department for plays about immigrants coping in society, faculty adviser Jill Benone said. Benone and her students discovered there were hardly any.

A summer workshop on GCC’s cultural diversity coalesced into the production, which includes two plays written by GCC students. All of the plays are student-directed.

“Gepetto’s Dream” was written by student Emil Ahangarzadeh, an Armenian-American, and addresses some of the problems faced by Armenians here. Kingley Toby is the play’s director.

Student Paul Navarro wrote “Hearts of Stone” from his perspective as an Italian-American. The play is directed by Bryan Scott.

Gordon Vandenberg directed “The Sound of a Voice,” by Chinese-American playwright D. H. Hwang, the only play not by a student.

The production will run at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday through Jan. 18, with two matinee performances at 2 p.m. Saturday and Jan. 18, at the Verdugo Woodlands Dad’s Club Youth House, 1728 Canada Blvd., Glendale.

Tickets cost $7; $5 for students and seniors, and $3 for children 12 and under. Call (818) 240-1000, Ext. 276 for reservations.