The play “Sanctuary City” will open the NMSU Theatre Arts and American Southwest Theatre Company’s 2025-2026 season on Friday. Scott Brocato spoke with the play’s director, Larissa Lury; and actress Emily Glover, who plays one of “Sanctuary City’s” two lead roles, about the play and what audiences can expect. The play also stars Edward Levya and Jared Long.
Scott Brocato:
Larissa Lury, tell us what Sanctuary City is about.
Larissa Lury:
Sanctuary City is about a friendship between two young adults who have grown up together. And when they turn 17, their lives split in different directions, when one of them becomes naturalized and the other one continues to live undocumented. And we see the way that impacts their relationships and also their life goals and what they dream of accomplishing and what they're able to accomplish.
Scott Brocato:
That sounds like a very relevant play.
Larissa Lury:
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. It actually takes place in...it starts in 2001 and it ends in 2006. And so it takes place in a different time, but another time when, at the time when ICE actually formed for the first time, and when 9/11 caused crackdowns on immigration and immigrants to be treated differently in the country. And it allows us to kind of hold up a mirror to what our time is right now and what people are living with right now. And it does it in a very personal way. It's looking at the lives of these characters and how things in the outside world are impacting their lives, things that are totally out of their control. And we've sort of just watched them navigate it and see what it is on the inside as opposed to looking at it from an issue-based perspective.
Scott Brocato:
And why did you want to direct it?
Larissa Lury:
Largely because of how personal it feels. It brings us inside of a situation that I don't think a lot of plays or movies let us see inside of and help us to understand. It's also just brilliantly written. The characters are so nuanced and interesting, and the structure of the play is really interesting too, and it's full of surprises.
Scott Brocato:
The two main characters are known only as G and B. Why just letters?
Larissa Lury:
I think one of the reasons for that is that Martyna Majok, who wrote the play, wanted it to be adaptable so that it could be performed by people from many different backgrounds who deal with a similar situation. So she keeps things open enough in the play that the actors and the director who are working on the play can really fill in what these characters' backgrounds are, and those things can be connected also to the actors who are actually playing the roles.
Scott Brocato:
Well, let's talk to one of the actors playing the roles. Emily Glover, you play G. Talk about her.
Emily Glover:
G is...she's a lot of fun. I think that she's got a lot of...she's fiery a lot more than I am. And so it's been, it's definitely...it's been a bit of a challenge, because I am much more reserved and composed, and she is very outlandish and speaks her mind regardless of how it'll come across. And I think that she's also very smart. I think that while she does things that kind of fly out without thinking, there is a lot of thought to what she says, or at least what she feels. And it's been a lot of fun to try and navigate.
Scott Brocato:
What are some other challenges?
Emily Glover:
I think the structure of the play was very hard because it goes from, I think, 46 scene changes in 50 minutes, something like that. And so it was, the memorizing was really tough for that because I'm trying to get the correct order, and there are a lot of elements that repeat either immediately after or later in the show that make it difficult to try to keep track of it all in my brain. But it's been a lot of fun.
Scott Brocato:
46 scene changes in 50 minutes?
Emily Glover:
Yeah, and that's just the first half.
Scott Brocato:
What's wrong with you, Larissa Lury? (laughter) No, is that you or is that the way the play is structured?
Larissa Lury:
That's the way the play is structured. But when Emily says “scene changes,” you might be imagining that the set changes and things move around, but really the actors have to create it entirely on their own, with the help of our lighting designer and our sound designer. But really, because of how quickly the play moves, we're not moving scenic pieces around.
Scott Brocato:
You don't have stagehands huffing and puffing 46 times...
Larissa Lury:
We don't, no. (laughs) There is a scenic change surprise. I don't know if I should put that out there, if I should ruin that. But all of those quick changes that Emily's talking about, that's all created through movement and sound and light. And in a way, it gives us kind of glimpses into these characters' lives that we are then putting together instead of sort of spelling it out for us in a linear, taking us all the way through from an A to B to C way.
Scott Brocato:
Larissa, what was it about Emily that made you cast her?
Larissa Lury:
She's a brilliant actor. She has so much depth and nuance. She has humor that surprises you. She has a way of listening to her fellow actors on stage that grounds them completely in the moment. And she's just an incredibly truthful performer who really brings you inside a character. And it's special to watch.
Scott Brocato:
And Emily, what is special about Larissa as a director? How has she helped you?
Emily Glover:
I think, first of all, just giving me such an incredible opportunity, because I've never gotten to play a role on this scale. And not that that's, you know, all roles are really important, but to be trusted with such a small cast, I think was huge, and I was also terrified that I would let her down. But I think the process is just, it's so collaborative, and I feel like there's a lot of room for your thoughts, even the thoughts of our lovely crew. And I think that it's just, it's been so much fun to feel like there's a lot of room to explore, as opposed to coming in with a set idea of “this is exactly what's happening here and here.” There's so much fluidity, and it's been really cool to get to find things along with the rest of the cast. And I'm really grateful to be a part of it.
Scott Brocato:
And who is the actor who plays B?
Larissa Lury:
Edward Leyva.
Scott Brocato:
Talk about him briefly.
Larissa Lury:
Edward is really interesting because he came into this process thinking that he only does comedy, and broad comedy at that, and that he was afraid, actually, that he wouldn't be able to enter into what this role is asking of him. And I completely disagreed with that from the beginning. But working with him, it's been so exciting to see him make these really beautiful connections and find this sense of honesty. He's a very physical actor also, and so he finds things in his body, and then he connects those to the moments and the psychology of the character. And it's been so exciting to watch the relationship between Edward and Emily as B and G develop and evolve.
Scott Brocato:
What do both of you want audiences to take away from the play? We'll start with you, Larissa.
Larissa Lury:
I think one of the most important things for me is that with the way the world has been going right now...I mean, it's not just right now, it's been for years and years and years. But especially it seems at a height right now (with) immigration, people's identities feel like they can be so politicized...and this play brings us back to the human, and reminds us that we're talking about human beings and people's life dreams and relationships and love. And I really hope that people connect to these characters, and that helps them maybe look out at the world with slightly different eyes than they had before.
Scott Brocato:
Emily Glover, what do you want audiences to take away from Sanctuary City.
Emily Glover:
I think on a similar note that there's a lot of disconnect between just seeing things that are happening to other people, and I think that can lead to a lack of sympathy and empathy regarding this really, really tough decisions that people have to make. And so I hope that seeing, especially because the characters are so young, seeing how this affects young people and their families, as well as how systems like this that a lot of people never have to come in contact with, they can tear people's lives apart. And I think finding a lot of, like (Larissa) said, the humanity in the people that have to go through these things and up against these systems that aren't built to support them whatsoever. And so I hope that people are able to empathize more with the situations that others are going through, through seeing the very real lives of of the people that go through them.
Larissa Lury:
Can I add one more thing?
Scott Brocato:
Sure.
Larissa Lury:
It's just that I also want to say that I hope that there are people who come to this play and feel seen by it. I think it's a story that a lot of people are living, and that doesn't get put on stage or on screen. And so I hope that there are people who see themselves in a helpful way in this play.
For tickets to Sanctuary City, go to https://nmsutheatre.ludus.com/index.php
