SoCiviC Theatre Presents Participatory Forum on Immigration and Visa Uncertainty

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The performance, created by Geboli Long and Jessie Yaxuan Yi, will take place at Playwrights Horizons Downtown in New York City.

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SoCiviC Theatre will present PAPER BRIDGES, a new participatory Forum Theatre performance exploring immigration, visa uncertainty, work, relationships, and the systems that shape people's ability to build a life in the United States. The performance will take place on Sunday, October 25, 2026, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre at Playwrights Horizons Downtown, 440 Lafayette Street in New York City.

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For many international students and immigrants in the United States, the ability to stay, work, study, and make long-term decisions can depend on immigration timelines and institutional processes largely outside their control. PAPER BRIDGES begins with that uncertainty, following characters whose decisions about employment, relationships, and their futures become inseparable from questions of immigration status.

But unlike a conventional play, PAPER BRIDGES does not end when the scripted story reaches its conclusion.

Drawing on Forum Theatre, a participatory theatrical form developed through Augusto Boal 's Theatre of the Oppressed, the performance invites audience members to become "spect-actors." After watching the initial story unfold, audience members can stop the action, enter the performance, replace the protagonist, and try different ways of responding to the obstacles presented onstage.

Rather than searching for a single correct solution, the performance uses theatrical intervention as a way to examine power, choice, and the possibilities and limitations of individual action within larger systems.

Producer and playwright Geboli Long, founder and artistic director of SoCiviC Theatre, describes the project as an attempt to move beyond simply representing social issues onstage.

"We started developing PAPER BRIDGES from conversations that kept returning to the same feeling: some of the biggest decisions in a person's life can be shaped by systems they have very little power over. We didn't want to create a piece that simply asks an audience to witness that anxiety. We wanted to create a space where people could enter the situation themselves, make choices, and see what those choices might change."

For director, Joker, and playwright Jessie Yaxuan Yi, the participatory structure is central to the work. As the production's Joker, Yi facilitates the exchange between performers and audience members as the performance moves from scripted scenes into intervention.

'What can I do when every day I scroll on my phone and there is always fresh bad news on anti-immigration proposals? When everything seems going the wrong way? When the system felt too massive, too powerful, too evil to fight against? Forum Theatre reminds me that the system consists of individuals. When there seems no solution to the valid fears and dilemmas regarding visa status, I want to be with the community. I want to be the Joker who calls our community to feel, ponder, and experiment together. In a world that wants us to feel hopeless and powerless, coming together to search for a way out is, in itself, an act of resistance.'

Playwright and dramaturg Daisy (Anqi) Cai, a drama therapist, approaches the project by examining the interconnected stressors surrounding status uncertainty, with a focus on both what unfolds within the 'self' and how broader systems shape personal development and relationships.

"As we build PAPER BRIDGES, I am reminded of a Chinese folktale '鲤鱼跃龙门'. Here is my version: Once upon a time, a carp wants to leap over the Dragon Gate far upstream on the Yellow River. Legend says that, by leaping over the gate, one will become a beautiful dragon. The carp doesn't care much about becoming a dragon. She just has a simple dream of seeing another possibility of life. She is discouraged by the other carps, the waves keep pushing her back, and fear often stirs in her heart. Still, she keeps trying and trying. Finally, gazing up at the majestic Dragon Gate, her vision is blurry and her mind muddled from exhaustion. There is only one thought that remains clear: she did not swim this far from home, say goodbye to her parents, and fight against the current for so long just to be a quitter."

At the heart of PAPER BRIDGES is an invitation to move from observation to action, from individual decision-making to collective witnessing and community care, and from hopelessness to transformation. By stepping into the story as the protagonist, an international employee, audiences are encouraged to experiment, whether to release emotions or to rehearse different strategies to build allies, and consider what change each of us could make in real life as part of the oppressive system.

PAPER BRIDGES is produced by Geboli Long, directed and facilitated by Jessie Yaxuan Yi, with dramaturgy by Daisy (Anqi) Cai.

The cast includes Geboli Long as Ruyi, Dragony Wang as Jason, Qianyi Tian as Mom and Andy, Xinyue Zhang as Dad, Shuqin Yan as Rachel the HR, and Daisy (Anqi) Cai as Kitty.

The creative and production team also includes Sallie Cen as Stage Manager and Daisy Jiang as Poster Designer.

SoCiviC Theatre is a New York-based nonprofit theatre organization advancing civic engagement and social action through community-centered performance, education, and dialogue. Working across New York and global contexts, SoCiviC develops collaborative and participatory theatre projects that bring communities together to examine social questions, share lived experiences, and imagine possibilities for change.

PAPER BRIDGES will be presented Sunday, October 25, 2026, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre at Playwrights Horizons Downtown, 440 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003.

Admission is pay-what-you-can, with a suggested contribution of $15. Advance RSVP is encouraged due to limited seating.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-off-broadway/article/PAPER-BRIDGES-to-Offer-Participatory-Forum-Theatre-on-Immigration-20261001)._