Scenic and Projections Design by Leigh Henderson

Teatro Visión (San José, CA), April 2024

by Francisco Jiménez

adapted for the stage by Leo Cortez

Directed by Ugho Badú and Ricardo Cortés

Jiménez’s memoirs have resonated across generations, in their message of love, determination, and the importance of one’s mentors.

In La Mariposa, a young Panchito arrives in the U.S. with his family, and finds his way amid a life of constant moving and in a school where he doesn’t understand a word his teacher says. As he watches his classroom caterpillar transform into a butterfly, he too begins to learn to spread his wings.

Breaking Through follows him to his teenage years, where Panchito comes to love school and reading. A dream to become a teacher awakens in him. But when his responsibility to his family clashes against his own desires, he must navigate the competing priorities that face him.

The scenery and projections embrace both the form of the memoir and the youthful voice of the protagonist. Composed entirely of paper and cardboard, the scenery and props emphasize both the unboxing of memory and the imaginative play of a child with big dreams. Hundreds of colorful, hand-drawn images, projected onto a screen composed of an eruption of book pages, playfully complement the action on stage in the manner of children's book illustrations.