Blending comedy and real-life experiences in a critique of the decades-long American housing crisis, zAmya Theater’s “Living in America: The Waiting List is Full” will return to Twin Cities venues this November.
Opening Nov. 13 at the Minneapolis Central Library, the play seeks to ask how the housing crisis began and how it could spiral out of control. Written by director Esther Ouray and the cast, “Living in America” focuses on the experiences of those at the system’s center.
The show will also have performances at 825 Arts in St. Paul and the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis later in the month.
zAmya Theater’s “Living in America: The Waiting List is Full” was written in collaboration by director Esther Ouray and the cast. The play blends comedy and real-life experiences for a critique of the U.S. housing crisis. The play opens Nov. 13 and will travel to multiple Twin Cities venues. (Bruce Silcox)
According to the 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, homelessness in Minnesota rose almost 10%, while the national rate rose around 18%.
Another key finding of the study was that nearly all populations reached record levels of homelessness, affecting families with children, individuals, people staying in unsheltered or sheltered locations, and unaccompanied youth.
“A total of 771,480 people — or about 23 of every 10,000 people in the United States — experienced homelessness in an emergency shelter, safe haven, transitional housing program or in unsheltered locations across the country,” the report said.
Ouray said the mission of zAmya first drew her into the theater as a performing and teaching artist of more than 45 years.
“That mission of combining lived experience and artistic expression is something that I was already doing to some degree,” Ouray said.
The show is a series of vignettes following the history of the housing crisis in America, beginning in the 1930s, when housing was severely affected by the Great Depression and the introduction of the Federal Housing Administration and the U.S. Housing Authority, as well as the practice of redlining and displacement. The U.S. housing policies are the through line of the show, with the cast portraying characters from each era — including those based on their own lives.
“Most of our troop live in public housing. And I had lived in public housing. So, we brought it up,” Ouray said. “And the first time we brought it up, it was surprisingly such a charged issue. Everybody wanted to talk about it. Everybody was really excited to talk about it. Everybody had something to say.”
One actor in the troop, Linward Jones, found the play to be a chance to share his story after being introduced to zAmya after his experience of short-term homelessness.
“I had to go through a short term of homelessness, and one of the places I would hang out was the Minneapolis Central Library,” Jones said. “The zAmya Theater group, they meet in the library on Tuesday mornings. And so I attended one time and I fell in love with it. The work that they do, how they receive people and help people in the community.”
During the writing process, Jones contributed his own experiences of homelessness and living in public housing.
“Either the waiting list is full or somebody don’t care,” Jones said. “It’s one of the two. And I think that last year, being a part of the show — there was a lot of truth behind it and it was very relatable. And hearing other people’s testimony and dealing with public housing and such, I think it’s a raw and positive message.”
Actress Marcia Barnes, another member of the cast, was drawn to zAmya for its creativity and openness.
“There are so many layers of homelessness and layers of waiting to get affordable housing that we haven’t even touched the surface of,” Barnes said. “It’s everyday people. And I’m hoping that this production will be the beginning of something to open that up, for people to see more of the diversity and the complexities of homelessness.”
Beginning in 2004, the zAmya Theater Project connects communities throughout the Twin Cities to theater and artistic expression, centering on social justice, advocacy and collaboration, according to its website.
“zAmya Theater envisions empowered and interconnected communities that story staring, start seeing and change the systems that dehumanize us,” reads their mission statement.
‘Living in America: The Waiting List is Full’
When: Nov. 13-21
Where: Minneapolis Central Library (Nov. 13), 825 Arts in St. Paul (Nov. 15-16) and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis (Nov. 21).
Tickets: Priced on a sliding scale, with more information and tickets available at zamyatheater.org
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