Help Ruth Guerra Shine at Latino Theater Fest!

¡RUTH ON THE ROCKS is coming for you!

Veteran of Chicago's Southside arts and performance scene, Ruth Guerra, is putting together a one-chingona show, RUTH ON THE ROCKS, that will premiere as part of the Destinos, Chicago International Latino Theater Festival.

That's right, Ruth's lil ol' play from and in Back of the Yards is being included in a fest bringing theaters and shows from across the city, country, and world. We can't let 'em think we busted and janky on the South Side so we need your support in bringing this play to life!

So, we're asking for monetary support -- your money, mama -- to make this play happen.

"Girl, What's this Play Even About?"

RUTH ON THE ROCKS is about... well, Ruth. It's written and performed by Ruth Guerra and draws from her life and her love for a good drink and music.

Here's the official synopsis that we're putting on press releases and sh*t:

"Ruth Guerra is just your average Mexican American, middle-aged girl that grew up in the hood on Chicago’s Southside and loves a good drink or ten, her jams and a messy relationship. Oh! She’s also a mother and grandmother, a regular at a few bars and backyards, sometimes actor and storyteller, and still grieving her father. She probably needs a therapist or an Ayahuasca trip but instead this veteran of Chicago’s underground Latino performance and storytelling scene made a play about her hot ass mess of a life.

Performed in the storefront where her late father operated his refrigerator repair shop, Guerra shares and explores the highs and lows that come with Latina womanhood and anything with a blood-alcohol content in her solo show. Ruth on the Rocks is a performance that's part storytelling, part mixtape, part family history, part autobiography, and all true — except for like one or two lies and uncorroborated chisme (which means “gossip” in Spanish)."

"Hol' up... Who the hell is Ruth?"

Ruth Guerra is a Southside Chicagoan, born and raised in Back of the Yards. For decades, Ruth has been performing, acting in plays and telling stories.

She's been a part of community-based theater productions like Free Street Theater's The Real Life Adventures of Jimmy de las Rosas that toured parks across Chicago. She was a member of Chicago's hit underground performance group, The Southside Ignoramus Quartet (SIQ), that performed radical comedy in a backyard theater tent in Pilsen and sold out shows for 8 years. Ruth also was a member of Hood Moms, a collaboration between artist and activist Ricardo Gamboa and Free Street Theater that brought moms from Back of the Yards together to share their stories.

Ruth was also a single-mother and now's even a grandmother. It's taken a while to find the time and resources to tell her story and make a show, but she's finally doing it and she'd love your help.

"Why does this play matter?"

Ruth's play isn't just about Ruth. It's about experiences that many Latinos, Latinas, people of color, women and women of color, working class people and people from immigrant families and communities can relate to.

Mainstream media and entertainment force feeds us stories that glorify the rich, the young and pretty, and the whites. We don't get stories that center an older working-class woman of color. Often when we do get "representation" of our communities, it's some watered show sh*t.

This isn't just true for mass entertainment, it's true for Chicago theater too. Big theaters like Steppenwolf or Goodman never tell our stories. They don't produce Chicago Latino/a/x/e voices and don't put up stories that reflect our lives and communities.

RUTH ON THE ROCKS is a chance for a Chicago story by a Chicago voice that will be showcased in an international theater fest.

"Okay... If I can give Netflix and all these other streamers my money every month, I can throw y'all something. What happens to my money?"

So, the total costs of this production is $15,000. The majority of these costs is to pay people. This ain't a lot. Plays in Chicago at more established theaters can cost upwards $100,000. We're hoping to raise $2,500-$5000 of that here. So, any amount you got helps! We'll thank you in our program and you'll be remembered forever as someone who helped make this play happen.