In the sea, six people have to think like one. Manual for a Desperate Crossing is an epic migratory montage that follows a group of Cuban rafters, or “balseros,” fleeing to the United States in the mid-1990s. Cuban-American playwright María Irene Fornés crafts this one-act with her distinctively stylized prose, which draws from real-life testimonies of balseros, to create a vast landscape of overlapping fears and dreams. The solidity and security of a home lost to a precarious raft, a better future conflicting with an unyielding past, the fight to exist within nature and against nature; these oppositions materialize on stage like narrative tableaus, memorializing the histories of the thousands who have undertaken these desperate crossings. Directed by Princeton junior Didi Vekri with lighting design and dramaturgy by senior Elena Milliken. In English with English and Spanish captions for all performances.

Admission: Free and open to the public, however tickets are required, available online at tickets.princeton.edu.

Accessibility: The Wallace Theater is an accessible venue. All performances captioned in English and Spanish. Guests in need of access accommodations are asked to contact the Lewis Center at LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week prior to the event date. 

For more information: https://arts.princeton.edu/events/manual-for-a-desperate-crossing-by-maria-irene-fornes/2026-02-20/