1 minute read

Must Watch: "Alien Citizen"

Elizabeth Liang, creator of the one-woman show "Alien Citizen"

Elizabeth Liang, creator of the one-woman show "Alien Citizen"

Must Watch: "Alien Citizen"

“Alien Citizen" is the filmed version of Elizabeth Liang’s internationally toured, comical and poignant one-woman show about growing up as a dual citizen of mixed-race heritage in Central America, North Africa, the Middle East, and New England.

Elizabeth Liang is a Third Culture Kid (TCK). Liang weaves humorous stories about growing up as an “Alien Citizen” abroad with American commercial jingles providing her soundtrack through language confusion, first love, racial ambiguity, culture shock, friendship, Clark Gable, sexual harassment, and sandstorms.

I'm not from a place. I'm from a people.

She deals with the decisions most TCKs make repeatedly: to adapt or to simply cope; to build a bridge or to just tolerate. From being a Guatemalan-American teen in North Africa to attending a women’s college in the USA, “Alien Citizen” reflects her experience that neither one was necessarily easier than the other. How does a young girl cope as a border/culture/language/religion straddler in-country after country that feels "other" when, in actuality, she is the “other?" Where is the line between respecting others and betraying self?

It is touted as the only intercultural solo show that highlights experiences of being multiracial, binational, multilingual, nomadic and female—living among many different worlds—all at the same time.

Although the narrative is largely in English, Liang speaks five languages in the film and depicts more than 30 characters living in Guatemala, Costa Rica, USA, Panama, Morocco and Egypt.

The stage production of this film has toured four continents.

For more information and to purchase, visit aliencitizensoloshow.com

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