Waterwell Theater Company’s latest play, The Courtroom, has no playwright. Or even a theater. But as Waterwell founder (from HBO’s “Succession” and Tony nominee) Arian Moayed and Artistic Director Lee Sunday Evans tell Kevin, that’s the point. They found their inspiration — and their script — in the actual language of a deportation trial. And as immigrant rights advocate/attorney Elora Mukherjee reveals, they also found themselves pulled to ground zero of today’s drama: all the way to the border.

ResourcesThe Courtroom returns for monthly performances at civic venues in NYC through November 2020. For information and tickets visit http://waterwell.org/.View The Flores Exhibits at https://flores-exhibits.org/.For other resources and to get involved, visit https://www.newsanctuarynyc.org/.Jeffrey S. Chase, a former immigration judge, was the legal advisor for The Courtroom. Read his article "The Immigration Court: Issues and Solutions" here.Follow guest Arian Moayed on Twitter at @arianmoayed.

CreditsThe Backdrop is hosted by Kevin Bleyer and produced by Nella Vera.The Backdrop artwork is by Philip Romano.Follow Kevin Bleyer and Nella Vera on Twitter: @kevinbleyer / @spinstripesThe Backdrop is a proud member of the Broadway Podcast Network.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices