Advance Theatre Festival - Bella Luz Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 7:30 PM PST

× Ruby Slippers Theatre in association with The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and Playwrights Guild of Canada present The Advance Theatre Festival: Advancing the Radically Inclusive Stage. Five Staged Readings over Five Days

Bella Luz

Playwright: Alexandra Lainfiesta

*READING OF PLAY ONLY*


Bella Luz is a magic-realist play that unfolds across three simultaneous worlds: Toronto (“Here”), Antigua Guatemala (“There”), and the surreal realm of Immigration System Game Shows (“Nowhere”), all tied to Guatemalan dancer Sumailla’s urgent quest for Canadian Permanent Residency. As she navigates a bureaucratic obstacle course staged like TV game shows, Sumailla’s choices in Toronto’s stunt industry, where she is cast to play stereotypical Latina roles, directly impact her family dynamics in Guatemala and her eligibility to remain in Canada. Torn between her mother’s and grandmother’s opposing views on migration, her love for fellow stuntwoman J, and the harsh reality that her only chance to stay lies in “proving” her value to Canada, Sumailla wrestles with moral compromises that echo her grandmother’s warning: “the rich countries change people.” Blending humour, spectacle, and sharp critique, Bella Luz exposes the contradictions of the immigrant experience in Canada, asking whether the sacrifices demanded by the so-called “immigrant’s dream” are worth the personal and cultural costs.

Playwright’s Bio: Born and raised in Guatemala, Alexandra is a multiple awards winning actor (Jessie Richardson Awards, Dora Mavor Moore Awards, Sydney J. Risk and Studio 58 Acting Award) and a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts, Studio 58 and most recently obtained her Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Victoria. As an actor, Alexandra has worked across Canada with companies such as The Stratford Festival, Arts Club Theatre, Bard on The Beach, Free Will Shakespeare, Rice & Beans, Frank Theatre, Theatre Gargantua, Electric Theatre Co., Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington DC), and Puente Theatre. In 2022, Alexandra was one of eleven individual recipients across British Columbia to be awarded The Lieutenant Governor’s Platinum Jubilee Arts and Music Award. As a writer, her first full length-play Bella Luz was commissioned by the Arts Club Theatre Company’s Silver Commission, and her first one woman show CHULA had its very successful first read at Theatre Gargantua’s 2025 Sidestream Festival. You can catch her next playing Nora Helmer in A Doll’s House at Theatre Calgary.

Location: Room 103

All tickets $15.00

SUBSCRIPTIONS
Purchase 3 different “Shadbolt Presents” shows for the same Patron and receive a special subscription price of $5.00 off per ticket. This show does not qualify for a discount but you can add it to your 3 shows for a subscription. . Available by phone only. Arts Club on Tour, Jazz @ the Bolt and shows $25 and under can be included as one of the three required for subscription however they will not receive the $5.00 discount. Not included: Arts Club on Tour and Jazz @ the Bolt

Please contact the Box Office if you require accessible seating or have ticketing or subscription questions. 604.205.3000
No refunds on tickets. 2.00 fee per ticket for exchanges