This post was updated Jan. 11 at 8:32 p.m.
While audience members pondered the statement, “This country was built for me,” Carlos Roa created a visual framework to deepen their reflection.
Balancing their work as a graduate student at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television and their independent creative endeavors, Roa was the projection designer for the play “I Am an American (via Los Angeles).” Diana Wyenn – who conceived and directed the project for the LA-based Ammunition Theatre Company – said this play draws on the unique stories of its cast members to serve as a microcosm for the diverse experiences of Americans, exploring central themes of identity and belonging. Featured at the REDCAT film festival in downtown LA from Nov. 6-8 alongside empowering and often unsettling visuals crafted by Roa, viewers were invited to reflect on their personal connection to America through watching the distinct stories of cast members unfold.
“In the same way that the earth can rupture – the way a tectonic plate can start to schism – is how a lot of us might feel about our identities,” Roa said. “We have to pick and choose who we are in that movement, and to have to code-switch is reminiscent of the way land kind of shatters during an earthquake.”
In terms of the role of identity in the play, Roa said they provided a visual representation that vividly encapsulated the hardships individuals face in finding themselves, especially when struggling to develop a sense of belonging. Through depicting the diverse experiences of cast members living in America, they said they were inspired by an inner curiosity of how people could be emotionally attached to the United States and how challenges of belonging pose barriers to this relationship.
One of the play’s writers, Carla Ching, said Roa had the innovative idea of creating a map of the U.S. with blocks changing based on the location of where people are from, representing the U.S’s diversity. Additionally, Roa said they designed a split Grand Canyon image to depict atrocities in the U.S. Through these visuals, they said they aimed to reveal the rupture occurring in the nation right now.
Oscar Emmanuel Fabela, an actor in the play, said Roa seemed to be extremely aware of what was going on in the world, which Fabela attributed to be a key importance in theater in 2025. Having also been a graduate student in fine arts at TFT, Fabela added that he was able to connect with Roa on many levels, considering the rigorous and multifaceted training they both endured as UCLA students.
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Wyenn also said she appreciated Roa’s vast care and imagination. With this play requiring reflection about whether or not people see themselves as citizens, as well as seeing what the team was most proud and ashamed of in the U.S., Wyenn said she greatly appreciated the rigor Roa brought to the group. She said they made purposeful decisions that remained crucial to the play’s execution as an exploration of battling against American nationalism. She added that at one point, Roa projected a Thomas Jefferson quote over the stripes of the American flag.
“It wasn’t directly the flag at that moment,” she said, “but you felt the iconography of America pushing through and supporting that moment fully.”
Roa said they found freedom in the curriculum as a graduate student, where students can take any array of classes exploring a variety of disciplines. Through undergoing an education that takes an interdisciplinary approach to learning, Roa said they were able to develop their visual inclination that currently serves as the forefront of their work.
Roa also said their work as a teaching fellow allows them to apply their own experiences to projects like “I Am an American” to inspire their students. Having grown up with dyslexia and lacking the resources to overcome learning barriers, Roa said they aspire to build a curriculum that works to welcome students who feel underserved by education.
They added that they desire to teach their students how other cultures perceive storytelling and what performance means in various contexts. These lessons serve as the forefront of the messages in “I Am an American,” as Roa said that both they and the rest of the team worked to create a play that represents individuals from all backgrounds in the U.S., showcasing the distinct ways individuals relate to the country. To represent such diversity, much of the play’s inspiration was drawn from the cosmopolitan nature of LA.
“In Los Angeles, there are so many different immigrant communities living in different enclaves, like Little Ethiopia, Little Tokyo and historic Filipino towns,” Roa said. “Wanting to make sure that was represented was important.”
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Similarly, Wyenn said the vision for “I Am an American” was developed before planning began, and she added that the team sought to acknowledge how being American can mean so many different things to different people. Attributing the strength of America to the beauty of the collective population, Wyenn shared how the play represented the diverse range of cultures and ethnicities.
Looking ahead, Roa said they are excited about future projects that allow them to tell stories via visual means. They added that they are looking to continue their creative work without feeling attached to large institutions, hoping to continue creating empowering stories.
“I’m working in a place that’s based around storytelling that allows the visual gifts that I have to blossom,” Roa said. “I’m not necessarily interested in having a full-time job, but I am interested in having my hands in a lot of different pies and working on multiple things and always having a new project.”
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