VOICES will bring its original Spanish-language theater production, “ANHELO un café con estrellas,” or “I LONG for a coffee with stars,” — a celebration of community, connection and the power of dreams — to the Ute Theater in Rifle this weekend.

The Carbondale-based arts organization VOICES has been amplifying local voices since 2016, empowering individuals to share their authentic selves and connect through storytelling. Its Nuestras VOCES program creates devised theater productions in Spanish with English translation. 

Held every two years, this weekend’s show marks the third installment of the Nuestras VOCES Theater Project — and the first time VOICES has brought a production to Rifle.

“Throughout the creative process we discovered that, despite our differences, there is something deeply human that connects us: the ability to dream,” Director Gabriela Alvarez said in an Oct. 10 news release. “We dream of a better world, of a life lived with dignity, but also of fantastic, playful and impossible realities — because in dreams, anything can happen.”

Aptly titled “ANHELO un café con estrellas,” the production features a local cast of Spanish-speaking performers who invite audiences to share in the warmth of human connection and the beauty of dreaming together.

“I believe it’s the first Spanish theater production presented in Rifle,” said Margarita Alvarez, Nuestras VOCES stage manager and community liaison. “That is a huge milestone. There is so much growth that can happen within the theater world, within VOICES, within the Ute Theater — but we need support to be able to continue doing these types of projects. We’re hoping to incentivize other organizations and theater productions to feel confident and capable of presenting theater not just in English, but also in Spanish.”

The 2025 Nuestras VOCES participants range in age from 14 to 50. Among them are a father, son and daughter trio, as well as two sisters — making the production a celebration of both old and new connections.

In devised theater, the cast collaborates to create every element of the show, from script to design, through storytelling and improvisation. The process often begins with a series of questions designed to spark connection and imagination among participants.

“I’ve sat and received and digested what VOICES productions are, but I hadn’t had the chance to see the back end,” Margarita said. “In the first few rehearsals, I left so touched because it is truly sitting in a circle, talking about different reflective points, and slowly seeing the cast enter the room like, these are all strangers, I have nothing to relate to them, to eventually being like wow, we have a lot of things in common. There’s such an intimate relationship as one creates a script in a play or a theater production.”

Gabriela, who also directed the first Nuestras VOCES project in 2021, shaped the early exercises around dreams, hopes and inspiration.

“She did an exercise that was talking about the dream as if it were a place — what would that look like? If a dream was a flavor, what would it taste like?” Margarita said. “These different exercises that she had placed for the cast inspired what is now Nuestras VOCES 2025. 

The director had a little bit of an idea of wanting to do dreams but had no idea where it was going to go, what it was going to look like or what stories were going to be shared — one can only phrase the questions, but it’s really on the ensemble to connect to that and create something that is uniquely theirs.”

Even choosing the production’s title took several rehearsals and long conversations.

“‘I LONG for a coffee with stars’ gives this surrealist, cozy feeling,” Margarita said. “It’s like a dream — you long for it, you have it, but not every dream is solid and realistic…It just brings this warm feeling into your stomach and soul that reminds you of home or mornings, or nights, whenever you drink coffee.”

The Ute Theater will transform into a café for the production, with complimentary coffee and pastries from Rifle’s ProMex Bakery served to attendees. The setting invites the audience to feel like part of the story — to sip, listen and reflect alongside the performers.

This performance also marks a significant step for VOICES, which has spent years laying the groundwork to expand beyond the midvalley.

“This year is when we start to see the results of what we’ve cultivated over the past two years,” said MinTze Wu, VOICES executive and artistic director. “It just takes time. Prior to that, I think VOICES was still very much in its establishment phase, so our programming was mostly between Basalt and Glenwood Springs. It took time to lay the groundwork — or as I like to say, to till the soil — and now it feels like the right time.”

Like all VOICES projects, this weekend’s performance serves as both artistic expression and social connection — uplifting marginalized voices and creating a safe, dynamic space for personal expression.

“Because Nuestras VOCES this year is about dreams, it’s beautifully aligned with the hopes and dreams one has,” Margarita said. “Everybody has different aspirations. You could have dreams that are intergenerational, you can have dreams that didn’t come to life, but you could also have dreams that you are living that you’re not realizing you are.  It’s very inspirational, it’s very tuned into this space of being able to hope for more, regardless of what your environment stands for… It’s just beautiful. Hopefully people get that message and are able to see the efforts that VOICES is putting into creating that sacred space for people to join and create community.”