Juan C. Romero plays the devil during a performance at the Animo Pat Brown Charter High School. A traveling troupe of day laborers was funded by a $100,000 grant provided by the Ford Foundation in late 2008, but the money has dried up. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Juan Herrera, center, is one of 15 day laborers chosen to perform with the Day Laborer Theater Without Borders. The actors were trained by the nonprofit Cornerstone Theater. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Victor Wermer studied miming during college in Cuba. “I never thought I would recover this part of myself again,” he said. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Head shots and work experience were considered by members of Cornerstone during the first practice of the play “Teatro Jornalero.” The performances spread messages about health, alcoholism, labor laws and immigrant rights. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Erasmo Perez, left, and Juan Herrera work on a stretching exercise to get them ready to perform. Physical exercise is a requirement for members of the troupe. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Elizabeth Borja applies makeup to a fellow actor. The art was one of the first lessons this group of day laborers learned in their metamorphosis into actors. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Ethan Sawyer, the artistic director for the endeavor, and Elizabeth Borja ham it up prior to a rehearsal. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Cuban immigrant Victor Wermer, center, prepares his fellow actors for their miming skit about a lazy soldier. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Victor Wermer takes a bow at the end of a dress rehearsal. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Ethan Sawyer gives Elizabeth Borja a congratulatory hug after her first performance. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
