‘This Is Not an Immigrant Story’ is actor and writer’s invitation to find common ground, and maybe think about your mom

Reza Salazar has been a working performer for pretty much his entire life. After his parents divorced, his mother took 5-year-old Salazar with her, moving from place to place around South America, and performing as clowns to make money.

“I was ashamed of it for many years because it’s how we survived…I think, when I was little, I didn’t know any better and was just happy to be with my mother. When I started to get into the teenage years, I started to be a little bit more embarrassed about what we were doing. I didn’t want my friends to know that’s what I did on the weekend, that I dressed up as a clown,” he says.

He kept diaries that start in Spanish and transition to English when he and his mother arrive in the United States when he was in high school, documenting the moments of their lives together and the work they had spent so many years perfecting. He’s sharing his story in his play, “This Is Not an Immigrant Story,” part of The Old Globe’s Power New Voices Festival at 4 p.m. Sunday. The festival is a play reading event that features new plays by emerging and award-winning playwrights, including local artists, and continues through Sunday. Tickets to all readi...