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The proposed fence along the U.S.-Mexican border has roused different reactions since it was suggested in 2006 - some support it, some protest it and some choose to perform plays about it.

Tonight, Teatro Nuevo México, Albuquerque's Hispanic stage company, presents the New Mexico premiere of "The Fence" at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

Writer Johanna Siegmann's play tells the story of Gina, who, after a normal day of work in the United States, finds a big fence she'd never seen before at the border, blocking her way home.

She is not alone. A variety of characters, including two teenagers, two TV reporters and an activist, are also surprised by this new obstruction and confront it in their own eccentric ways.

Writer Siegmann says "The Fence" is a farce that embraces different problems such as drugs, unemployment, terrorism and cultural differences.

"I was tired of being angry, and I wanted to find something to laugh about," Siegmann said during a phone interview from Los Angeles. "We have to laugh about it, because it is when you laugh that you think more clearly and come up with different solutions."

Siegmann says she wanted the situation to be a farce but with real-life characters interacting.

Siegmann met Michael Blum, director of Albuquerque's production of "The Fence," more than 30 years ago. They were high school students at the American School Foundation in Mexico City.

Blum moved to Albuquerque in the late 1970s to help start La Compañia de Teatro de Alburquerque, the late bilingual theater company.

Siegmann moved back and forth between New York and Mexico before eventually settling down in Los Angeles.

The idea of the border fence started to grab Siegmann's attention early in 2006 when people started talking about it. She says she could hear "the fence," in her head.

It was not until June 2006 that she sat down and released all those voices in a 12-hour fit of writing that produced her first draft of the play.

"The Fence" premiered in West Hollywood on Sept. 29 with Siegmann as the director.

She then sent sent the script to Blum, asking for his opinion even though she did not know about his involvement in theater.

He thought the play was great. "Let me do this, Johanna," Blum says he told Siegmann right away.

He held open auditions casting 22 local actors for the play. "The Fence" is a bilingual play, but some of the actors don't speak Spanish because their roles were written for English speakers.

Amy B. Archuleta, who plays Gina, says she is excited about her role.

"My character is just real, not overly dramatic; it is very natural," Archuleta says. "Any hard-working mother can relate to Gina."

Blum has been part of the Albuquerque theater scene for more than 25 years and is vice president and co-artistic director for Teatro Nuevo México.

He says what's interesting about the play is that the fence builds up instantly between the two countries. The most intriguing questions of the play, he says, are what would happen if the fence became a reality and how that would affect people.

"The idea of putting a wall between the countries is insane," Blum says. "This was the best way to deal with these issues — through comedy."