Dwayne Palmer and Marissa Garcia in a scene from Borderlands Theater's "School of the Americas."

Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star

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Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Obie Award-winning playwright José Rivera wants people to know that Ernesto "Che" Guevara is more than a face on a T-shirt.

"He has become such an icon. But he was a man who struggled with his own failures," Rivera says in a phone interview.

"I want people to come to understand and appreciate the man behind the myth."

Rivera, who was nominated for an Oscar for his adapted script "Motorcycle Diaries" in 2004, is the author of "School of the Americas," which Borderlands Theater opens next week.

"School of the Americas" actually grew from Rivera's research for "Motorcycle Diaries," which deals with a young Guevara. The play takes place on the last day of Guevara's life as he is being held in a school before his execution, and it focuses on the interactions between Guevara and a young schoolteacher.

Both Rivera and Eva Tessler, who is directing the Borderlands production, agree that the central character is the schoolteacher, a young woman who helps Guevara assess his life at its end, especially his failure to effect a revolution in Bolivia. In the process the schoolteacher sees that her role as a teacher is actually a revolutionary one.

"Being a teacher in Latin America is dangerous," says Tessler. "Really, teachers are on the front line in the fight for social justice. They are often victimized and even killed. . . .

"In this play, the teacher comes to understand how important teaching is, how important her job is, that education is so critical. Through education radical changes can happen."

Puerto Rican-born Rivera wanted to be a playwright since his teenage years. Living with immigrant parents on Long Island, he saw a production of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" and immediately knew he "wanted to do something like that." After graduating from Denison University in Ohio, he moved to New York City, worked 9-to-5 every day and wrote plays at night. In 1983, his first play, "The House of Ramon Iglesia," was produced to great acclaim.

"It changed my life," says Rivera. "I could write full time and support myself with grants and commissions."

In 2002, Rivera's agent set up a meeting with film director Walter Salles, who was looking for a writer for "Motorcycle Diaries."

"We traded ideas and had compatible views," says Rivera. "I knew him to be a cultured and brilliant filmmaker. It took over a year to research and write the adaptation for the film and about another year for the producer to raise the money.

"I was pleased with the film. I felt it was beautifully realized. But receiving the Oscar nomination was a shock. It has really changed my career. Now the odds are much better that my work will get produced."

Tessler says that Rivera is a "great guy and has been very generous." He actually helped her cast the two leading roles in Los Angeles. "It was so important to find the right actor to play Che. I think we did — Armando Ortega is doing a great job. We actually have a wonderful cast who are all very committed and have brought important insights to the process from their own research."

Another vital aspect of the production, says Tessler, is the Bolivian music performed by Rebeca Cartes from Bwiya Toli. "It adds so much, and I don't think many folks in this region are familiar with this music.

"I really hope people who see this show take away an understanding of how important education is, and that what we think are small actions can make such a difference."

"School of the Americas"

• Presented by: Borderlands Theater.

• Playwright: José Rivera.

• Director: Eva Tessler.

• When: Preview is 7:30 p.m. Thursday; opening is 7:30 p.m. next Friday. Through April 6.

• Where: The Cabaret Theatre at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave.

• Tickets: $10.75-$ 19.75, with discounts available.

• Information: 882-7406.

• Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes, with one intermission.

• Cast: Armando Ortega, Marissa Garcia, Dwayne Palmer, Angelica Rodenbeck, Jason Chavez, Gilberto Cardenas.