ENGL 53.55 Theater in the Barrio: Introduction to Chicano Theater

Arising from a climate of progressive social movements during the 1960s and 1970s, such as protests against the Vietnam War, the United Farm Workers (UFW) mobilizations, the Chicana/o Movement, Civil Rights Movements in the US, and liberation movements in Latin America, there came a need for a uniquely Chicana/o artistic expression. Teatro Chicano [Chicano Theater] would serve as a tool to vindicate the cultural identity of the agricultural Chicana/o workers, challenge power relationships, and unite and mobilize its working-class audience. El Teatro Chicano’s capacity to be in direct contact with its audience, speaking in the people’s language, its accessibility to artists and audiences who could quickly set up and dismantle the stage and scenery on a truck’s flatbed, and the performers’ ability to shape their acting and dialogue in response to the audience’s reaction/interaction made it the quintessential artistic expression of the Chicana/o movement.

This course begins by analyzing how elements of the European popular theater tradition, such as Commedia dell’arte and agitprop, were reimagined by the Teatro Chicano artists while emphasizing the influence of the Mesoamerican oral tradition in their artistic philosophy, playwrighting, and performance. In learning about the historical background of the Teatro Chicano, we will discuss how the plays of the TENAZ (Teatro Nacional de Aztlán) companies interrogate the role of art in the US and international class struggle, how Indigenist philosophy and decolonial frameworks inform Chicana/o esthetics, and how plays perpetuate machista (male supremacist) tropes or defy them through Chicana feminist outlooks. Through the analysis of selected works that represent the cultural production and philosophies of Teatro Chicano, such as plays, teatro memoirs, music, ephemera, and film, we will explore the themes of Chicana/o subjectivity, aesthetics, performance, decolonization, feminism, class politics, and anti-imperialism.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:LIT; WCult:CI

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Department-Specific Course Categories

English and Creative Writing