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Chicano Theater: Themes and Forms
critical study
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1981
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January 1, 2014
I had begun this book back in October, but projects (such as lesson planning four different classes, directing two shows, and performing/designing another) inevitably got in the way. The impetus to read this book was my summative assignment for my Curriculum and Assessments class. This summative assignment wanted the student to think outside of the standards to create a multicultural curriculum unit. I have to design two curriculums anyway, so this wasn't particularly new to me (there are no clear-cut ways to teach musical theater and P.E., so...the instructor has to design it), and I had decided to do a research project on marginalized musical theater artists. There are not very many books that are written to cover the musical theater history of every marginalized community, so I had to look further into the books to find their history of theater and then their history of musical theater. This was the first book I launched into, and it has also inspired me to direct PIPPIN this semester with a Chicano corrido/mito/acto in mind...
So...this book, aside from my project, is very good. It is the seminal work about Chicano Theater and Jorge A. Huerta covers (what was only 17 years old, at the publishing date of the book) a new direction of theater's identity in a very objective and thorough way.
There are several things I like about this book, but I'll let his own quotes serve their purpose:
"LOS VENDIDOS demonstrated to Valdez and his troupe that Chicanos like to see themselves reflected onstage, even if critically exposed. They also learned that the "Mexican Americans" were seldom in the audience to see themselves presented, for their politics kept them away from Chicano rallies and other functions that were the settings for teatro performances. With the passing of the years this acto would reach thousands of people and the response would always be positive, for it was based on Valdez' keen sense of his people's characteristics and his wonderful comic vision. The sellout type would return to strut on Valdez' stage, as well as in other playwrights' and teatros' visions..." (Huerta, 68)
"Typical of most Chicano drama, these works are not defeatist, but rather they indicate the Chicano's will and determination to survive. The very reason for the creation and production of these antiwar statements was to educate the public in order to bring about change. Though the characters in each piece may have thought they had no choice, the actos and plays all tell their audience that they do have a choice. Each of the sacrifices represented by the fallen soldiers is a symbol of the belief that the audience can learn from their example and, hopefully, not make the same mistakes." (Huerta, 118)
"In creating this docudrama [GUADALUPE by El Teatro de la Esperanza], the Teatro felt that it should employ certain features of Brechtian theory that would convert the theater into a lecture hall, a place where the audience would be asked to pay careful attention to the politics behind each action. Because the actors were also the crators of this piece, they had a clear understanding of why the characters were taking certain actions, making certain decisions, and what the consequences of those choices were. The Brechtian influences can be seen in the episodic structure, the quotations, the presentational attitude that included the audience from the beginning, the constant presence of the actors, and the political base for the work itself. The demonstrator style of acting was also a direct influence of the German dramatist, inspired by his writings about a "a new technique of acting." The detachment of the actors as demonstrators, stepping in and out of characters, helped them maintain the sense of critical observation that they hoped the audience would also adopt." (Huerta, 145)
"Like their predecessors, the legendary zoot suiters of the 1940s, contemporary pachucos affect a certain dress that immediately distinguishes them. [Jaime] Verdugo's script notes this; he agreed with the director and designer that this similarity of appearance should be exaggerated to the extreme in the acto. Therefore, the pachucos all wear the same costume of black shoes, khaki pants, suspenders, and white T-shirts. Their masks are all modeled from the same mold, giving them a carbon-copy likeness inspired by reality itself. Before closer scrutiny, these young Chicanos do appear to look alike. One of the pachucos in the opening scene mistakes his friend for an enemy, emphasizing the playwright's comment on the pachucos' propensity for affecting identical styles of clothing and mannerisms. The fact that the pachucos all look alike also stresses the acto's suggestion that their suffering is equal and offers a composite vision of the pachuco through more than one protagonist. The pachucos are presented as common enemies, but they must join forces against a greater adversary in the end." (Huerta, 162)
"The audience loved the production; the New York critics did not. Sylvie Drake, who has followed Valdez' evolution closely since he first began the Teatro Campesino, was present that opening night and thought the production was at its best, fitting "neatly inot the stage of the Winter Garden, with an assurance and focus refined well beyond all three of the previous L.A. versions. However, her initial statement abou the New York opening provides an ironic metaphor for the production: "Smooth as El Pachuco's reet pleat, slick as the mocking feather in his broad-rimmed hat, "Zoot Suit" skidded onto Broadway Sunday with all the sass of a high school dropout clamoring for admission to an Ivy League college...admission was not granted." Ironic, because pachucos, as we learned in NO SACO NADA DE LA ESCUELA, are high school dropouts, as were a majority of Chicanos until quite recently. Ironic, because few Chicanos have been admitted to Ivy League colleges. And finally, ironic because the "skid" Ms. Drake refers to suggests a stop, as if that were the production's ultimate destiny. It was not." (Huerta, 182)
"Like the sleekly dressed pachuco, ZOOT SUIT, could not be ignored. Critics might laugh at its bravado, scorn its audacity, and cry for a statement they could better understand, but they could never change this child of the barrios into what they termed "good theater." As Valdez had expected, the Hispanic and Black audiences in New York understood his play perfectly. El Pachuco was as much their symbol of defiance as he was the Chicanos', for he stood before his audience and declared himself a member of this society, whether society wanted him or not. "This is a cultural stand," Valdez told an interviewer in New York, "and America has got to come to grips with it. Because we're not going to go away." (Huerta, 183)
"While the focus of this book is on the works created by the more developed teatros, it must be remembered that all of them began as inexperienced troupes who genesis was determined by a political cause rather than an artistic goal. The neophyte troupes remain the only true people's theaters, and the groups represented in this volume are the exception rather than the rule. The older teatros have survived to face the responsibility of maintaining a connection with their communities while reaching for professional performance standards. They have become traveling models for the other teatros, the groups that form the very foundation of the Chicano theater movement. The younger groups serve to stimulate the interest of both the participants and audiences they serve, and the older teatros confirm that support." (Huerta, 216)
So...this book, aside from my project, is very good. It is the seminal work about Chicano Theater and Jorge A. Huerta covers (what was only 17 years old, at the publishing date of the book) a new direction of theater's identity in a very objective and thorough way.
There are several things I like about this book, but I'll let his own quotes serve their purpose:
"LOS VENDIDOS demonstrated to Valdez and his troupe that Chicanos like to see themselves reflected onstage, even if critically exposed. They also learned that the "Mexican Americans" were seldom in the audience to see themselves presented, for their politics kept them away from Chicano rallies and other functions that were the settings for teatro performances. With the passing of the years this acto would reach thousands of people and the response would always be positive, for it was based on Valdez' keen sense of his people's characteristics and his wonderful comic vision. The sellout type would return to strut on Valdez' stage, as well as in other playwrights' and teatros' visions..." (Huerta, 68)
"Typical of most Chicano drama, these works are not defeatist, but rather they indicate the Chicano's will and determination to survive. The very reason for the creation and production of these antiwar statements was to educate the public in order to bring about change. Though the characters in each piece may have thought they had no choice, the actos and plays all tell their audience that they do have a choice. Each of the sacrifices represented by the fallen soldiers is a symbol of the belief that the audience can learn from their example and, hopefully, not make the same mistakes." (Huerta, 118)
"In creating this docudrama [GUADALUPE by El Teatro de la Esperanza], the Teatro felt that it should employ certain features of Brechtian theory that would convert the theater into a lecture hall, a place where the audience would be asked to pay careful attention to the politics behind each action. Because the actors were also the crators of this piece, they had a clear understanding of why the characters were taking certain actions, making certain decisions, and what the consequences of those choices were. The Brechtian influences can be seen in the episodic structure, the quotations, the presentational attitude that included the audience from the beginning, the constant presence of the actors, and the political base for the work itself. The demonstrator style of acting was also a direct influence of the German dramatist, inspired by his writings about a "a new technique of acting." The detachment of the actors as demonstrators, stepping in and out of characters, helped them maintain the sense of critical observation that they hoped the audience would also adopt." (Huerta, 145)
"Like their predecessors, the legendary zoot suiters of the 1940s, contemporary pachucos affect a certain dress that immediately distinguishes them. [Jaime] Verdugo's script notes this; he agreed with the director and designer that this similarity of appearance should be exaggerated to the extreme in the acto. Therefore, the pachucos all wear the same costume of black shoes, khaki pants, suspenders, and white T-shirts. Their masks are all modeled from the same mold, giving them a carbon-copy likeness inspired by reality itself. Before closer scrutiny, these young Chicanos do appear to look alike. One of the pachucos in the opening scene mistakes his friend for an enemy, emphasizing the playwright's comment on the pachucos' propensity for affecting identical styles of clothing and mannerisms. The fact that the pachucos all look alike also stresses the acto's suggestion that their suffering is equal and offers a composite vision of the pachuco through more than one protagonist. The pachucos are presented as common enemies, but they must join forces against a greater adversary in the end." (Huerta, 162)
"The audience loved the production; the New York critics did not. Sylvie Drake, who has followed Valdez' evolution closely since he first began the Teatro Campesino, was present that opening night and thought the production was at its best, fitting "neatly inot the stage of the Winter Garden, with an assurance and focus refined well beyond all three of the previous L.A. versions. However, her initial statement abou the New York opening provides an ironic metaphor for the production: "Smooth as El Pachuco's reet pleat, slick as the mocking feather in his broad-rimmed hat, "Zoot Suit" skidded onto Broadway Sunday with all the sass of a high school dropout clamoring for admission to an Ivy League college...admission was not granted." Ironic, because pachucos, as we learned in NO SACO NADA DE LA ESCUELA, are high school dropouts, as were a majority of Chicanos until quite recently. Ironic, because few Chicanos have been admitted to Ivy League colleges. And finally, ironic because the "skid" Ms. Drake refers to suggests a stop, as if that were the production's ultimate destiny. It was not." (Huerta, 182)
"Like the sleekly dressed pachuco, ZOOT SUIT, could not be ignored. Critics might laugh at its bravado, scorn its audacity, and cry for a statement they could better understand, but they could never change this child of the barrios into what they termed "good theater." As Valdez had expected, the Hispanic and Black audiences in New York understood his play perfectly. El Pachuco was as much their symbol of defiance as he was the Chicanos', for he stood before his audience and declared himself a member of this society, whether society wanted him or not. "This is a cultural stand," Valdez told an interviewer in New York, "and America has got to come to grips with it. Because we're not going to go away." (Huerta, 183)
"While the focus of this book is on the works created by the more developed teatros, it must be remembered that all of them began as inexperienced troupes who genesis was determined by a political cause rather than an artistic goal. The neophyte troupes remain the only true people's theaters, and the groups represented in this volume are the exception rather than the rule. The older teatros have survived to face the responsibility of maintaining a connection with their communities while reaching for professional performance standards. They have become traveling models for the other teatros, the groups that form the very foundation of the Chicano theater movement. The younger groups serve to stimulate the interest of both the participants and audiences they serve, and the older teatros confirm that support." (Huerta, 216)
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