La misión...

Theatre. Latino theatre. Across the U.S.: really in three major cities...New York....Chicago...and San Francisco.

New York was June (will write more soon)

Chicago is now in July (has inspired me to write)

San Francisco is August (we'll see what's ahead)

What is Latino theatre??? That's what I've set to find out. Or at least get a good taste. But, basically, it's a play that has Latino themes or characters, Spanish is optional and subtitles (nowadays) are usually included. It is not limited to Latinos. The themes typically focus on family and the home, but not necessarily. They can be about history and identity. I guess technically, one could say they could be about anything, but generally they focus on the search for belonging, a sense of losing or struggling with the tools to belong, and magic. Magic in the fantastical sense and magic in the daily elements of life. The plays usually incorporate color and music (or singing and dancing) but not in a West-Side-Story kind of way. In a quotidian way. The epic and the everyday unite to make life difficult but nostalgically enjoyable for the characters.

Latino theatre is close to the heart though it tends to be less psychologically real and more presentational. It is theatrical in its very obvious storytelling--which makes it intimate. The actors know they are telling a story and make it big enough to swallow the audience. They make it hungry with energy that thirsts for attention. They make it big, like a soap opera, or a campfire tale, or commedia dell'arte. They make it worth watching.

I guess after this adventure, I'll be able to see what "bad" Latino theatre is (along with the good) but the objective is just to experience it. I may sound complimentary of everything I write about but that's because I go to watch it to get something out of it besides entertainment, and, so, I usually do. This blog will not serve as a review of the plays but as a testimony of what impacted me....what was visually savory. What worked. And, possibly, what similarities I see in this "genre" (if that's what it should be called).

I won't pretend to be an expert, just an audience member of many, many shows by the end of this summer. And a writer of Spanglish plays. I'm a student and a novice, looking for my place in this theatre world. Hopefully, I'll become a good guide.