Latinx Theatre

Marshall Botvinick shares the results of the research he undertook about new plays premiering across the United States in the 2019–20 season: who is being produced, what characters are appearing on stage, and what forms and themes are common.

Linda Parris-Bailey and Diane Rodriguez talk about their own leadership transitions and what’s next, gender, race, and economic barriers; documenting work; and more.

Carl(os) Roa reflects on the 2019 Latinx Theatre Commons Miami Regional Convening, which took place between 12 and 14 July.

Luis Alfaro and Herbert Sigüenza talk about their experience in the National Playwright Residency Program, learning about the inner workings of theatre companies, portraying Latinx people in a positive light, the importance of comedy, and more.

Melisa Pereyra talks about how suffering goes hand in hand with being a woman of color actor, how trauma is held in the body, and how audiences react when stories lack grief.

Juan Recondo looks at Luis Alfaro’s reimaging of Euripides’s Medea, in which the title character is a Mexican undocumented immigrant who arrived in New York after facing the horrors of the border.

Shari Caplan discusses the Huntington Theatre’s production of Yerma.

Todd London celebrates one of the most prolific and prominent Latino playwrights in America, Octavio Solis.

Mariela López talks about her research on independent theatres across Mexico, including the challenges, the benefits, and recommendations for anyone wanting to create a company. / Mariela López nos habla de su investigación sobre los teatros independientes en México, incluyendo los desafíos, los beneficios y recomendaciones para cualquiera que quiera crear uno.

Herbert Siguenza, co-founder of the Latino performance troupe Culture Clash, talks about his unconventional writing path, his time working with the collective, and finding his unique voice.

Sean Anthony Chia discusses Kristiana Rae Colón’s good friday, placing it within what he calls “theatre of the unashamed.”

Kim Peter Kovac looks at the way the theatre for young audiences field has changed over the last few years, where it’s at today, and what his hopes are for the future.

Andres Osorio reflects on the fact that as a student of playwriting, he was never once assigned a play by a Latinx writer.

Marci R. McMahon reports on the 2019 Latinx Theatre Commons Theatre for Young Audiences Festival and Convening, which took place in January 2019 in Austin, Texas. 

Carlos Morton discusses Luis Valdez’s latest play, Valley of the Heart, what the Mexican philosopher José Vasconcelos calls la raza cosmica, and being part of a mixed-race family himself.

Trevor Boffone examines Isaac Gómez’s new play La Ruta, which focuses on the feminicides in Mexico, and talks about the growing canon of Latinx theatre that dramatizes and theorizes on gendered violence.

Kinan Valdez and Jacob G. Padrón talk about growing up in a theatre family, leadership in the Latinx community, the skills needed to be the artistic leader of a company, and more.

Bebê de Soares talks about her organization, Amazonas Network, and the work they’re doing to internationalize Latin American theatre for young audiences. 

Ramón Esquivel looks at the recent history of Latinx theatre for young audiences, who is creating the work, and how the sector can grow.