Laboratorio de Utopías: Teatro Latinoamericano
What’s the relationship between the theatrical act and social transformation? Can art directly act on social ‘reality’, if so when and under what circumstances? If the relationship is indirect, what then are the pathways and aesthetical issues of this mediation? What is it about theatrical communication that marks it as a distinctively utopian art form? And what does utopian thinking have to do with the dystopian panorama of much of contemporary political culture and economic structure?
Theater, in Latin American culture, has historically been both a barometer of political weather and a force for social transformation. In fact, the theatre movements of the second half of the 20th century have been collectively referred to as ‘laboratories of utopias.” This course traces these issues in theatre in Latin America, mainly from the l950s to the present, focusing on texts, performances and movements that have provoked discussion and thought of what theatre means as a communal, participatory experience. Plays and readings are geared to show both the diversity of Latin American theatre and how and why theatre practitioners choose particular theatrical forms (collective, performance, proscenium spaces, etc.). In terms of specific theatrical histories, class readings and discussion will center on Argentina, Cuba, Chile and Colombia, although students are encouraged to do individual reports on other national traditions/playwrights. Among authors, theorists and performers we will study: Enrique Buenaventura, Augusto Boal, Osvaldo Dragún, Griselda Gambaro, Performance videos/films with selected plays.
Class is taught in Spanish. All play texts are in Spanish, theoretical readings and historical background in English and Spanish.
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