1 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:26,880 Hello and welcome to this, the first APGRD lecture of 2021. 2 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,560 I'm Justine McConnell. I'm a senior lecturer in comparative literature at King's College London 3 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:38,080 and I'm on the advisory board of the APGRD. It's in that capacity that it's my 4 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:44,080 pleasure to welcome you all here today and in particular to welcome our speaker Dr. Rosa Andújar. 5 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:52,720 Rosa is deputy director and lecturer in Liberal Arts, also at King's College London and her core 6 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:58,160 research interests split into two strands, but interrelated strands - so she's a specialist in 7 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:05,280 Greek tragedy, with a particular attention to the chorus and also in the reception of Greco-Roman 8 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:11,840 antiquity particularly in the Caribbean and Latin America and she's co-edited volumes in both these 9 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:20,480 areas. So, in 2018, 'Paths of Song: the L'yric Dimension of Greek Tragedy' was published by De Gruyter and 10 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,840 then last year 'Greeks and Romans on the Latin American Stage' was published by Bloomsbury. 11 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,240 But it's Rosa's most recent work that she's going to speak to us about today. 12 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:37,360 In September last year, 'The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfaro' was published - and this is 13 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:43,440 Rosa's edition of the Greek plays of Chicano playwright Luis Alfaro. 14 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:49,600 Now, Alfaro is very well known in the States, particularly among the theater-going public, 15 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:54,960 but what Rosa's done here is bring together his plays that respond to Greek drama 16 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:02,080 in one edition for the first time and in a couple of cases publishing them and making them available 17 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:08,720 to the public, in print, for the first time. So this is a terrific thing for theatre scholars and those 18 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:14,320 working on classical reception and Rosa's included an introduction to the book as a whole, but also 19 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:21,280 an introduction to each of the plays. There's a glossary which is very helpful and there is 20 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:27,920 also a really fantastic interview in the book between Rosa and Alfaro. All of which is to say, 21 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:33,840 if you haven't read it already I do encourage you to go out and read it as soon as you possibly can. 22 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:41,360 Just a word about practicalities before I hand over to Rosa. This is being live streamed on 23 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:47,360 Youtube, so if you have any questions during the talk please feel free to type them into the 24 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,880 chat box on Youtube, or of course at the end of the talk we'll have time for a kind of q&a and we'll 25 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:58,720 give you a moment to gather your thoughts and type your questions in then. o Rosa's going to 26 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:04,160 speak to us for about half an hour and then we'll move on to the questions. So, Rosa, thank you so 27 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:10,240 much for being here today we're really looking forward to this and I will hand over to you. Great, 28 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:16,800 thank you Justine and I'd also like to thank Fiona Macintosh and everyone at the APGRD for 29 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:22,080 the kind invitation to discuss uis Alfaro's extraordinary adaptations of Greek tragedy. 30 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:29,600 So, I'm just going to share my screen - so just bear with me a moment. Okay, 31 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:38,800 can you all see that? Yes Okay, fantastic. Great. So, in my talk today I have a simple aim: 32 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:44,800 I hope to draw your attention to the importance of Luis's plays - both to our understanding of 33 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:51,360 the reception of Ancient Greek drama and to our appreciation of 21st century American theatre. 34 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:58,720 as Justine mentioned, these plays sit at the intersection of several key areas: not only 35 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:04,800 classical reception studies and generally the long and rich afterlife of Greek drama since 36 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:10,480 antiquity, but also um Chicanx and Latinx theatrical practices in the United States. 37 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:16,960 I'm aware that many in our audience today may not be familiar with these plays, or their talented 38 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:22,320 creator, especially those of you who are tuning in from the UK and other parts of Europe, so I 39 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:27,840 hope you don't mind that my talk will begin with a brief overview. After this short introduction 40 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:34,800 the bulk of my talk will then address the three things which, in my view, 41 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:42,000 make his play so distinctive and exciting. And that is: number one, their focus on women; number two 42 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:49,520 their choruses (and yes you heard me right); third and finally their Chicanx and Latinx 43 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:56,080 dimension. So, in my discussion of these three crucial aspects, I illustrate how Alfaro 44 00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:02,960 breathes new life into classical drama and how his plays chart a new direction for the long 45 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:08,000 - and rather weighty - reception history of Ancient Greek tragedy in modernity. 46 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:15,840 So I begin with this overview. So, Luis Alfaro is widely recognised as one of the most 47 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:24,400 important living American playwrights today. He is, in fact, a 'Master American Dramatist' - this was 48 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:32,000 a title that was bestowed upon him after being awarded the 2018 PEN/Laura Pels International 49 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:37,280 Foundation for Theater Award. So though I'm speaking to you today about his trilogy of 50 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:42,640 Greek plays, it is important to acknowledge from the outset that Luis is more than a playwright: 51 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:49,520 he is also a successful performer, director, filmmaker, educator, and social activist. 52 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:56,560 He has, for example, over two decades excuse me as a key player in the Los 53 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:02,000 Angeles poetry community and also touring the wider United States as a performance artist. 54 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:09,440 In fact, it was as a direct result of his work in performance art that he was honored in 1997 as the 55 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:15,440 recipient of a MacArthur 'Genius Award' - this is the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship which is awarded 56 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:20,960 to people who have demonstrated expertise and exceptional creativity in their respective fields. 57 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:26,960 He is currently an Associate Professor of dramatic writing at the University of Southern California 58 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:34,000 and both within and outside U.S. academia he has taught and mentored a multitude of playwrights,. 59 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:40,400 actors and theatre creatives. It is crucial to see him in this wider lens, so that we can not 60 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:46,880 only assess properly the huge impact that he has had and continues to have, but also so that we can 61 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:53,280 appreciate the ways in which the plays, which form the focus of my talk, continue key strands 62 00:06:53,280 --> 00:06:59,920 from his earlier work as a performance artist and activist. So though his artistic 63 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:06,080 output is prolific, today I am focusing on three of his most recent plays and you'll see them listed 64 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:13,520 here. They are 'Electricidad', 'Oedipus El Rey' and 'Mojada'; each based on an ancient source text, as you can see listed. 65 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:20,960 These plays also span more than a decade of work. 'Electricidad' had its premiere in 2003 at 66 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:27,440 the Borderlands Theater in Tucson, Arizona; 'Oedipus El Rey' began as a commission in 2008 67 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:33,520 at the Getty Villa Theater Lab, but had rolling world premieres at various locations from San 68 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:40,720 Francisco to Washington D.C. in 2010, as part of the National New Play Network's 'Continued Life' program. 69 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:48,560 'Mojada' premiered in 2013 at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater, but the play was actually part 70 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:54,640 of a longer process, which began in 2012 with an earlier and different adaptation of 71 00:07:54,640 --> 00:08:00,320 of 'Medea', which was 'Bruja' (the Spanish word for 'Witch') at Magic Theater in San Francisco. 72 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:13,120 Later in my talk, I will discuss the huge success that these plays have enjoyed across the United States, but for now this is useful to keep in mind as we approach his plays. So with 'Electricidad', 73 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:20,880 Luis Alfaro charts a new course for the three most popular Greek characters on the U.S. stage 74 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:27,680 since the 19th century. Whereas in 'Electricidad', he reimagines Electra as the daughter of a murdered 75 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:33,440 gang leader, who vows revenge; his Oedipus is a young man, newly released from prison, who 76 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:39,600 falls in with a bad crowd and an older widow; and his Medea is an undocumented seamstress 77 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:44,480 from Mexico, who toils endlessly to ensure the future of her son in the United States. 78 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:50,560 Now, these are ancient characters as we have never seen them, living in the 'barrios' -these 79 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:57,360 are the neighbourhoods of major U.S cities, places which are invisible to most people and in fact, 80 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:03,760 typically invisible in the wider American cultural imaginary. The printed versions of the plays in the 81 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:10,800 book, in the edition that I've curated, they're all set in the city of L.A.. 'Electricidad' and 'Oedipus El Rey' are 82 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:17,680 set in the Pico Union district of L.A., which is west of downtown and this is where Alfaro grew up. 83 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:24,960 'Mojada' takes place in east L.A.'s Boyle Heights. So, with a focus on the 'barrio' and their gangs, 84 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:31,360 prison and recidivism and journeys of migration, Alfaro's plays are dynamic and timely 21st 85 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:37,920 century adaptations of well-known Greek tragedies. As the rest of my talk will 86 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:45,120 illustrate, Alfaro does not simply transpose these classical plays into a U.S. urban context, but 87 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:51,440 rather, he assembles the structure that is provided by the Greek source text as a vehicle to convey 88 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:58,080 complex and overlooked contemporary social and political realities to wide and diverse audiences. 89 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:05,440 So now, after that brief introduction to Luis and his wonderful plays, I will now turn to what, in 90 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:14,560 my view, are the three most notable aspects. So, the first is Alfaro's focus on women. Now, Ancient 91 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:20,000 Greek tragedies are notorious for featuring strong female characters - in addition to 92 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:25,920 Electra and Medea, whom we discuss today, you are probably thinking of Antigone, who defied 93 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:31,920 the city's laws to bury her brother; or the Trojan Queen Hecuba, who faces a lifetime of slavery after 94 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:38,000 the fall of Troy; or Phaedra, who fell in love with her stepson Hippolytus. Though they were written 95 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:43,920 and performed by men in 5th century BCE Athens, the compelling portrayals of these women, created 96 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:50,320 by ancient dramatists, have resonated across history and time, captivating numerous audiences. 97 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:59,040 Now, centred on a daughter who mourns incessantly for her father, Sophocles' 'Electra' stages an 98 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:04,560 intimate and problematic familial drama, which uniquely addresses the murder of Electra's 99 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:11,040 father (Agamemnon), by her mother (Clytemnestra), which, by Greek law, must be avenged by Orestes, their son. 100 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:16,960 This is a world of adultery, deception and revenge. In Sophocles' hands, Electra becomes 101 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:24,320 a central focus of the saga after Agamemnon's death. His play stages the manner 102 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,560 in which the heroine directs her brother to kill their mother, to avenge their father's murder. 103 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:33,440 So, just to show you a brief picture, I'm going to now talk about what Alfaro does. 104 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:40,720 I'm going to show you an image from a 2004 production of 'Electricidad' at the Goodman Theater, 105 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:46,960 featuring Cecilia Suarez in the protagonist role and I'll come back to this later. 106 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:53,760 So, in 'Electricidad', Alfaro transposes this exploration of complicated family relations 107 00:11:53,760 --> 00:12:01,280 to the cholo world, but with an additional twist. In this U.S. urban subculture, 108 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:06,720 which is typically dominated by feuding young men, Alfaro places an intense focus on its women. 109 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:12,880 Like the ancient play, his drama is centred on the two contrasting and opposed perspectives of 110 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:19,600 Electricidad and Clemencia, who is the clytemnestra character, but he inserts new female characters 111 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,920 which take the focus away from the mother and daughter. So, just to scroll down here, you can 112 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:32,000 just see briefly a cast list - and you will find that alfaro brings in Ifigenia (Iphegenia), who, in 113 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:36,960 the ancient source text, was the sister whose sacrifice had previously served as the motivation 114 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:42,080 for Clytemnestra's killing of her 115 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:48,960 husband, Agamemnon. Alfaro also brings in an Abuela figure. She is the mother of Agamemnon, who is 116 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:55,760 called El Auggie in Alfaro's world. So she is Clemencia (Clytemnestra)'s mother-in-law, 117 00:12:55,760 --> 00:13:00,800 she's a woman of the older generation, who has also lost her husband and son to gang warfare. 118 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,000 The inclusion of these characters means that despite this image, focused on 119 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:11,920 Electricidad, Alfaro's spotlight is trained less directly on this compelling individual heroine 120 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:17,600 and rather he encourages us to see the wider destructive family dynamics which surround her. 121 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:24,960 In particular, Alfaro accentuates the patriarchy and the machismo of this community 122 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:28,240 and here - please bear with me, I'm just going to go back to the presentation to show you 123 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:35,600 an excerpt from the play - this is a scene where Clemencia describes what motivated her to 124 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:41,440 kill her husband. So again, I just want to remind you that, in the ancient play, Agamemnon's sacrifice of 125 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:47,440 Iphigenia is part of the motivation for Clytemnestra to kill him - but in 'Electricidad', this 126 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:54,560 has now been removed. 'La Ifi' (Ifigenia) is very much alive. So, here we have an impassioned 127 00:13:54,560 --> 00:14:03,440 speech which is directed to Abuela, Agamemnon's mother and Clemencia's mother-in-law in Scene 20. 128 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:08,240 Clemencia here calls attention to the circumstances which led to her act of murder, 129 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:13,840 claiming that she should be thanked since she - quote - 'cleaned up your messes'. She suggests that 130 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:18,720 her act was conducted on behalf of all women and - here, i'll just read you the middle bit, which is in 131 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:25,200 bold - this is for you, también, for the generations of undisciplined men that have wasted our lives, 132 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:30,480 for the years that I had to sit there and watch him bully you y everyone else, for the drinks I 133 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:36,240 poured, for the dinners I made, for the parties I threw, for the money he wasted, for the love without 134 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:41,600 love that I had to make, for the niños that I had to raise, for the sacrifices that we make. 135 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:47,760 So, this poses an interesting challenge to the general code of justice to which Electricidad 136 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:51,680 and the wider cholo world subscribes, which demand 137 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:56,960 immediate vengeance. But at various points in the play, Clemencia cites 138 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:01,440 the violence and abuse that she herself experienced at the hands of her husband 139 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:07,120 and the inescapable and structural quality of this abuse, which you can also see in the final 140 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:12,560 lines, when she tells the Abuela: 'your mess, the mess you made, the mess your mother made'. 141 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:20,880 In 'Electricidad', by placing such an intense focus on women and their sufferings, Alfaro 142 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:25,840 stages a glimpse of the deeper psychological and structural life of the 'barrio' community. 143 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,040 Bear with me again as I show you another image - 144 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:40,640 this one is coming from the 2019 revival at Magic Theater, in San Francisco. Here we go... 145 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:45,520 let's see, just make it a little bit bigger... I hope you can see that right. So i'm going to turn to 'Oedipus El Rey', 146 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:54,160 where Alfaro similarly charts a new journey and role for Jocasta, who's Oedipus's 147 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:59,840 mother and who unwittingly marries her son. She generally stands out in the masculine world of 148 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:05,680 both Sophocles' ancient source text, as the only female character, but also in Alfaro's adaptation, 149 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:09,280 where she's the only character who exists outside the prison system. 150 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:17,200 In Sophocles' play she has a minor role, in addition to her conversations with Oedipus (in which she 151 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:23,520 unsuccessfully attempts to dissuade him from his search for Laius' murderer), her main dramatic 152 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:29,200 moment occurs when she rushes off stage in order to commit suicide after realising the truth. 153 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:35,200 In this way, she operates like many other ancient tragic heroines such as Deianeira 154 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:40,960 or Phaedra, who are seemingly brought on stage in order to die of violent death - typically killing 155 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:46,400 themselves out of shame. Though, crucially, of course, this all happens off stage. In 'Oedipus 156 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:52,320 El Rey', however, Jocasta becomes a full-fledged character, as Alfaro stages her earlier years: 157 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:57,760 from her pregnancy; to her marriage to Laius; to the manner in which she falls in love 158 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:02,240 with the newcomer Oedipus; as well as her anguish when she believes that she has lost her baby. 159 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:08,080 So in this picture you can see - I mean I'm sure you're probably cringing, because this is a picture 160 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:14,720 from the wedding of Oedipus and Jocasta. One of the most notable aspects of Alfaro's adaptation 161 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:19,360 is that it is centered on the young and up-and-coming hero. So this is Oedipus on his 162 00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:24,880 journey to becoming king - something audiences ancient and modern know, but I would imagine 163 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:30,000 they have never seen - and part of this journey unfortunately involves falling in love with his mother. 164 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:37,760 So I'm just going to show you another image and this is from the 2015 production 165 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:43,680 of 'Mojada' at the Getty. I'm just going to briefly show you this picture here. I hope you can all see 166 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:51,760 it. In 'Mojada', Alfaro likewise evokes a world of women who possess the majority of the roles, just as 167 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:57,920 in 'Electricidad'. In the ancient play, apart from Medea, her nurse and the Corinthian princess for 168 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:04,640 whom Jason abandons his wife, all major speaking rules were male. For those of you 169 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:09,520 who know the play, you will know that in addition to Jason (Medea's husband who wrongs her), 170 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:16,400 Euripides featured two kings: Creon of Corinth and Aegeus of Athens. The former, who looks 171 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:21,280 forward to having Jason as his son-in-law, is the one who forces Medea out of his kingdom; whereas 172 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:27,440 the latter promises to welcome her in Athens. Now, in 'Mojada', Alfaro replaces these two roles 173 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:33,520 with the characters Armida and Josefina and here, in this picture, you can see one of them, you can 174 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:38,560 see Josefina. Medea is there in front of her sewing machine, chatting to Josefina, 175 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:44,080 whereas the figure seated in the background is Tita, who is the nurse or and chorus figure. 176 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:49,680 You can clearly see the close relationship between the two women as they trade gossip. 177 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:57,920 So this brings me to my second point: choruses. So, whereas female characters and 178 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:02,720 relationships dominate Alfaro's stages, the chorus is perhaps one of the most 179 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:09,840 distinctive features of his re-workings of Greek tragedy. Throughout both 'Electricidad' and 'Oedipus El 180 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:17,920 Rey', in particular, the viewing audience cannot escape the mediation of 'las vecinas' - they are the 181 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:24,000 neighbour women - and the chorus of prison inmates whose interventions structure the dramas. 182 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,720 Like their ancient Greek predecessor, Alfaro's choruses introduce both the 183 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:34,080 action and the themes of the plays, as well as commenting on the events which unfold on stage, 184 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:41,280 thus serving as a crucial link between stage and audience. Their speech and mannerisms recall those 185 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:47,760 of their fifth century Athenian counterparts. These choruses frequently finish each other's sentences, 186 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:54,320 in what can be described as a stichomythic rhythm and they often speak in one voice. The 187 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:59,600 chorus of inmates in 'Oedipus', for example, they move as an integrated whole, as they take on the role 188 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:07,040 of various characters - but are each individually called Coro (Chorus). Likewise, in various scenes the 189 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:12,880 vecinas in 'Electricidad' punctuate their utterances with the short refrain like lament 'Apoco. No me digas.' 190 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:20,160 By aligning his choruses with the various structural capabilities of the 191 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:25,120 fifth century tragic chorus, Alfaro adopts the traditional framework of Greek tragedy. 192 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:30,960 Here I will show you another image -this one is a picture of las vecinas 193 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:37,520 from 'Electricidad', from a 2016 production at Teatro Espejo in Sacramento, California. 194 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:45,280 Like their ancient greek predecessor, the chorus of las vecinas introduces both the action and the 195 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:51,280 themes of the drama, while commenting on the play's happenings. Described in the stage directions as: 'a 196 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:57,360 chorus of 'mujeres' from the hood who have seen it all and are furthermore the 'voz' (the voice) 197 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:04,000 of the city, this gossipy collective, clad in house dresses and aprons, capture the rhythms 198 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:09,840 of barrio and family life through their chatter and chisme (that is, gossip). Their 199 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:14,640 speech and mannerisms recall those of their 5th century Athenian counterpart, as I stated before. 200 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:21,440 They speak in succession and often speak in one voice. This chorus of gossipy women provide 201 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:27,680 constant reminders that the events of the stage resonate beyond the particular family, 202 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:32,320 as they gesture outward and onward beyond the play's immediate present. 203 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:39,280 Using such phrases as 'el barrio', 'our comunidad' and 'our gente' ('our neighbourhood', 'our community' and 204 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:45,280 'our people'), which extend the plays events beyond 'La Casa de Atridas' (this is the House of Atreus), 205 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,480 they appeal and draw attention to the welfare of the broader community. 206 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:54,800 So, just to show you another image, I'm just now switching to an image of 207 00:21:54,800 --> 00:22:01,600 the chorus in 'Oedipus El Rey' from a 2012 production at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, which was 208 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:07,280 directed by Chay Yew who would later direct the play at the Public Theater in New York in 2017. Let me 209 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:15,840 just centre the image. Okay. So, similarly impressive in Alfaro's reboot of 'Oedipus' are the 210 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:22,560 functions which he gives to the chorus. As with 'Las Vecinas' in 'Electricidad' and in the same manner 211 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:28,080 as their ancient counterpart, one of the coro's main roles in 'Oedipus El Rey' is to place the action 212 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:34,160 within a larger continuum of events and contexts. This is evident from the very opening of the play, 213 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:40,320 in which the chorus of inmates - and they're wearing the usual orange jumpsuits, there's a number of 214 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:45,440 images out there on the internet of various productions, which have the chorus in 215 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:52,400 these jumpsuits. So, in the opening of the play, this chorus of inmates perform a call and response 216 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:58,720 that is centered on the question "Who got a story?". After a brief debate, the inmates request a story 217 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:06,480 about us - how we got here, how we got out and got back here, to the prison; and finally a story about 218 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:12,800 the system. So, from the outset, they frame this particular adaptation of 'Oedipus' as an example 219 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:17,760 of the devastating impact of incarceration in inner-city communities across the United States. 220 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:23,040 This is a frame that they reinforce at the end of the play, when the chorus delivers 221 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:28,400 the final words, inviting the audience to look upon the blind Oedipus as he returns to prison 222 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,520 Besides taking on some of the more conventional features of the ancient collective, 223 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:40,720 you know, such as contextualising events beyond the immediate family, Alfaro's chorus also displays new 224 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:46,080 performative abilities. Most impressive is the manner in which they continually embody 225 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:50,320 different characters, as the play progresses throughout Oedipus's life. 226 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:56,720 They transform themselves and take on many roles throughout the play, from ranging from 'El 227 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:02,400 Sobador', who's a masseuse who tells the prophecy of Oedipus to his anxious, expectant and pregnant 228 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:09,280 parents to the Esfinge, which is a three-headed Aztec serpent which the young hero must face. 229 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,600 As yo can see from this picture, from the production 230 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:19,280 at Victory Gardens, they take on the role of the elders of the 'barrio'. They are los healers, 231 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:25,600 'el mistico', 'el vocero', 'el curandero' - all of whom oedipus must defeat if he is to become the king of the 'barrio'. 232 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:32,240 At other points in the play, the chorus also provides musical and dramatic accompaniment. 233 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:40,160 This includes copying Jocasta's breathing as she's in labour - and yes, this is a scene which we 234 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:47,280 see in Alfaro's adaptation - as well as moving their heads in unison, as a parliament of tecolote owls, 235 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:53,040 to create a potent sense of foreboding and death. These performative feats not only recall the 236 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:58,160 dramatic realities of fifth century Athenian tragedy, in which two to three actors performed 237 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:03,280 all the roles, while the chorus sang and danced, but they also remind audiences that ultimately 238 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:09,280 this is a story that is told in a prison yard. So in the ancient context, understanding the 239 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:13,840 role of the chorus is tricky. They are a ritual collective - so, in festivals across 240 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:20,480 Ancient Greece, cultic songs in honour of the gods were sung and danced by a chorus, but they're also 241 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:26,400 the performative heart of drama on stage for most of the time during a tragedy. 242 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:31,520 Some have spoken of the chorus as a kind of internal audience, that mediates between the 243 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:36,160 audience and the stage - but the correlation between the Greek tragic chorus and the 244 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:41,120 fifth century Athenian viewing audience is hard to gauge. One line of argument among 245 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:46,880 scholars points to the difficulty in seeing how that would have worked. Tragic choruses 246 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:52,160 of the of the surviving corpus that we have had predominantly marginalized identities: they were 247 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:59,840 choruses of young women, of serving women, even of old men. So how could these groups actually 248 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:05,200 represent, or be said to speak for, the male viewing audience of Athenian democratic citizens? 249 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:11,840 Now, this question is of course less relevant to modern adaptations in the United States. 250 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:17,440 Helena Foley points out in her seminal book, 'Reimagining Greek Tragedy on the American Stage', 251 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:24,000 that, quote: 'American theater cannot reproduce the direct engagement between a large citizen audience 252 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,960 and citizen actors and chorus members which is central to Greek tragedy', end quote. 253 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:36,320 Many modern productions, as a result, eliminate the chorus, or reduce it to a single character. But in 254 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:41,280 the case of Alfaro, his choruses are central to the plays and they form a crucial part of the wider 255 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:47,520 community. The choruses' continual contextualizations forcefully ensure that a larger 256 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:53,280 Chicanx perspective is kept in audiences minds and ultimately result in a rich tapestry 257 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:57,920 of perspectives, which are apt for capturing the attention of diverse and mixed audiences. 258 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:05,440 In relating and recontextualising the Greek source text to include Chicanx realities, these choruses 259 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:10,240 assert the direct relevance of classical myth to inner city marginalized communities in the 260 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:15,920 United States. So, this brings me to my final point - and I'll go back to my slide here, 261 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:22,560 I will just share that with you. So, the third and final point has to do with their Chicanx and 262 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:29,280 Latinx dimension. So one mistake that many scholars in classics make in approaching these plays is to 263 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:35,120 examine only their relationship to the source text, without examining the ways in which these 264 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:40,480 plays are the continuation of a much wider and rich tradition - actually, I should 265 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:47,680 say, traditions in the plural of Chicanx and Latinx theatre in the United States. Now in general, 266 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:53,040 Latinx identities have been complicated since the colonization of the Americas. So, one of the 267 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:59,920 necessary strands into which Luis' plays must be placed is the lengthy and complex history of 268 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:06,080 Spanish-speaking theatre on North American soil. This is a tradition that in fact pre-dates the 269 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:12,400 United States: the first dramatic performance in the whole of North America took place near 270 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:18,880 present-day Santa Fe, New Mexico. This was 'Los Moros y Los Cristianos' in 1598, an improvised 271 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:25,760 drama by the Spanish colonisers, who formed part of Juan de Oñate's expedition to Nuevo Mexico. Of 272 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:30,960 course, in the centuries, since 'Los Moros y Los Cristianos' there are multiple Spanish, 273 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:36,240 indigenous and Mexican performance traditions that flourish across the southwestern United States, 274 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:42,560 but Alfaro has drawn attention particularly to the relevance of another major tradition. This is 275 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:50,480 the Chicanx theatrical movement, which emerged alongside the 1965 farm workers strike in central California, 276 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:55,680 demanding civil rights for Mexican Americans. This was one of the first major organized theater 277 00:28:55,680 --> 00:29:02,240 movements to appear on U.S soil. This is the Teatro Campesino (The Farmworkers Theater), which emerged as 278 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:07,840 an educational and community-based theater, which aimed to educate the 'Campesinos' and awaken their 279 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:13,600 social consciousness. So, Alfaro's plays are salient examples of Chicanx trauma, which 280 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:19,200 followed in the wake of El Teatro Campesino. They are set in the 'barrio' - this is a place which Luis 281 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:26,240 Valdez, who was the founder of 'El Diablo Campesino', a place he described as, quote: a microcosm 282 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:34,160 of a Chicano city, a place of dualities, a liberated zone and a prison, a place of love and warmth, 283 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:40,960 a place of hatred and violence where most of 'la rasa' live out their lives'. Now, this ambiguity of 284 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:47,600 the 'barrio', as a siloed yet sheltered space, is also present in Alfaro's plays, where the 'barrio' 285 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:54,080 is shown to be a space which persistently isolates its people, while also protecting them via intimate 286 00:29:54,080 --> 00:30:00,640 familial ties and networks. Now, additionally, Alfaro includes Native American elements, especially 287 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:06,800 mythologies. Just as other Chicanx playwrights - in 'Electricidad', for example, we see multiple references 288 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:14,560 to Aztec deities, such as Coatlicue and both 'Oedipus El Rey' and 'Mojada' also engage in this wider 289 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:22,000 Mesoamerican ancestry and mythology. The use of Spanish and Spanglish and code switching 290 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:28,240 in general is also key to Chicanx theatre, much of which is still centred on negotiating 291 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:33,360 characters relationships to competing homelands, as well as articulating their complex identities. 292 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:40,320 In setting greek mythic material in 'el barrio', Alfaro in particular creates crucial 293 00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:46,160 opportunities for latinx actors and theatre creatives to engage in U.S. professional theatre. 294 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:51,600 So, here I will show you - one of the real joys for me 295 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:57,520 in curating this edition was creating a production history of these plays. So, I was able 296 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:02,960 to contact many theatres and directors across the U.S., who kindly shared with me 297 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:09,040 the information for their plays list of cast members and creatives for their various productions. 298 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,760 As you can see, he's had productions all across the United 299 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:18,640 States. This was also a process that involved some archival material - I was able to consult 300 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:25,360 the material that the APGRD had on Alfaro, though sadly, it was a small file that was mostly 301 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:31,280 filled with material related to the 'Mark Taper Forum' production of 'Electricidad'. But for anyone seeking 302 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:35,920 to do more work on Alfaro, I've now donated a lot of the programmes and flyers and things that 303 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:40,640 I was given when creating my production history, so you will find that at the APGRD. 304 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:47,360 So this map shows the great success of these plays, marking all the cities and theatres which 305 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:52,560 have hosted productions. In addition to documenting their success, my research 306 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:57,520 into the production history has revealed the presence of many important latinx actors 307 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:03,360 who have been involved in his plays, including Yvonne Cole. She played Abuela in the 2004 308 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:09,520 production of 'Electricidad' at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. Yvonne Cole is a major Puerto Rican 309 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:14,640 actress - some of you may recognise her from her recent role as Abuela (another abuela) in the TV 310 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:21,360 show 'Jane the Virgin'. Now, that same production of 'Electricidad' - I'll just show you my image again - 311 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:26,240 this is the picture that I showed in the beginning. So, that's a production of 'Electricidad' 312 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:30,560 which had Ivan Cole and also featured the Mexican actress Cecilia Suarez. 313 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:36,720 If you've seen the show 'La Casa de Las Flores' ('The House of Flowers') on Netflix, you will recognise 314 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:43,920 her. But also, you have Sabina Suniga Varela and i'll just show you the image again, briefly, of 315 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:50,080 the Getty production of 'Mojada'. She has played the lead female role in all three of Alfaro's 316 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:55,840 plays: she played Electricidad in the play's 2008 production, at the National Hispanic 317 00:32:55,840 --> 00:33:02,880 Cultural Center in Albuquerque; she played Jocasta in the 2014 'Oedipus El Rey' production at Dallas Theater 318 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:13,040 Center; and Medea in 'Bruja's premiere; as well as Medea in 'Mojada', in 2015, 2017 and 2019 productions 319 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:18,720 at the Getty Villa, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Center Stage and the Public Theater. 320 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:26,080 I think this performance history is vital and draws attention 321 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:31,680 to the major gaps in representation that still exist in both U.S. theatre and in our ancient 322 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:40,320 Greek theatrical imaginary. So, Alfaro is often celebrated for, quote: 'rewriting Greek tragedy 323 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:46,640 as immigrant stories', as a New York Times headline declared following the 2019 324 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:52,960 production of 'Mojada' at the Public Theater. That is, for writing plays that seem to be designed to 325 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:59,280 draw the theatregoing public into the chicanx and latinx experience. And so, by way of conclusion, 326 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:08,000 I want to draw attention to the fact that this is not always a successful endeavour. 327 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:13,600 So, here I have a quote. This is from the interview, that is included at the end of the edition, with 328 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:18,400 Luis and he says that it has not always been easy: 'I remember the first big production of 'Electricidad' 329 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:23,120 at the Goodman Theater. The playwright Tanya Saracho, now a well-regarded television 330 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:28,080 series creator and producer, was standing in line at the box office, when a sweet old lady asked if 331 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:35,120 the play was in 'Spicanese'. She asked innocently, not aware of her own internalised racism. I remember at 332 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:40,000 the Mark Taper Forum, in L.A., a white couple walking out in the first few minutes of the play. My mentor 333 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:44,000 at the time, the artistic director Gordon Davidson, asked them why they were leaving and they simply 334 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:48,480 stated that they did not want to, quote: 'spend the evening with these people and their problems'. 335 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:53,520 On and on, I have a million stories like this, which have followed the productions around the country. 336 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:58,640 I have a simple idea that when we finally see the 'we' in these plays instead of the 'them', we will be 337 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:03,920 able to work through the real questions that the plays ask of us.' So this quote reveals not only 338 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:10,560 the racism that is deeply embedded in U.S. society, but also how the expectations of 339 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:16,240 theatregoing audiences likewise operates along racial lines. However, it is important to consider 340 00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:22,160 the ways in which Alfaro translates this otherwise inaccessible theatre to diverse audiences. 341 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:28,480 Various scenes in his plays openly acknowledge the possibilities of an audience for whom 342 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:35,120 the Greek might carry no meaning and no connection, for example, when Jocasta first meets Oedipus, he 343 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:40,400 tells her that her name is beautiful, adding that, quote: 'it sounds like it has a lot of history', 344 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:46,960 to which she replies: 'yeah it's old, I don't know what it means'. Likewise, in the opening 345 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:51,520 of 'Electricidad', Las Vecinas emphasised the strangeness of the name Agamemnon. 346 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:57,680 Alfaro has repeatedly emphasised, in various interviews, that he does not bring theatre to the 347 00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:04,240 community, he brings the community to the theatre and I know he has, for example, at personal expense, 348 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:08,320 bussed in folks from various local communities to see his plays when they're 349 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:14,960 showing at various theatres. So, to end, I believe that we should think of the ways in which Luis's 350 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:22,320 plays are not simply diversifying U.S. theatre, but rather form part of a crucial two-way process. 351 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:28,080 That is, you have Anglo-American audiences who might have initially been attracted to the 352 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:33,680 by the reshaping of canonical Greek texts, who ultimately learn about the structural ills 353 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:39,520 that plague chicanx and latinx communities; while also, viewers from those underrepresented 354 00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:44,080 communities can see some of their own experiences validated within the confines of the theatre. 355 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:51,600 These are plays which creatively blend and carry the rich and multi-layered history of 356 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:58,160 multiple traditions: the Greek, hispanic or Spanish-speaking chicanx, latinx and also 357 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:04,080 various cultures, in the way that they channel the fraught intricacies of the chicanx and latinx 358 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:10,480 experience in the U.S. So, his Greek plays stand out as works that build upon all of these traditions 359 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:16,400 and histories, while also extending them in new and exciting directions. Thank you very much. 360 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:26,880 Fantastic, thank you so much Rosa. That was a terrific and fascinating talk and really 361 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:32,160 lovely to hear much more about this work and to see some of these images here and particularly, 362 00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:37,920 your breakdown into the three major parts. We're going to give people a moment to 363 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:43,360 think of questions and our colleague, the APGRD archivist is very kindly going to post questions 364 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:50,320 here, for us to have a look at and for me to pose to you to answer. But perhaps I could just 365 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:58,320 jump in here with one of my own at the start. I think something that really struck me 366 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:07,360 when i was reading 'Mojada', is the end, really, and the different motivation, as I would read it, 367 00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:15,040 for Medea's killing of their child. In some ways, I think what might be happening here 368 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:20,560 touches on what you were saying in your talk, because it would seem to me that in Euripides' 369 00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:28,720 'Medea', she's driven to despair and she kills the children to take revenge on Jason. 370 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:36,320 but in Alfaro's version revenge on Jason is not really the motivating factor, right? It's 371 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:43,360 this decision by their child to assimilate, to to want to be in the United States and so that 372 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:49,440 seems to move beyond a potentially much smaller, more personal idea of revenge, to something that's 373 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:55,600 much more about what's going on in society at large, in the United States 374 00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:03,520 and for Chicanx societies trying to live in the States. I wondered if 375 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:09,760 you'd agree with that reading and what you think is happening there? Yeah, absolutely, I 376 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:15,760 think one of the many things that the play gets us to do is rethink various aspects 377 00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:19,920 of the original and I think you're right, cultural assimilation is key 378 00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:27,440 to understanding Alfaro's spin on 'Medea'. 379 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:31,680 Everybody here at the APGRD, you probably know, everybody's aware of the long and wonderful 380 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:37,840 reception history of 'Medea', who has in various modern adaptations been held up as 381 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:42,720 an important feminist figure or there are various other adaptations that sort of stress the 382 00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:49,200 otherness of her as a figure and talk about and cast Black Medeas or mixed-race Medeas. 383 00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:53,840 But what's really interesting with Alfaro's 'Medea' (by the way, I mean the title) - 384 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:56,880 I think this should be acknowledged from the outset - the title is called 'Mojada' which 385 00:39:56,880 --> 00:40:02,720 is a slur for a 'wetback' people who cross the Rio Grande in the U.S. 386 00:40:02,720 --> 00:40:10,240 and in this adaptation, central to it is this journey of migration. Various scenes 387 00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:17,120 throughout the play discuss or focus on the conflict between 388 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:22,000 maintaining a cultural sense of oneself which is very important for 'Medea' she really wants to 389 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:28,880 retain her culture, her traditions and her son - her son, who was seen as preferring, 390 00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:35,920 or adopting American customs so absolutely. I think in a way Alfaro is continuing 391 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:40,960 key strands from this wider reception history of 'Medea', but he adds in this new twist, 392 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:46,160 getting us to think about what it means for Medea to be an ultimate 'other', this 393 00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:51,520 migrant and what that might mean for the whole family, in terms of preserving themselves 394 00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:56,880 and their cultural identities. So, it's really fascinating to think about the spotlight that 395 00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:01,440 he places on migration - not just on the journey, 396 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:06,480 which is part of the story (there's a scene that flashes back to 397 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:13,600 the crossing from Mexico) - but it's really just fascinating to see the emotional 398 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:18,160 impact of of the whole migration on the family and especially on the young generation, the son, 399 00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:25,360 how he wavers between Mexican and American identities. He's 400 00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:29,840 shown preferring - you know, he talks about Nintendo Wii's and his Converse 401 00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:36,480 (trainers) to the huaraches, the Mexican sandals. 402 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:43,040 So absolutely, I think that's a key part of this new adaptation. Great. Thank you. 403 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:48,000 Actually, also - with the wavering son - the language works very well there, right when he 404 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,080 switches between the the 'mom' and the 'mama' and this just 405 00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:58,320 shows this poor kid, as you say, wavering between the two. We have a couple of questions here. So, 406 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:06,160 the first one is from Fiona Macintosh, who asks us: does Alfaro use choruses in his other 407 00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:12,000 works? Yes. So, I've talked about the importance of the chorus and 'las vecinas' in 'Electricidad'. 408 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:20,160 So, in 'Mojada' - I guess the question is, does Alfaro use chorus in 'Mojada'? Yes, 409 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:25,520 so the nurse character, Tita, at various points in the play, takes on 410 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:31,600 a choral role, in facilitating flashbacks. But I have to say - 411 00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:36,160 I think I've spoken to Luis about them - I'm very biased against these one-person choruses. 412 00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:40,480 I just don't think they work as well. But of course I'm personally interested 413 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:46,000 in seeing a collective on stage and what that does with the dynamic of the theatre space, 414 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:50,400 in terms of juxtaposing that collective: their voice, 415 00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:56,080 their mannerism, everything within an individual. So yes, there is a chorus in 'Mojada' - Tita. 416 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:02,320 She's kind of everywhere. It's interesting, because there's 417 00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:06,400 a lot of scenes where we have characters speaking to each other and she is clearly in the background 418 00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:12,960 making side comments. So, she does absolutely take on the choral function, but 419 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:18,160 in my view, these other choruses of the gossipy women in 'Electricidad' and then 420 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:22,400 also the chorus of inmates are that much more impressive. I think also, in the case of 'Oedipus 421 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:26,800 El Rey', the things that they can do on stage are really amazing, like they 422 00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:30,480 also they take on these multiple roles, the when they take on the Esfinge role, 423 00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:36,560 they become this three-headed serpent. So, they can move around the stage 424 00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:41,760 and do all these wonderful things - but again, as I said, I am rather biased. 425 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:47,440 So, yes - I hope that answered your question. Yes, there is a chorus. 426 00:43:52,720 --> 00:43:59,600 Beyond his plays or his performance works, perhaps because he engages with Greek 427 00:43:59,600 --> 00:44:04,000 drama, does he also have a chorus or a collective of some kind on stage. Is it something that he's 428 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:08,560 talked about working with in particular, or does this seem to be coming from the 429 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:14,400 Greek? No, this is something that you see in the Greek plays only. What's interesting is, 430 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:20,480 in previous interviews, he has admitted to being initially drawn to the Greeks because of 431 00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:25,520 the structure that they provide. I think when he was first starting out as a playwright 432 00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:31,200 he was told that he needed to work on his his structure and guess 433 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:36,880 what the Greeks give you: great structure. So no, they're coming only in these three Greek plays. 434 00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:40,320 But in my view, they're the one of 435 00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:45,120 the most exciting modern choruses that I've seen. They just work so well, especially in the ways in 436 00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:49,120 which they continue to sort of gesture outward and make these events relevant to the broader 437 00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:53,280 community. I think it's brilliant. haven't really seen a chorus that works 438 00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:59,760 just as well as this one. Great. Thank you. A question here from Helen Eastman, who asks whether 439 00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:06,000 the plays presuppose that the audience already knows the Greek stories, or is there an 440 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:10,640 assumption that the audience are discovering the stories for the first time? 441 00:45:11,520 --> 00:45:15,440 Yeah, it's a great question and I did mention this briefly, but I think maybe I didn't state it 442 00:45:15,440 --> 00:45:21,840 clearly enough. I think the plays have within them the possibility of an audience that 443 00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:26,960 that is not at all aware, or has not encountered, these stories. There are multiple moments 444 00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:30,720 in the plays where the characters are drawing attention to these 445 00:45:30,720 --> 00:45:37,440 weird names and also the fact that these names and these 446 00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:42,480 stories have history, but they just don't know them. So absolutely, I think in most 447 00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:48,480 of the programmes that I've seen - in building the production history - have a little synopsis 448 00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:54,160 of the ancient myth for audiences. I think 449 00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:57,280 a lot of places in the United States give you the programme, you don't have to buy them like you do 450 00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:02,240 here in Britain. But absolutely, I think that's important. So 451 00:46:02,240 --> 00:46:06,800 he's also spoken of, when adapting these plays, he has also worked closely with lots 452 00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:12,720 of communities across the United States and I think he's just keen to 453 00:46:12,720 --> 00:46:17,440 draw attention to these ancient stories and their connections to modernity. 454 00:46:17,440 --> 00:46:23,840 But absolutely, there's no presupposition that the audiences know the plays. Great. 455 00:46:23,840 --> 00:46:30,800 Thank you. A question here from Shreya Duer and she asks what has been the reception of these 456 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:37,920 plays? How can we as academics contribute to them? So the reception - I mean, it depends 457 00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:43,680 what you mean by reception. I mean, a lot of them have been hugely successful, especially 458 00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:49,280 'Oedipus El Rey' and 'Mojada': they've had productions at the Public Theatre in New York 459 00:46:49,280 --> 00:46:54,720 and all these other major theaters in Chicago and D.C. and L.A. 460 00:46:54,720 --> 00:47:00,800 So, they've been commercially successful. I was also interested - and it's something 461 00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:04,720 that I think emerged from my production history - was also 462 00:47:04,720 --> 00:47:11,440 their popularity across the southwest in a lot of regional theaters. So the reception 463 00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:15,360 has been great, it's resonated across lots of different places 464 00:47:16,240 --> 00:47:22,880 in the U.S. and they're still receiving productions. 465 00:47:22,880 --> 00:47:29,280 I think the last one, that we know of, before the pandemic, was in Missouri in 466 00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:34,034 January and I think there were other ones that were scheduled to be put on in other places across 467 00:47:34,034 --> 00:47:39,034 the U.S. But in relation to the other question, I mean, how can we as academics 468 00:47:39,040 --> 00:47:44,320 contribute to them. I think if you're someone who teaches undergraduates, 469 00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:49,600 I find that undergraduates, both here in the U.K. and in the U.S. and generally anywhere 470 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:54,480 are always looking to find modern resonances of the things that they study and so, I think 471 00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:59,600 in any kind of Greek tragedy class, I think it would be great to just, 472 00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:03,920 maybe at the end to compare and think about the ways in which, 473 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:08,560 having studied the original source text, it would be great to just think about 474 00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:13,920 or see these plays as an example of a modern adaptation that is relevant to the now 475 00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:19,360 and see what students make of it. My other 476 00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:23,760 motivation, I think, in creating this edition is, interestingly, only 'Electricidad' 477 00:48:23,760 --> 00:48:32,160 had been published in American Theater Magazine, back in 2006, but 'Mojada' and 'Oedipus El Rey' had 478 00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:37,040 never been published. But I know that a lot of l academics had been asking Luis for scripts and 479 00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:41,760 he, very kindly, would give them. I was always thinking that it was 480 00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:45,040 a great shame that they hadn't been published and I was thinking specifically of students. 481 00:48:45,040 --> 00:48:51,120 So, yeah, I think that they're great plays to think with and students should be exposed to 482 00:48:51,120 --> 00:48:56,800 that. Great. I think that's another terrific service. It's something I find very 483 00:48:56,800 --> 00:49:01,840 difficult - I teach on Caribbean drama, that is quite a lot is harder to get hold of - and 484 00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:06,800 your edition has made it very accessible to many people and students as well, so that's terrific. 485 00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:14,560 So, a question from Christina Hill, which is: how much do you think that Greek tragic texts change, 486 00:49:14,560 --> 00:49:20,800 or need to be changed, when they shift from being about the elite minority in the original to 487 00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:27,040 marginalized minorities today? Well, that's an interesting question 488 00:49:27,040 --> 00:49:29,450 on lots of levels. I think we should emphasise the fact that, yes, 489 00:49:29,450 --> 00:49:36,240 they were about an elite minority, but they were a mythical minority in the ancient context 490 00:49:36,240 --> 00:49:40,240 and then also, generally across Greek tragedy there are so 491 00:49:40,240 --> 00:49:45,280 many characters who were previously queens, or had some kind of noble connection, but then 492 00:49:45,280 --> 00:49:50,240 fall. I'm thinking of Hecuba and the Trojan Women, who are now in this other position. But they 493 00:49:50,240 --> 00:49:55,600 are mythical, so I don't want to build any sort of false equivalence. But in terms of 494 00:49:55,600 --> 00:50:00,880 how to make them relevant, I think - well here at Oxford a couple of years ago we 495 00:50:00,880 --> 00:50:07,520 saw a production of Medea which not very much was changed but that was a 496 00:50:07,520 --> 00:50:13,200 BAME production that was done by Khameleon Productions. I think 497 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:23,760 there's a podcast, here on the APGRD website, by my friend Fran Amewudah and Shiv Shah. 498 00:50:24,320 --> 00:50:31,120 So, I think in that production, they didn't change 499 00:50:31,120 --> 00:50:37,600 very much and that play was able to resonate quite strongly with students 500 00:50:37,600 --> 00:50:41,520 and underrepresented communities at the University of Oxford. 501 00:50:42,240 --> 00:50:45,920 It's a tricky question. I don't think they can be changed very much. I mean, Alfaro 502 00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:52,320 does draw our attention to the fact that these 503 00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:56,480 plays can work in these different contexts. But I mean, they are adaptations: they 504 00:50:56,480 --> 00:51:03,120 work as Chicanx dramas - you can include elements like the Esfinge, 505 00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:07,520 you can transform the sphinx, which we see in ancient plays; 506 00:51:07,520 --> 00:51:13,920 you can transform various elements and make it work in this new context. 507 00:51:14,480 --> 00:51:21,520 But in general, I don't think the texts need to change very much to represent 508 00:51:21,520 --> 00:51:26,160 the experiences of multiple people. I think you can probably plant them, or transpose them, into lots 509 00:51:26,160 --> 00:51:32,000 of different contexts. Great. If you have time for another two questions. Perhaps you have another 510 00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:39,360 two lined up and then we can thank you. So, from Maria Cecilia de Miranda: 511 00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:45,120 do you have any information about the reception of Alfaro in Latin American Spanish and Portuguese 512 00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:51,520 and she's also just wondering about a possible parallel with 'Electra Shock' by Jose 513 00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:59,040 Maria Muscari. Thank you. Thank you, Cecilia. Cecilia is coming to us live from Brazil. How 514 00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:05,600 early is it over there? Thank you for joining. So, are you asking specifically whether 515 00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:10,000 these plays were able to resonate, or able to be seen or be known in Latin 516 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:14,720 America? That's a great question and in fact, that's something that I need to look into. 517 00:52:14,720 --> 00:52:19,840 So, thinking specifically about 'Electricidad,' it was first produced or premiered in 518 00:52:19,840 --> 00:52:26,240 2003 in Borderlands Theater in Arizona, but the 519 00:52:26,800 --> 00:52:30,160 Goodman Theatre production of 2004 and the 520 00:52:31,280 --> 00:52:35,840 Mark Taper Forum production in 2005 521 00:52:35,840 --> 00:52:41,920 I think would have been... I mean, 522 00:52:41,920 --> 00:52:48,560 it depends who was watching them. It is quite possible that some notable figures in Latin 523 00:52:48,560 --> 00:52:54,800 American theatre, maybe were in L.A. or Chicago and may have watched it. I'm thinking also, 524 00:52:54,800 --> 00:52:59,440 someone like Cecilia Suarez - whom I mentioned, who's a prominent Mexican actress - and who was 525 00:52:59,440 --> 00:53:04,800 in 'Electricidad' in the 2004 Goodman Theater production. It is quite likely - I don't know whether 526 00:53:04,800 --> 00:53:10,000 it would influence, or has a connection with 'Electra Shock' from Jose Maria 527 00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:15,280 Muscati in 2005, that you mentioned. But it is also interesting, 528 00:53:15,280 --> 00:53:20,800 the name 'Electricidad' works so well because it means 'electricity' in Spanish, 529 00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:25,280 so 'Electra Shock' seems to be speaking to that name, but maybe it could have just been 530 00:53:25,280 --> 00:53:33,200 a happy coincidence. Brilliant. Perhaps as a final question - we have one from Alison Middleton, 531 00:53:33,200 --> 00:53:39,280 who asks about the New York Times article where they describe Alfaro's work as rewriting the 532 00:53:39,280 --> 00:53:46,640 ancient plays rather than adapting them or staging them. Alison asked whether that's a term Alfaro 533 00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:53,200 uses for his own process, or if that's basically the media interpreting it as this phrase 'rewriting'. 534 00:53:53,920 --> 00:53:58,480 Thank you. I think he has used multiple words to describe them. I don't think he ever 535 00:53:58,480 --> 00:54:01,840 says he's staging them, because they're not actual productions of the sort you know: 536 00:54:01,840 --> 00:54:07,040 of Euripides' 'Medea' or Sophocles' 'Oedipus Rex'. I think 537 00:54:07,040 --> 00:54:12,160 he's used 'versions', 'adaptations', I think maybe even 'rewritings'. I don't know, 538 00:54:12,720 --> 00:54:16,480 I think the headline was probably produced by the New York Times headline people. 539 00:54:16,480 --> 00:54:20,880 But it is just interesting, I think, just to have that question, because generally 540 00:54:20,880 --> 00:54:25,920 when it comes to the plays that are adapted, the vocabulary is still 541 00:54:25,920 --> 00:54:29,920 rather fluid. I mean, we have all these different ways of referring to things that are 542 00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:35,280 fundamentally different from the source text, but we want to still 543 00:54:35,280 --> 00:54:39,920 highlight the relationship that they have with the source text. 544 00:54:39,920 --> 00:54:46,080 I call them adaptations because I think, as a word, adaptation is something 545 00:54:46,080 --> 00:54:51,920 that at least emphasises the many things that Luis Alfaro has done to 546 00:54:51,920 --> 00:54:56,800 transform them into something different, that resonates beyond the original source text. 547 00:54:58,000 --> 00:55:06,080 Thank you. Exactly, fantastic. Well Rosa, thank you so much for your talk. Also, as Rosa mentioned, 548 00:55:06,080 --> 00:55:12,000 the materials are now available via the APGRD - or prehaps not right now during 549 00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:17,520 the pandemic - but will be available again once we can open up. So thank you very much for them 550 00:55:17,520 --> 00:55:24,240 and thank you to everyone who's tuned in today and also to Claire Barnes for her work 551 00:55:24,240 --> 00:55:28,800 with the questions and the technical help and of course to Fiona and everyone at the APGRD. 552 00:55:28,800 --> 00:55:33,840 We're delighted that everyone could be here. Thank you, Rosa. Thank you. Bye.