El Teatro Campesino and the San Francisco Mime Troupe
By and large, the art form deals with the aesthetic whereas politicalendeavors are often related to logic yet as societies around the worlddeveloped, the mergence of the art forms with the other facets of knowledgehave become common. The mergence of theatrical art that is stageperformances, with politics is one of these instances and has come to beknown as political theaters. Political theaters according to the WikipediaEncyclopaedia (2003) are basically dramas or performances that emphasize onpolitical issues in its theme or plot for a politically conscious society.The basic premise is to raise the issue in public and make them aware ofthe problem. According to author Mary Thomas Crane (2001) in her analysison what comprise of performances in theaters, notes that political theatersoften address social behaviors and through the performances focus on theeffects of political authority on social cohesion and structure. Thepurpose of these performances is to either resolve conflicts within thesociety or address the legitimization of the changing social norms. Early
These theaters according to Catherine Wiley (1998) usually address thesocial conflict between the Chicanos and the United States inhabitants. org/) under the leadership of Luis Valdez. The El TeatroCampesino and the San Francisco Mime Troupe for example emphasize on therights of the Chicanos. Two of the most important political theaters in American history areperhaps the Political Theatre of El Teatro Campesino(http://www. TheChicanos at the time, striving for establishing their social status andfighting for their work rights resorted to these political theaters tovoice their concern and communicate to the society as well as the politicalauthority at the time. nate from the Greeks and as Western civilizationdeveloped renowned names like Jonson, Valpone and Shakespeare are alsoassociated with the same. What make thesetwo theaters landmark in the history of political theater is the fact thatit started during the 1950sa period when America had been striving toestablish stability amidst civil rights movements and conflicts. The issue then had been female liberationby challenging the authority of the opposing gender. For example the Greek's amphitheaters set the stage for the organizationand establishment of political structure for the people. Thus within each of the historical eras, it can be observed that politicaltheaters play the important role of voicing the demands for social changeby attracting the attention of the authority for the purpose of enforcingacceptance. AlthoughRG Davis started the San Francisco Mime Troupe however, it had been Valdezwho directed the Troupe towards multicultural dimension in performing art. In more contemporary societies, however, thenature and production of political theaters changed as these are performedin amphitheatres, on the streets or projected through the various modernelectronic media. With several productions including the Zoot Suit(Pizzato 1998) Valdez had effectively projected the Chicano culture, socialstatus as well as their missing identity within the US society.
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