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Where did
you grow up?
I grew up mostly in the suburbs of Los Angeles,
and spent two years as a teenager living in the South Pacific on the islands
of American Samoa.
Where did
you go to school?
I attended the University of Washington, Long Beach
City College, Eastern New Mexico University (BS Theatre), and The University
of California, Irvine (MFA Acting/Directing).
How’d
you end up in San Francisco?
I landed this job at SFSU.
What books
have you written?
I seek production, not publication. I've written
a number of full-length and one-act plays, as well as plays for young
audiences. I'm generally regarded as one of the leading Chicano playwrights
in the country.
Plays
I've written:
"Drive My Coche," an 18-year-old's rock and roll journey through
1970: a cool car, a passionate love affair, and the War. Produced by:
El Teatro de la Esperanza, Mark Taper Forum/Taper Too |
"When El Cucui Walks," the story of a dying storyteller, the
great grandaughter who loves him, and the world that haunts their dreams.
Produced by: El Teatro de la Esperanza; Guadalupe Cultural Arts, San Antonio;
and others | "Dancing With the Missing",
a noir styled story of a collection agent who stumbles on a series of
death squad killings tranplanted from Latin America to Los Angeles. Produced
by: El Teatro de la Esperanza Cucucuevez, Santa Ana and others.
Plays
for youth include:
"Hot Tamale/Tamale Caliente," a musical bilingual touring play:
the search for the hottest tamale in the world. Produced and Toured by:
Cucucuevez, Santa Ana Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, Santa
Maria;
and others |
"El Canto del Roble/The Song of the Oak," a musical bilingual
touring play: a young man discovers biology, folklore, and the natural
world. Produced and Toured by: Pacific Conservatory of the Performing
Arts, Santa Maria; Bug Theatre, Colorado; and others.
"El
Canto del Roble/The Song of the Oak" is available in an anthology:
"Aplauso! Hispanic Children's Theatre," published by Arte Publico
Press, University of Houston. [Buy
this book]
Why do
you write?
As a young man studying theatre I realized that I'd
never be involved in a play about anyone of my ethnicity unless I started
writing those plays myself.
How would
you describe your teaching style?
In the classroom I'm loose and easy, and push writers
to explore and experiment, and not be hampered by someone else's idea
of what's possible on the stage. In Directed Writing I delve more deeply
into individual pieces, applying the craft of dramaturgy to push writers
forward towards finishing major works.
How are
your classes structured?
My regular classes tend to be free-wheeling. As
I work mostly in short forms now, I emphasize new work, concentrating
on the dramatic fundamentals of scenes, as building blocks to larger pieces.
I give assignments designed to create some heat, and then at the beginning
of each class writers cast and rehearse their scenes, and present the
work on its feet.
What do
you expect of your students?
In terms of activities, I expect students to write,
to participate as actors in the presentation of other scenes, and to participate
in discussions. In terms of learning I expect them to explore their own
writing, to take creative leaps, to learn from the exprerience of seeing
their work on its feet, and to learn from the experience of seeing the
work of their fellow writers on its feet. I also expect them to develop
a critique style that concentrates on helping to build on the artistic
strengths, the inherent style, and the courage of the other writers in
the room, rather than on thinking up clever bad things to say.
What do
you hope your students come away with after taking a class from you?
I hope they have a sense of the potential of the
stage to delve deeply into the human condition in ways unique to each
individual artist. (And have lost their ideas about the limitations of
the stage.) I hope they begin to recognize their own potential and their
own style. I hope they begin to see that playwrights and theatre artists
are a community who work together. And I hope they have more tools to
look at and work with their own playwrighting, and the playwrighing of
their fellow artists.
What are
your favorite reads?
Lately I've been back reading the classics again
-- mostly Shakespeare and Lorca. I read scripts from other Chicano/Latino
playwrights like Jose Cruz Gonzalez, Rodrigo Duarte Clark, Elaine Romero,
Laurie Woolery, Octavio Solis. I read any recent play I can get my hands
on. I visit other universities for the American College Theatre Festival,
and see lots of new work by students. I also read novels for young people;
some Science Fiction (great cynical attitudes about the future); and any
fiction or nonfiction I can find by or about my native roots -- for instance
I just finished "The Ohlone Way," a study of the lives and cultures
of the native people who once inhabited the Bay Area.
What are
you working on now?
I'm working on a new play called "Illegal Corrido."
Its a musical/storytelling piece about borders and the immigrant
experience.
What are
your extra-literary interests?
I'm a musician and singer. I play guitar and slide
guitar, and I sing. I also write music and songs.
What’s
the best advice you’ve received/have given regarding starting a literary
“career”?
First things first: work to be as good as you can
be. And work hard. In the theatre, don't sit around waiting for other
people to produce your work, produce it yourself.
What are
the biggest concerns you hear from graduate students at SFSU?
I think the biggest problem continues to be getting
classes, particularly for incoming students.•
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