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Maria Irene Fornes
Maria Irene Fornes was a playwright who began writing plays in 1965. She is not extremely well known but she has won many awards for her writing. She is a "Cuban-born American" (Brockett, 240) and she has "won six Obie Awards for Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions, including Fefu and her Friends and The Conduct of Life" (Brockett, 240). The first play she ever wrote was titled Tango Palace. She also mentored other Latino playwrights and wrote over three dozen works for the stage. -
Luis Valdez
Latino theatre started to make wider impressions on Americans in 1960. "Valdez was very successful in calling attention to the plight of migrant workers in California and winning public support for them during a strike by grape pickers" (Brockett, 239-240). Valdez wrote and directed plays that encouraged change and sparked awareness in the heat of the United Farm Workers struggle. "Valdez later turned to writing plays about heritage and lives of contemporary Mexican Americans." (Brockett, 240) -
Rick Shiomi
Rick Shiomi is an award winning Japanese playwright, stage director, artistic director, and taiko artist. He "leads Minneapolis's Mu Performing Arts and believes that the emerging trend for Asian American drama and other minorities involves "crossover" works that will be a part of a larger American canon that's going to be much more mixed" (Brockett, 247). This is seen as a turning point or a "new trend in Asian American drama." (Brockett, 247) -
Nilo Cruz (Anna in the Tropics)
Nilo Cruz first studied theatre at Miami-Dade Community College. He is most known for his play Anna in the Tropics which was awarded the 2003 Pulitzer prize for drama. It was "only the second play to have ever been so awarded before being staged in New York; it was also the first time a Latino playwright won" (Brockett, 240-241). "His plays typically focus on characters whose dignity and creative potential are at odds with the repressive circumstances in which they live" (Brockett, 240). -
Onahoua Rodriguez
Onahoua Rodriguez is an actress who played "Ceci in Lydia by Octavio Solis" pictured in the Brockett text (Brockett, 242). She grew up in New York but eventually relocated to Los Angeles. She received training from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She is most known for appearing on Hawaii Five-0, Perry Mason, Veronica Mars, and The Shield. She has been in many various movies, TV shows, and stage productions throughout her professional career. -
Zoot Suit
Zoot Suit was a play by Luis Valdez and was "his most popular success." (Brockett, 240) It "mingled traditional Mexican musical forms with Living Newspaper techniques in a play based on an actual case of injustice against a group of young Mexican Americans during World War II."
(Brockett, 240) Zoot Suit was the first Latino play produced on Broadway and then made into a film. The Zoot Suit altered history and changed fashion. -
The Avocado Kid or Zen in the Art of Guacamole
The Avocado Kid or Zen in the Art of Guacamole is "a rock musical presented originally by the East West Players in 1979." (Brockett, 245) This musical was written by a "prominent Asian American dramatist- Phillip Kan Gotanda." (Brockett, 245) Music and lyrics are by Philip Kan Gotanda himself and it is based on a famous Japanese children's story, Momotaro- the peach boy. -
F.O.B - Fresh Off the Boat
The Obie-winning play F.O.B which stands for "fresh off the boat" was written by David Henry Hwang. "It explores the contrasts and conflicts between established Asian Americans and newly arrived immigrants" (Brockett, 246). The plot focuses on what the struggles may be to be Chinese in America. It has a mostly male cast and young adult characters. F.O.B takes place in the backroom of a Chinese restaurant. It conveys strong and powerful messages about immigration. -
Minneapolis's Mu Performing Arts
Rebelling against stereotypes, Asian Americans began to write their own plays and found there own theatres to preform in. One of these theatres still maintaining Asian American preforming arts groups today is Mu Preforming Arts in Minneapolis. This theatre "blends Asian and Western artistic forms (both ancient and contemporary) to give voice to the experience of the Asian American culture and community" (Brockett, 244). This is Minnesota's first professional Asian American theatre company. -
Lydia
Lydia was a professional play written by Solis. "Lydia was a finalist for American Theatre Critics Association prize for the best new play originally produced outside New York City." (Brockett, 241-242) In this drama, a mystery women who seems to have some sort of powers drops in and changes the lives of a family. Lydia mainly explores themes of family relationships and dark secrets. This play is interesting because it causes the audience to think and be open to being challenged.