The Latinx Theatre Commons: Feminist Decolonization In
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THE LATINX THEATRE COMMONS: FEMINIST DECOLONIZATION IN THE EARLY YEARS OF A MOVEMENT TO TRANSFORM THE NARRATIVE OF THE AMERICAN THEATRE by OLGA P. SANCHEZ SALTVEIT A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Theatre Arts and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2019 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Olga P. Sanchez Saltveit Title: The Latinx Theatre Commons: Feminist Decolonization in the Early Years of a Movement to Transform the Narrative of the American Theatre This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Theatre Arts by: Theresa May Chairperson Michael Malek Najjar Core Member John Schmor Core Member Brian Eugenio Herrera Core Member Michael Hames-García Institutional Representative and Kate Mondloch Interim Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded December 2019 ii © 2019 Olga P. Sanchez Saltveit iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Olga P. Sanchez Saltveit Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theatre Arts December 2019 Title: The Latinx Theatre Commons: Feminist Decolonization in the Early Years of a Movement to Transform the Narrative of the American Theatre The Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC) emerged in 2012 in response and resistance to years of misrepresentation and erasure of Latinx artistic work and presence by the American theatre field in practice and in scholarship. This dissertation is the first comprehensive chronicle and study of the LTC, reviewing the movement’s methods, manifestations, and implications through interviews with key participants and my own reflections as a founding Steering Committee member, balanced against theories of Latinx feminisms, the Commons, and Latin American decolonization. My research spans the early years of the movement, from the impetus that generated the meeting of the “DC-8” in May 2012, the formation of its first Steering Committee (comprised of Latinx theatre makers, scholars, and advocates from all over the US) in the summer of 2012; through the launch of the LTC’s digital and social media presences; the 2013 Boston Convening; the 2014 Encuentro and the 2018 Encuentro de las Américas; the 2015 and 2018 Carnavals; the El Fuego initiative (2016-19); the Dallas, Seattle, New York City, and Miami Regional Convenings (2015-19); the Maria Irene Fornés Institute Symposium (2018); and the TYA Sin Fronteras Festival and Conference (2019). iv A review of the mid-twentieth century’s Teatro Nacional de Aztlán (TENAZ) and the rise of Latinx feminisms in Chapters II and III provide the foundations for the story of the LTC that is described in Chapter IV. In Chapter V, the movement’s activities and methods are investigated through the multiple lenses of Latinx feminisms, commons and decolonization theories. Intersectional, non-hierarchical, and radically inclusive Latinx feminist priorities align with commons ideologies, which champion community consensus when determining the care and application of mutually shared resources. This fundamentally anti-capitalist approach reinforces the work of decolonization, the intentional transformation of the way social, political, and economic processes are viewed and implemented. These three ideological frameworks at work within the LTC are mutually supportive and, interwoven, they sustain the LTC’s mission, to transform the narrative of the American theatre, with integrity. Chapter VI concludes with the greater implications and questions about the LTC’s work as a model for social justice and revolution. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Olga P. Sanchez Saltveit GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Pacific Oaks College Northwest, Seattle City University of New York, Hunter College, New York DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Theatre Arts, 2019, University of Oregon Master of Arts, Human Development, 2004, Pacific Oaks College Northwest Bachelor of Arts, Theatre, 1989, City University of New York AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Identity Theatre, Dramaturgy, & Performance Latinx, Native American, African American/Black, Feminist Devised Theatre New Works Indigenous, Race, & Ethnic Studies AfroLatinidad Indigenous Latinidad Latinx & Latin American Studies Women’s & Gender Studies Intersectional Feminisms Non-profit Theatre Administration PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Artistic Director Emerita, Milagro, 2015-present Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2015-2019 Artistic Director, Milagro, 2003-2015 Co-founder and Board President, La Casa de Artes, 1998-2003 Co-founder and Artistic Director, Seattle Teatro Latino, 1991-2003 vi Co-founder and Co-Artistic Director, People’s Playhouse, 1989-1991 Actor, Director, Devisor, Playwright, Dramaturge Arts Administration, Performing Arts Instruction, Community Organization GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Meritorious Achievement Award, Dramaturgy, The HomePlanet, KCACTF Region VII, 2019 The Mellon School of Theatre & Performance Research at Harvard University: Public Humanities, 2018 Howard L. Ramey Endowment for Theatre Arts, University of Oregon, 2019 Meritorious Achievement Award, Dramaturgy, Tricks to Inherit, KCACTF Region VII, 2018 Graduate Student Association Graduate Student Travel Award, University of Oregon, 2018 Center for Latina/o & Latin American Studies Graduate Student 2018 Summer Research Grant, University of Oregon, 2018 Norman Brown Graduate Fellowship, University of Oregon College of Arts & Sciences, 2017, 2018 Wilkes Theatre Arts Outstanding Graduate in the Field of Playwriting, Set Design and/or Acting/Directing Scholarship, University of Oregon, 2016, 2017 Meritorious Achievement Award, Dramaturgy, New Voices, KCACTF Region VII 2017 Translation Project Award, Global Studies Institute/Translation Studies Working Group, University of Oregon, 2017 Pat@s Award, Raza Unida Youth Conference, University of Oregon, 2017 Drammy Award, Outstanding Achievement in Devised Work, ¡O Romeo!, 2015 Latino Network Unid@s Leadership Program, 2013-2014 “Women Leading US Theatres in the 21st Century,” Women in Theatre Magazine, 2011 vii Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Latino Leadership Program Scholarship, 2009-2010 Drammy Award, Outstanding Direction & Production, Lorca in a Green Dress, 2005 PUBLICATIONS: “¡O Romeo!: Shakespeare on the Altar of el Día de los Muertos.” Latinx Shakespeare: Performance, Appropriation, and Pedagogy. Della Gatta, Carla, and Trevor Boffone, eds. (Forthcoming) “Broken Promises” (excerpt). Los Porteños Anthology. Saed, Yvonne, and Juan Trujillo, eds., Oregon State University Press. (Forthcoming) “Dreamscape: Critical Introduction.” Encuentro: Latinx Performance for the New American Theater. Boffone, Trevor, Teresa Marrero, and Chantal Rodriguez, eds., Northwestern University Press, April 2019. “Performance, Feminism and Affect in Neoliberal Times. Diamond, Elin, Denise Varney, and Candice Amich, Eds.” (Book review). Latin American Theatre Review, 52:2, Spring 2019, pp. 219-220, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/731103/pdf “Californios, Anglos, and the Performance of Oligarchy in the U.S. West. Andrew Gibb.” (Book review). Theatre Journal, Johns Hopkins University Press, 71:2, June 2019, pp. 244-246, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/728456 “Theatre and Cartographies of Power: Repositioning the Latina/o Americas, Noriega, Jimmy E. and Analola Santana, eds.” (Book review). Periphērica, 2019, http://journals.oregondigital.org/index.php/peripherica/article/view/4517/pdf “(Afro)Latinx Theatre: Embodiment and Articulation.” Label Me Latina/o, vii, 2017, pp. 1–20, http://labelmelatin.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Olga-Sanchez- Saltveit-AfroLatinx-Theatre-Embodiment-and-Articulation-final-draft.pdf “Estamos Juntos / We Are Together.” HowlRound Theatre Commons, Emerson College, 10 Nov. 2017, https://howlround.com/estamos-juntos-we-are-together. “Ignited: El Payaso in Flint.” Ignited series. HowlRound Theatre Commons, Emerson College, 2 Feb. 2017, http://howlround.com/ignited-el-payaso-in-flint. --- and Irma Mayorga. “Introducing Ignited: Communiqués from the LTC’s El Fuego viii Initiative.” HowlRound Theatre Commons, Emerson College, 24 Oct. 2016, http://howlround.com/introducing-ignited-communiques-from-the-ltc-s-el-fuego- initiative “Carnaval: Day Two.” HowlRound Theatre Commons, Emerson College, 25 July 2015, http://howlround.com/carnaval-2015-day-2 “Forward.” Teatro de los Muertos: Life, Death and Love. Editor. Milagro Press, 2013. “La Calaca.” Día de Los Muertos: A Day of the Dead Anthology. Craig, Angela Charmaine, ed. Elektrik Milk Bath Press, 2010. "Artistic Directors, No Apologies" Field Letter, American Theatre Magazine, April 2010. http://www.tcg.org/publications/fieldletter/apr10_fieldletter.cfm “La Calaca.” Rio Grande Review. Edited by Laura Cesarco Eglin et al, Spring ed., vol. 33, University of Texas El Paso Press, 2009. “Tortilleria y Tienda De Leon: Recipes for Success.” El Hispanic News, Jan. 2015, pp. 4– 5, https://www.elhispanicnews.com/ehn/ehn-january-2015/tortilleria-y-tienda-de- leon-recipes-success. ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am profoundly grateful to Dr. Theresa May for her generous encouragement and astute recommendations throughout my writing process. Sincerest thanks to Dr. Michael Malek Najjar for his critical questions, and to Dr. John Schmor for his humanistic and semantic ones, graceful tests which sharpened and deepened my work.