Copyright by Carolyn Dianne Roark 2002 Socializing the Audience: Culture, Nation-Building, and Pedagogy in Chile’s Teatro Infantil by Carolyn Dianne Roark, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2002 Acknowledgements I owe gratitude to many friends and supporters who have given so freely to me during this long process. This limited space allows only the most perfunctory attempt at acknowledging the legion of people who have given their time and knowledge during my travels and my writing process. First and foremost, thanks be to God. “I can do all things through God who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). I am indebted to the professors who have given me constant guidance and modeled excellence in scholarship and student mentoring: Jill Dolan, John Brokaw, John Fleming, Sharon Grady, and Armando Sanchez. I am especially grateful to Jill Dolan, whose careful reading of the various drafts and insightful commentary have helped me grow exponentially as writer and thinker. During my travels in Chile, dozens of artists and educators generously shared their time and knowledge with me. Many granted me permission to observe and record their productions, provided me with supplemental materials, and patiently answered my never-ending questions. I only wish that space permitted me to list each individual. Mil gracias y mil más a todos. Suerte y exito, para ahora y siempre. The Bibloteca Nacional de Chile and Biblioteca de la Pontífica Universidad Católica permitted me access to their vast resources and a quiet space in which to explore materials undisturbed. I thank the librarians and assistants who manage the collections, especially iv Señorita Andrea in the archive room at the Campus Oriente. Special thanks to Jorge Díaz, Verónica Garcia-Huidobro, Hernan Lacalle, Vasco Moulián, and Marco Yávar. Thanks also to Carola Oyarzún, Juan Antonio Muñoz, Eduardo Guerrero del Rio, and the press attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Chile for helping make contact with various artists and organizations. The University of Texas and the Department of Theatre and Dance have provided a stable, stimulating learning environment over the last seven years. I appreciate their commitment to producing responsible scholars and teachers, and giving me so many opportunities to grow. Several friends offered feedback, a sympathetic ear, and general encouragement. Maria Beach read tirelessly, Salvador Apud shared insight on Latin American cultures, and Sue Kratochvil prayed without ceasing. Mary Kay Lutringer excelled in encouragement. Professor Chandler Stolp talked me down from several ledges. My final acknowledgement must belong to my family: My parents, Charles and Cookie Roark, my brother Chuck, and my sister Cari. They have loved and supported me unconditionally. My husband, Grant Melcher, is my sweetheart and my unfailing anchor. My love and thanks to all of you. v Socializing the Audience: Culture, Nation-Building, and Pedagogy in Chile’s Teatro Infantil Publication No.___________ Carolyn Dianne Roark, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2002 Supervisor: Jill Dolan Through an analysis of teatro infantil (“children’s theatre”) in Chile, this dissertation interrogates the process of nation-building and social pedagogy in professional performances for child audiences. Postcolonialist theory has typically positioned “nationalism” as a singular discourse or ideology positioned in resistance to colonizing influences. Theorists such as Homi K. Bhabha challenge this monolithic conceptualization, proposing that nationalism is a process and, therefore, continually under construction and subject to different interpretations. My study of teatro infantil examines the ways that theatrical performance has been used in the service of differing ideologies to influence the direction of the nation in Chile. Through an analysis of productions and performances practices over the movement’s history, I trace the different notions of citizenship and duty that practitioners and educators have presented to Chilean children. I argue that performance can serve various, at times rival, ideological discourses in the attempt to teach young people about culture and their place within it. In the process, I vi interrogate the presence of a growing survival imperative at work in the professional theatre, and uncover its influence on the ways that practitioners construct citizenship. In the process of nation-building, teatro infantil serves as a pedagogical tool to demonstrate for children cultural values, to engage their concern for social issues, and to promote arts appreciation as an important quality in the “good” citizen. In the thinking of these artists and educators, if children successfully adopt these attributes when they mature, the nation will develop healthier social structures, more just political practices, and the future prosperity of the theatre may be secured. The limitations of these assumptions are discussed, yet this study reveals ways in which the theatre may help young people develop critical skills and creative tools that they may use to benefit the culture throughout their lives. vii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction to Teatro Infantil and Social Pedagogy in Chile .........................................................................................1 The Creative Impulse and the Social World............................5 Socio-Pedagogical Performance in Chile: A Brief History and Theoretical Framework..................8 History of Teatro Infantil ....................................32 Methodology......................................................38 Chapter Outlines.....................................49 Chapter 2: Historical Antecedents, Early Modern Plays, and the Development of the Teatro Infantil Movement..............................54 La Princesa Panchita: A Sea Change in Teatro Infantil ..........72 Post-golpe Children’s Theatre: The Professional Development of Teatro Infantil after 1973 .........................82 Conclusion ..............................................................................96 Chapter 3: Teatro Infantil Renews its Social Conscience: Growth of Social-Political Activism Through Artistic Expression ..98 Good Habits, Good Citizens: The Formation of the “Good” Chilean Child .................102 Why Can’t We All Just Get Along: Post-Golpe Polarization, Social Anxiety, and Cultural Crisis ...............................105 Performing for Children in the Midst of Crisis ....112 Stimulating Environmentalism, Creating a Generation of Conservationists............................................................127 1988: An Unprecedented Prolific Year....................................129 Teatro Infantil After the Plebiscite: Waiting and Hoping..........136 The First Festivals ..................................................................141 Teatro Itinerante: Government Sponsorship viii and Theatrical Evangelism..................................................143 The Moral Imperative of Creating a “Future Audience”...........147 The Development of Survival Imperative Rhetoric....................................................................147 The Future Spectator ...................................................149 The Role of Teatro Escolar in Creating Audiences...............................................................150 Laying the Groundwork for “Good” Theatre in the Future.............................................................152 Conclusion ..............................................................................156 Chapter 4: Healing and Wholeness: Facing the Future and Coping with the Past after the Return to Democracy ............158 Continuing Concerns: Promoting Unity, Kindness, and Conservation................................................................167 El Principito: A Moral Compass....................................173 Combating Compound Social Ills: Consumerism, Intolerance and Poor Social Stewardship..............................................187 Teatro Estudio ...................................................197 Elevating the Status of the Child Audience and the Growing Concern with Quality ...........................................206 Anxiety for the Future and Creating Theatre Consumers........212 Kerubines.....................................................................221 La Balanza ...................................................................228 Conclusion ..............................................................................235 Chapter 5: Conclusion: Teatro Infantil Moves into the New Millenum..................................................................238 Planetas..................................................................................243 Chapter Notes ...................................................................................254 Appendix I: Sample Interview Questions ...........................................278 ix Appendix II: Production Note-Taking Guidelines ...............................279 Bibliography.......................................................................................280 Vita ....................................................................................................297 x List of Figures Figure 1-Promotional flyer from El príncipe feliz................................179 Figure 2-Effigy of Príncipe feliz, with