Staging Whiteness: Possibilities for Resistance and Revelation in a High School Production of Simply Maria, or, The American Dream

Abstract

In the fall of 2000, a U.S. high school drama club produced the politically-charged, one-act comedy, Simply Maria, or, the American Dream (1992) by Latina playwright Josefina López. To the extent that the director of the play combined Mexican-American and white actors onstage in the context of a conservative community, producing this play was a radical act. The tensions that developed through this experience illustrate how—despite genuine intentions to off-set dominant expectations of white culture embedded both in the cast and audience—the power-center of the project remained white and largely unquestioned. A description of the five-week rehearsal process examines speech codes and illuminates tensions and insights that evolve from the efforts of a generally white high school drama club to tackle a play that speaks to a marginalized component of its school's student body.

Notes

Hispanics lead increase of nation's population. (2003, June 19). The Toledo Blade. p. A3.