The Necessary Theatre Critique - Essay Example

Without the action and the presence of Luis Valdes, the idea of Chicano theatre would not have been developed. As a playwright who was in close contact with the community, Valdes realized the need for a theatre that would be owned by Mexican Americans. This is the group of people that was at the time feeling invisible in the media. They considered a theatre as a tool through which they would condemn social injustice.

Young and without financial backing, Valdes left formal acting to found the Centro Campesino Cultural in Del Rey, California. He used the local communities to create a movement that is currently in international scope. He created a genuine workers' theatre with a complete image of ingenuity and originality. It was the inclusion of the community and labourers rather than professional actors that gave the theatres a boost in terms of acceptance. Through this, the theatre has helped many people develop into what can be called an artistic community brought up by passion and attitude. It is through the theatres that Valdes has been able to inspire generations of people who originally considered themselves forgotten.

Valdes regards theatres as important tools not just in bringing people together but also in making them feel visible, allowing them space to present feelings and attitudes towards various issues in a forum that is less violent and more acceptable. He considers theatres as the property of the community. As such, he feels that the community that acts in a theatre is as important as that that watches. These two groups of people meet in the theatre to exchange views and come up with solutions to their problems.