Tres Actos
by Luis Valdez – Directed by Alma Martinez
The “actos”, or short plays, were first performed by Valdez’s theatre company, El Teatro Campesino that he founded in 1965 in the heat of the United Farmworkers union’s struggle to secure basic labor and human rights for the most vulnerable of the U.S. labor force. These “actos”, that are now classics of American agitprop theater, were performed by farmworkers on picket lines, flatbed trucks, and at pivotal historic events such as the 1965 Delano Grape Strike and the 1966 United Farmworker Union’s march to Sacramento.
Through broad humor, music, song, and biting political satire, these dynamic and uplifting plays gave a voice in Spanish and English to the Chicano’s burgeoning community, national identity formation, and growing political empowerment that helped lay the foundation for a community that the U.S. Census Bureau projects will be the majority ethnic demographic by 2050.
Cast:
Aaron Aranda
Andrea Mujica
Albert Romiel Khalbourji
Eric Lees
Fernando Alvarez
Gerardo Molina
Jen Ning Quan
Jonathan Carter
Jordan Nelson
Joseph Baum
Joshua Pedrozo
Kassandra Aguilera
Madelyn Jane Duran
Mulan Elite Novilla
Victor Valdez
