BILINGUAL IDENTITY AND ITS REPRESENTATION IN PERFORMANCE

Abstract

This work begins by providing working definitions of common identities such as Hispanic, Latino/Latina, Country of Origin, Chicano/Chicana, and Latinx/Latin@/Latine. This provides the background to begin to understand identity’s role in theatre performance and the representation of identity onstage. After exploring the political origins of Latino theatre and El Teatro Campesino this document then looks at five different forms of code-switching common in bilingual plays. The next section covers three plays (Heroes and Saints, Zoot Suit, and In the Heights) and their common themes. This allows the reader to see both the playwright’s and character’s identities present in the stories and how they impact not only what story is told, but also how it is told. Finally, audience reaction is discussed from both a bilingual and monolingual position to investigate the relationship between connection and alienation of cast and audience due to language.