Taking it to the streets
Subtitle: the social protest theater of Luis Valdez and Amiri Baraka
By: Harry J. Elam, Jr.
Series: Theater--theory/text/performance
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Ann Arbor
Language: eng
Number of pages: 187
Subjects: Valdez, Luis -- Criticism and interpretation; Baraka, Imamu Amiri, 1934- -- Criticism and interpretation; Teatro Campesino (Organization); Workers' theater -- California; Mexican American theater -- California
Description: The performances of Luis Valdez's El Teatro Campesino, the farmworkers' theater, and Amiri Baraka's Black Revolutionary Theater (BRT) during the '60s and '70s offer preeminent examples of social protest theater during a momentous and tumultuous historical juncture.

In Taking It to the Streets, Harry Elam compares the performance methodologies, theories, and practices of the two groups, highlighting their cross-cultural commonalities and providing insights into the complex genre of social protest performance and its interchange with its audience.

He examines the ways in which ritual can be seen to operate within the productions of El Teatro and the BRT, uniting audience and performers in subversive, celebratory protest by transforming spectators into active participants within the theater walls - and into revolutionary activists outside.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-175) and index.