Miranda Trotman
Professor Letwin
Theatre in Protest
December 12, 2015
“Luis Valdez vs Bertolt Brecht” I chose to compare the works and impact made by Bertolt Brecht and Luis Valdez. Valdez is the father of Chicano Theatre and also known as the founder of El Teatro Campesino. Brecht is a German playwright, who was inspired by Wedekind and Bruchner. Both men are widely known for the use of Theatre as a tool for protesting. Theatrical protest also known as political Theatre is “used to refer to three different things: theatre that comments on political issues, political action or protest that has a theatrical quality to it and any action by politicians that is intended to make a point rather than accomplish something substantive.” By this definition…show more content… Luis Valdez was the son of migrant farm workers who moved from farm to farm, following harvesting work all around central California. Although poor, the Valdez family understood the value of an education and due to the itinerant nature of their way of life, little Lewis attended a plethora of schools before the family finally settled down in San Jose. Unlike most kids who grew up in similar circumstances, Valdez went on to attend college at San Jose University on math and physics scholarships. His love for the Theatre started at a young age with class plays and puppet shows, that love later evolved into a passion that was nurtured by his decision to switch his major to English. Valdez’s’ involvement with the San Francisco Mime Troupe cultivated his interest in agitprop and Italian comedia dell’Arte, two techniques that would be the foundation for El Teatro Campesino. This theatre troupe was born out of a desire to educate the public on the problems and hardships faced by migrant farm…show more content… Because of his history in writing newspaper articles, Brecht thought to try his hand at writing pieces to be performed by Valentin's troop. Brecht wrote his first full-length play Baal to counter a seminar by Kutscher. The responding to arguments became a common practice for him, some of his dramas even countered his own work. Berlin became his home after he was offered a job as assistant dramaturg at the prestigious Deutsches