From the ArtsBoston Blog...
It’s still National Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month, and we wanted to take the time to call your attention to a few of the many, many Latinx and Hispanic playwrights you should get excited about. In addition to reading about these locally and nationally-acclaimed writers, you should also check out the 50 Playwrights Project, which has, for the past three years, collected a list of plays by Latinx writers that have yet to be produced. (Their work draws on the goals of The Kilroys List, which also gathers titles by cis female and trans playwrights ready for production.)
Despite the level of artistic excellence evident in the expansive community of Latinx writers, the community is still underrepresented on American stages. The Asian American Performer’s Action Coalition (AAPAC) released data in 2018 that on Broadway that year, only 2.3% of plays produced were by a Latinx writer — and only 20.8 percent were by a BIPOC writer.
As the pandemic is proving to be an opportunity for overdue reflection and acknowledgment of inequities perpetuated at predominantly-white institutions, now is a great time to read through these writers’ bodies of work, and be in conversation with the artistic folks in your life about them. Whether you’re in the audience or behind the scenes, all theatre-lovers and workers should be in conversation about art that excites them. And with these writers, there’s a lot to be excited about!
Photo: Our Dear Dead Drug Lord with Off the Grid Theatre Company, via WBUR.