The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfaro

Electricidad; Oedipus El Rey; Mojada

Luis Alfaro, Rosa Andújar, Rosa Andújar

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781350155428
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Littérature
• Subtopic: Théâtre américain

Winner of the London Hellenic Prize 2020 The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfaro gathers together for the first time the three 'Greek' plays of the MacArthur Genius Award-winning Chicanx playwright and performance artist. Based respectively on Sophocles' Electra and Oedipus, and Euripides' Medea, Alfaro's Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, and Mojada transplant ancient themes and problems into the 21st century streets of Los Angeles and New York, in order to give voice to the concerns of the Chicanx and wider Latinx communities. From performances around the world including sold-out runs at New York's Public Theater, these texts are extremely important to those studying classical reception, Greek theatre and Chicanx writers. This unique anthology features definitive editions of all three plays alongside a comprehensive introduction which provides a critical overview of Luis Alfaro's work, accentuating not only the unique nature of these three 'urban' adaptations of ancient Greek tragedy but also the manner in which they address present-day Chicanx and Latinx socio-political realities across the United States. A brief introduction to each play and its overall themes precedes the text of the drama. The anthology concludes with exclusive supplementary material aimed at enhancing understanding of Alfaro's plays: a 'Performance History' timeline outlining the performance history of the plays; an alphabetical 'Glossary' explaining the most common terms in Spanish and Spanglish appearing in each play; and a 'Further Reading' list providing primary and secondary bibliography for each play. The anthology is completed by a new interview with Alfaro which addresses key topics such as Alfaro's engagement with ancient Greek drama and his work with Chicanx communities across the United States, thus providing a critical contextualisation of these critically-acclaimed plays.

Electricidad

A Chicano take on the tragedy of Electra

Image from the 2008 production of Electricidad. Photo courtesy of Asae Dean

Originally produced at Borderlands Theater, Tucson, AZ in association with the National New Play Network, with the assistance of the Fund for New American Plays, a project of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the support of Countywide Home Loans, Inc., the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and the Laura Pels Foundation in cooperation with the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

After awhile it comes down to a question

of life choices not a choice between you/or her this sea town/or that bruising city

but about putting one foot in front of the other and ending up somewhere

that looks like home.

(Cherríe Moraga, The Last Generation)

Lugar

City of Los, the East Side, by the river, that house at the end of the street over by the freeway.

Sonido

The city, a live wire, electricity running from a transformer.

Tiempo

Right now, baby.

Characters

Electricidad (twenty-three), the oldest daughter, an old-school chola, in grief, cannot break the cycle.

Clemencia (forty), the mother, total veterana, goes way back, has issues.

Ifigenia (twenty), the other daughter, formerly muy peligrosa, possibly born-again, looks good in black.

Abuela (fifty), the grandmother, a veterana, old-school chola, muy sexy this vieja.

Orestes (seventeen), the brother, a peewee, heir to the trono, exiled to Las Vegas.

Nino (fifty-two), the godfather, el atendido, the most veterano, exiled to Las Vegas.

Las vecinas, a chorus of mujeres from the hood, have seen it all, the voz of the city:

La Carmen

La Connie

La Cuca

Setting

We see a yard in front of a casa at the end of the block. Not one of the kept-up yards, pero una yarda filled with dirt, shrubs, stones, and some stuff that doesn’t fit in the house. En la yarda is an altar made of stones. Nestled between the stones are objects that live on altars: votive candles, burning incense, fragrant flowers, a Bart Simpson piggy bank from the border, old and faded pictures. At the center of the altar lies the decomposing body of Agamenón “El Auggie” Atridas, the father. El former rey de la neighborhood. Eyes plucked. Tongue missing. He is wrapped in a shroud.

Sitting in the yard and draped over El Auggie is Electricidad, la youngest hija. She has been sitting in the yard for five days. Waiting. For what? Quien sabe. A layer of earth bakes on her. A canvas for the recent Santa Anas. But you know what? Her makeup is holding on pretty good… She wears Levi’s, a black tank top, and chancla flip-flops. Her hair is matted and dirty. She has not spoken for days, but her wailing, which has been heard throughout el barrio 24/7, becomes an echo when it hits the valley at Mariachi Plaza. This homegirl is a young chola with old-school ways. Always has, always been. Even at night when little cholos dream of Krispy Kremes and fresh graffiti, Electricidad sits with her father.

We can clearly see inside la casa. The walls are missing and a wood frame is revealed. We see some furniture inside. Seventies stuff. Some cosas from layaway.

Moving nervously through the house, como una bir...