Last stop ranchera : developmental workshops

Latina Theater Lab developed acting workshops and Ranchera singing classes led by ensemble member Yolanda Aranda, who asked: What kind of music did you listen to at home? As each participant answered the questions, stories began to unfold through songs that evoked a cherished memory or a painful loss. During the eight-week workshop, participants were all required to memorize and perform a song they had chosen in true Ranchera style. This is a video documentation of two developmental workshops where members of the ensemble share their performance composition method with the audience. Latina Theatre Lab was one of the first and only all-Latina collective of writers, performers, and directors in the U.S. Their performance-sketch work dealt with pop culture, immigration, cross-cultural identities, and the complexities of 'being Latina.' It was founded in 1994 by four San Francisco Bay Area actresses: Dena Martinez, Jaime Lujan, Tessa Koning-Martinez and Wilma Bonet. Their purpose was to create theater that would go beyond the ever shrinking and limited range of roles for which Latina actresses were being considered. These roles were scarce, and rarely defied stereotypes. From 1994-1999, Latina Theatre Lab's work played with these cultural and gender stereotypes, exploring the legacies they inherited both as Latinas and as women. They also collaborated with Culture Clash, the Asian American Theater Company, and the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics