Theatre for Young Audiences a big hit

By Roxanne Schroeder- Arce
Theatre Arts

Last Spring, the California State University at Fresno Theatre for Young Audiences (TFYA) program received an invitation to bring its current production of Señora Tortuga to Salt Lake City, Utah to perform at the annual conference of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE). Each year, this group of teachers, artists, and scholars assembles in a different city to foster growth in the field of theatre for young audiences. It was quite an honor to be invited. Conference planners articulated to the playwright and director of Señora Tortuga, assistant professor Roxanne Schroeder- Arce that one of the main thrusts was the dedication to multicultural issues represented by this production and Fresno State’s TFYA program overall.

On July 26th, after touring to over 10,000 children in the San Joaquin Valley, 12 Fresno State students piled into two University vans with the set and costumes in tow, and headed to Salt Lake City.

The group was well received at two elementary schools. One second-grade teacher wrote in a letter of thanks, “It was absolutely fabulous! Most of my students are bilingual and loved hearing the Spanish.” A fifth-grade student at one of the schools wrote, “My favorite part was the part about the Cucui. I’m Mexican so I know what you guys were talking about. My Mom told me all about that. If I could give it a rating of 1-10, I would give it a big 10 and two thumbs up.”

Señora Tortuga was finally presented for professionals in the field of theatre for youth at the Rose Wagner Theatre in downtown Slat Lake City. The Fresno State students also served as panelists in a conference session called, “Theatre and Drama and Cultural Borders: Successes, Struggles, and Questions.” The Fresno State students were quite eloquent in reflecting on the experience of performing this play for diverse audiences.

One Fresno State student, Gaby Delgado, said, “One of the most rewarding experiences for me was the reaction of some of the kids’ faces as they were watching the play.  Señora Tortuga addresses very specific cultural ideas and themes.  For example, the “ Cucui” in the play is what we can say is the equivalent of the “ Boogie Man.”  To have this character in the play was special because the kids understood that!!!  Their reactions were priceless; they giggled some gasped with surprise, etc.  I also feel that this play is very special since it incorporates Spanish.  A couple of the kids would come up to me at the end of the play and would ask me, “You speak Spanish?!!”  I felt really proud during those moments because they had seen a Latina who speaks their language and more importantly they had seen Latinos in a positive play.”

 The mission of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education is “to promote standards of excellence in theatre and theatre education, connecting artists, educators, researchers and scholars with each other and by providing opportunities for our membership to learn, exchange, expand, and diversify their work, their audience, and their perspectives.” We can be proud of   our California State University at Fresno students in the cast and crew of Señora Tortuga for being part of this mission this summer.

The TFYA program is already gearing up for its spring 2005 production of “ Calabasas Street” by Jose Cruz Gonzalez. Six schools in the San Joaquin Valley have already booked the show.