Teatro breve para la clase y el escenario (review)

Teatro breve para la clase y el escenario is a collection of seven one-act plays that touch on themes that might not necessarily be discussed in an intermediate Spanish language class, such as poverty in Latin America and the United States, the struggles of undocumented immigrants in the United States, diversity in the United States, corruption, and exploitation. The format of the dramatic texts makes these themes more accessible to learners at an intermediate or advanced level of Spanish, and may be particularly relevant for students enrolled in advanced levels of high school Spanish. The collection is designed with the language educator in mind, providing ample pre-reading activities that activate the students’ prior knowledge and introduce new vocabulary, concepts, and expressions, and post-reading activities that guide students to think critically about the text, its meaning, and its relevance to today’s society. Although other collections of plays exist, compilations specifically designed for use in a foreign or second language classroom are rare. This book is also unique because all of the plays were written by Eduardo Cabrera.

The plays take place in both Latin America and the United States, although locations in most of the plays are not specific, giving them a more universal appeal. “Los inmigrantes” presents the struggles of undocumented immigrants in the United States and the difficulties they face as they work to become legal residents, touching on themes such as social class, education, discrimination, culture shock, and counter culture shock. “Madre tierra” presents the struggles of two poor farmers, one who produces corn and the other sugar cane, who get mixed up in the dealings of a terrorist cell involved in the production of biodiesel fuel, allowing an analysis of exploitation, poverty, and power differences. “Salamanca” is a less traditional piece that contains elements of Theatre of the Absurd, presenting a number of vignettes in which people in positions of power oppress, exploit, and punish the lower classes. “La tele” satirizes our dependence on television, presenting the interactions of a family that values viewing telenovelas over all other activities, considering the plot lines of the telenovelas to be of more importance than reports of the closing of the stock market or a state of emergency because bombs have been placed in different parts of the city. “La asociación” criticizes the inefficiency of meetings in a university setting, presenting the first meeting to discuss the possible formation of an association of Hispanic professors and employees—a meeting that becomes a meeting to plan another meeting due to the different agendas that each participant brings to the table. “El sueño de Juan Domingo” presents the difficulties of being an idealist in today’s society, as Juan Domingo quits his job to lead a new political party in an effort to help others. The final play, “La desaparición del sonámbulo,” differs from the themes in many of the other plays in the collection, showing how a group of tenants deceive the owner of their building and avoid paying rent, presenting themes such as manipulation, deception, poverty, and coexistence.

This book may be easily adapted for use in a Spanish language course because it was written for such a purpose. But both the benefits and drawbacks of using such a text should be considered. Of great benefit are the pre-reading and post-reading activities that stimulate conversation and analysis on topics that might be difficult to introduce in a language class. However, these texts are also very literary, with a great deal of information presented in the stage directions and very specific explanations for why characters say what they say or react the way they act, allowing little room for creative interpretation of how lines could be said differently to modify the meaning of what is being said or the relationships between characters. Additionally, the characters speak in standard, academic Spanish, eliminating the possibility of exposing students to more colloquial speech or to...