ARTISTS

ut some of your classmates, many of whom have participated in protest marches during the
summer.
A huge crowd has gathered at the Union Hall despite the heat. It is as if the entire Negro
community has come, plus the several CORE workers who have been in town, and others from
neighboring towns.
From where you are standing you can see there are as many people outside as inside, even
the windows are crowded with eager faces. Outside across the dirt road, the police chief leans
against his automobile talking with several of his deputies. The chief is not sure what a play is,
but he is present in case any ‘trouble’ develops. Anyway, amidst the excitement no one pays
attention to the police. The Deacons for Defense of Equality and Justice are also present. They
had escorted the Free Southern Theater without incident from McComb, Mississippi Monday
and will provide a protective caravan of cars tomorrow morning when the company leaves for
New Orleans.
After a brief introduction by Gilbert Moses who explains this will be an improvised play, the
scenes begin. The play is about the demonstrations in Bogalusa that summer, about the
violence in Bogalusa and the inflexibility of the Mayor, his City Council and the police in the
face of that violence, and about the determination of the Negro citizens to fight back, to fight
for their rights, and to take action to insure their safety while protesting for their rights.
The audience responds to the subtleties, humor, truth of every situation as it develops on
the makeshift stage. And you, too, respond though you are not sure this is a great play or
that plays should be about something like this. The plays by the Central High School drama
club in Bogalusa are certainly not like this. But nevertheless this play is about your life, your
problems, what you have been through — and you have heard truths stated tonight which
have only been whispered in Bogalusa. And you wished the police chief (who is probably
outside wondering what all the shouting, laughter, excitement is about), the Mayor, every
white person in Bogalusa could be in the Union Hall tonight to see themselves portrayed as
they really are.
For further reading: The Free Southern Theater by The Free Southern Theater: A Documentary
of the South’s Radical Black Theater with Journals, Letters, Poetry, and Essays and a Play
Written By Those Who Built It.
EL TEATRO CAMPESINO
El Teatro Campesino (“farmworkers theater”) started out in 1965 as the cultural wing of the
United Farm Workers in the fields of California. At the time, the farmworkers were fighting for
fair working conditions and wages through the UFW, their union. They went on strike against
Delano Grapes and stood for long hours on picket lines. El Teatro Campesino drove up on a
flatbed truck, parked in the field, and used the truck bed as a stage. With comedy and reallife
stories about the plight of farmworkers, they entertained and inspired the picketers with
“actos” – short skits that had clear messages, like “join the union” or “boycott grapes.”
Under the founder and artistic director, Luis Valdez, the company quickly established itself as
a leading progressive popular theater, developing additional forms of theater and addressing
issues like education, racism, and cultural roots. Based in San Juan Bautista, California, the
theater thrives to this day. It has as strong a purpose as ever:
It is our mission to create a popular art with 21st century tools that presents a
more just and accurate account of human history, while encouraging the young
women and men of a new generation to take control of their own destiny through
creative discipline, vibrant education, economic independence, and artistic
excellence.
FROM THE ARTISTS
NOTES FROM THE FIELD EDUCATIONAL TOOLKIT 12