Posted by Mark Harvey on November 20, 2008 5:20 PM|Permalink
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The intent of the play Help Wanted by Teatro Del Pueblo was to inform the audience members of a huge controversial issue that our country faces today. The most important factor of the play from a social perspective was that the story was a biographical telling of a true Minnesotan story about two sisters who migrated from Mexico in search of job opportunities. It was based off of a recent account of discrimination towards hotel laborers who were turned in by their place of work because of their decision to join the hotel laborer’s union.
The play provided new insight to the audience members who were not familiar to the experience of an immigrant, showing accounts of speaking only a foreign language in a country where people speak predominately English, discrimination in the workplace against immigrant workers without a green card, and inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants; for example calling the INS on them.
Members in the audience discussed the use of the word “Alien� and it’s degrading effects it has on how immigrants are seen as to the public. It seems that a main theme found in the play was, illegal immigrants were people too and that it was not righteous to treat someone wrong because of their national origin or ethnicity, that no matter what one must remember that immigrants are people too.
All in all, the attempted goal was well achieved through showing the story from an immigrants viewpoint. Because the play focused on a very controversial issue of today it was well worth the attempt.
“Help Wanted,� was a one act play, performed by Teatro del Pueblo. The play was to inform audiences of the issue of illegal immigration. The play was a true story of two young Mexican women who came to Minnesota to find work and support their family in Mexico. The play focused on the mistreatment of immigrant workers, and the lives of the two women. Audiences of the play were able to learn and ask questions about the play and the theater group, Teatro del Pueblo.
This play was unusual than many plays typically seen around Duluth. First, it was a fairly short play, where there was only one act. Second, there were no stage crew, scenic design, and a small amount of performers. “Help Wanted,� consisted of only three performers, and these three performers played several roles within the entire play. Even though this production lacked many aspects of a typical theatrical performance, it does mean that this play wasn’t worth the watch. Help Wanted has many aspects in which many performances could benefit from.
The idea of using a one-act play to address a highly controversy of illegal immigration to an audience is very intriguing. Teatro del Pueblo was able to use theater as a way of expression, and reach the audience. The fact that there were only 3 performers who were able to clearly portray different characters under different circumstances only proved to the audiences more that these actors and actresses held talent. The performers brought versatility, comedy, and intelligence in their performance.
In my previous blog review, I mentioned how “Help Wanted,� was a unique play that has many aspects in which other performances could benefit from. I want to elaborate more on how this play’s unique aspects can benefit other performances.
As mentioned before, “Help Wanted,� was a one-act play, with no scenic design, stage crew, and only 3 performers. With very little resources, Teatro del Pueblo was able to produce a short one-act play and reach the audience’s attention. Although there was no scenic design or stage crew, there was a central area on the stage where the actors would come and do a “quick change� to become a new character. In some sense the scenic design was the Mexican blanket, on a rack, that played as the focal point on the stage. Circled and hung around the Mexican blanket were props, hats, wigs, clothes, and more that the performers would use to change characters. The use of having a central place on stage where performers can retreat to change characters is beneficial to the performance because it is low-budgeted and versatile. This kind of technique allows the performers use their skills to be quick in changing their characters.
Because there wasn’t a scenery or stage set, there wasn’t much to look at, besides the Mexican blanket, and the performers, with their props. It is a challenge for the performers to keep the audience’s attention with very few resources than what is usually seen at a typical theater production. But the incredible talent of the performers kept the audience’s attention. The performers kept the play in complete content, bringing out the issues addressed in the play, as well as the humor, originally written in the play. The performers were able to make the audiences extend their minds in every different setting that the characters were in. In scenes where there were new characters, new setting, and new props, the performers would use their acting abilities to create an imaginative setting for the audiences to picture.
Overall, Teatro del Pueblo was able to perform “Help Wanted,� in an effective way, with very few resources.
Comments
The intent of the play Help Wanted by Teatro Del Pueblo was to inform the audience members of a huge controversial issue that our country faces today. The most important factor of the play from a social perspective was that the story was a biographical telling of a true Minnesotan story about two sisters who migrated from Mexico in search of job opportunities. It was based off of a recent account of discrimination towards hotel laborers who were turned in by their place of work because of their decision to join the hotel laborer’s union.
The play provided new insight to the audience members who were not familiar to the experience of an immigrant, showing accounts of speaking only a foreign language in a country where people speak predominately English, discrimination in the workplace against immigrant workers without a green card, and inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants; for example calling the INS on them.
Members in the audience discussed the use of the word “Alien� and it’s degrading effects it has on how immigrants are seen as to the public. It seems that a main theme found in the play was, illegal immigrants were people too and that it was not righteous to treat someone wrong because of their national origin or ethnicity, that no matter what one must remember that immigrants are people too.
All in all, the attempted goal was well achieved through showing the story from an immigrants viewpoint. Because the play focused on a very controversial issue of today it was well worth the attempt.
Posted by: Mary Vang | November 20, 2008 9:14 PM
Help Wanted
By Gaoleah Thao, UMD Student
“Help Wanted,� was a one act play, performed by Teatro del Pueblo. The play was to inform audiences of the issue of illegal immigration. The play was a true story of two young Mexican women who came to Minnesota to find work and support their family in Mexico. The play focused on the mistreatment of immigrant workers, and the lives of the two women. Audiences of the play were able to learn and ask questions about the play and the theater group, Teatro del Pueblo.
This play was unusual than many plays typically seen around Duluth. First, it was a fairly short play, where there was only one act. Second, there were no stage crew, scenic design, and a small amount of performers. “Help Wanted,� consisted of only three performers, and these three performers played several roles within the entire play. Even though this production lacked many aspects of a typical theatrical performance, it does mean that this play wasn’t worth the watch. Help Wanted has many aspects in which many performances could benefit from.
The idea of using a one-act play to address a highly controversy of illegal immigration to an audience is very intriguing. Teatro del Pueblo was able to use theater as a way of expression, and reach the audience. The fact that there were only 3 performers who were able to clearly portray different characters under different circumstances only proved to the audiences more that these actors and actresses held talent. The performers brought versatility, comedy, and intelligence in their performance.
Posted by: Gaoleah Thao | November 21, 2008 6:31 PM
Help Wanted Review
By Gaoleah Thao, UMD Student
In my previous blog review, I mentioned how “Help Wanted,� was a unique play that has many aspects in which other performances could benefit from. I want to elaborate more on how this play’s unique aspects can benefit other performances.
As mentioned before, “Help Wanted,� was a one-act play, with no scenic design, stage crew, and only 3 performers. With very little resources, Teatro del Pueblo was able to produce a short one-act play and reach the audience’s attention. Although there was no scenic design or stage crew, there was a central area on the stage where the actors would come and do a “quick change� to become a new character. In some sense the scenic design was the Mexican blanket, on a rack, that played as the focal point on the stage. Circled and hung around the Mexican blanket were props, hats, wigs, clothes, and more that the performers would use to change characters. The use of having a central place on stage where performers can retreat to change characters is beneficial to the performance because it is low-budgeted and versatile. This kind of technique allows the performers use their skills to be quick in changing their characters.
Because there wasn’t a scenery or stage set, there wasn’t much to look at, besides the Mexican blanket, and the performers, with their props. It is a challenge for the performers to keep the audience’s attention with very few resources than what is usually seen at a typical theater production. But the incredible talent of the performers kept the audience’s attention. The performers kept the play in complete content, bringing out the issues addressed in the play, as well as the humor, originally written in the play. The performers were able to make the audiences extend their minds in every different setting that the characters were in. In scenes where there were new characters, new setting, and new props, the performers would use their acting abilities to create an imaginative setting for the audiences to picture.
Overall, Teatro del Pueblo was able to perform “Help Wanted,� in an effective way, with very few resources.
Posted by: Gaoleah Thao | November 24, 2008 2:25 PM