Festival de los Muertos
An Evening of Chicano Theatre and Dance
In November 2007 Eagle Rock High School's Drama Department produced three one act plays by renown Chicano playwright, Carlos Morton. All three plays address teenagers in crisis. "Drug O" explores issues of substance abuse. "Los Fatherless" focuses on peer pressure in gangsterism, and "At Risk" reveals the fears and identity crises in sexual awakening.
Fig. Carlos Morton and Russell Copley
The evening followed a festival style format with dance, spoken word and two short films interspersed between the plays. All three plays are student directed: Jemima Santiago directed Drug O; Stacie Espinoza directed Los Fatherless; and Allan Escuro directed At Risk.
Carlos Morton is also the author of The Many Deaths of Danny Rosales and Other Plays (1983) and Johnny Tenorio and Other Plays (1992) both published by Arte Publico Press. The Fickle Finger of Lady Death (1996, Peter Lang Press) is English language translations of four plays by contemporary Mexican playwrights. Rancho Hollywood y otras obras del teatro chicano, (1999, Arte Publico Press & Ediciones EL Milagro) is a Spanish language collection of his plays. A former Mina Shaughnessy Scholar and Fulbright Lecturer to Mexico, Morton holds a M.F.A. in Drama from the University of California, San Diego, and a Ph.D. in Theatre from the University of Texas at Austin. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Morton has lived on the border between Mexico and the United States since 1970. Morton is Director of the Center for Chicano Studies and Professor of Dramatic Arts at UCSB where he teaches classes in playwriting, U.S. Latino Theatre, and Latin American Theatre.
Russell Copley (Producer) has been the director of the drama program at Eagle Rock High School since 2004. Jessica Velarde (Choreographer) directs the dance program. Copley directed Carlos Morton's comedy La Loteria for Eagle Rock Stage in June 2005. The success of that and subsequent productions garnered more funding for the theatre, and most recently, LAUSD awarded Eagle Rock High School a $1,000,000 grant for infrastructural upgrades to their auditorium.
