Artsource
THEATRE MUSIC ®
The Music Center’s Study Guide to the Performing Arts
TRANSFORMATION
ENDURING VALUES
ARTISTIC PROCESSES
TRADITIONAL CLASSICAL
1. CREATING (Cr)
CONTEMPORARY
2. PERFORMING, PRESENTING, PRODUCING (Pr)
EXPERIMENTAL
3. RESPONDING (Re)
MULTI-MEDIA
4. CONNECTING (Cn)
FREEDOM & OPPRESSION
THE HUMAN FAMILY
THE POWER OF NATURE
Title of Work:
employment. The main character, Maria, finds herself
Simply Maria, or the American Dream
living in dual cultures - the Mexican ways of her
Creators:
former homeland and the newfound liberty of the
Producer: Playwrights Project Playwright: Josefina López, b. 1969
USA. Ms. López weaves her tale between dream
Background Information:
characters from the familiar to the symbolic. Simply
Josefina López, born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, moved
Maria gives a unique perspective on the universal journey
to the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights
of adolescence with a powerful and inspirational voice.
with her family when she was five. For almost 13 years they lived undocumented until they obtained “Amnesty.” Real Women Have Curves is Lopez’s most recognized work, though it is only one of many literary and artistic works she has created since her career began at 17. As a teen Ms. Lopez was a member of the Young Playwrights Lab at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, where she wrote the Emmy-award-winning and PBS Gold Award-winning play Simply Maria, or the American Dream. Josefina obtained her MFA in Screenwriting from the UCLA and a BA from Columbia College. She is also the founder of the “Casa 0101” theatre arts space in Boyle Heights, where she teaches playwriting, screenwriting and digital filmmaking with Latino youth.
sequences and realistic confrontations with a range of
Creative Process of the Artist or Culture: After seeing Stinking Badges, Josefina, a student at the Los Angeles High School for the Arts, was given an assignment to write a scene focusing on a relationship. She wrote about her experiences with her father, and five months later, she had a 100-page play called Simply Maria, or the American Dream. Her fifth draft was eventually produced by San Diego’s Young Playwrights Project. Ms. López attended rehearsals and continued to rewrite during the production process. She combines her anger and humor to spark her writing.
When she would reach an impasse
working on the original version of Simply Maria, she would interview herself as a
Her accomplishments have been recognized by the LA
way to explore her feelings
Mayor, Gloria Molina, Barbara Boxer, as well as Latina
about being a woman.
Magazine. Ms. Lopez, married and raising two children,
Josefina, writing is therapeutic
recently wrote her first novel Hungry Woman in Paris for
and has led her toward self-
Warner Books, released in Spring 2009.
discovery.
About the Artwork: Simply Maria, or the American Dream is a one-act play that explores the cultural and familial expectations for young Chicana women in making choices between pursuing college ambitions, getting married, or securing
For
U.S.A.
“Anger is what we often call ‘passion.’ It can be used to make something positive.” Josefina López
MEXICO
Pacific Ocean
Gulf of Mexico