The Texas State Department of Theater and Dance hosted the 22nd annual Black and Latino Playwright Celebration (BLPC) from Sept. 2-8 for its first shows of the season.
The week contained rehearsals, which were open to the public, a playwriting workshop with New York University professor Judy Tate and a tribute performance for Eugene Lee, Texas State alumnus and accredited writer and performer.
According to the BLPC section on the Texas State Fine Arts website, the event was started by Lee as a way for Texas State to highlight lesser-known Black or Latino playwrights, actors and crew members both local and nationwide.
The festival prioritized diversity in the selection of the plays and the casts, eventually choosing The Brunch Crowd by Dillon Yruegas, Texas State alumnus, as one of the featured plays. The cast consisted of people of color and LGBTQ+ identifying individuals.
“This festival allows our stories to be the focus,” Carl Gonzales, The Brunch Crowd director and theater alumnus, said.
The event carried impact for everyone involved, as the task of exemplifying the diversity of Texas State’s theater program and amplifying more untold stories brought the casts and artistic teams’ pride in their identities.
“[People of color and LGBTQ+ individuals] are often reduced to side characters and secondary plots, and here we take center stage,” Brian Willery II, junior theater student and actor, said. “As a queer person myself, it was nice to [portray] a character that I related to so much.”
The event was also a reunion between Yruegas and Gonzales. The two had studied theater at Texas State for college and were in Alpha Psi Omega, where Yruegas was paired with Gonzales as a part of its big/little program.
“I think having an alumni creative team on The Brunch Crowd allowed [Yruegas and I] to truly put ourselves in [the student actors’] shoes and set examples of what professional artists that come from Texas State look like,” Gonzales said.
The reunion between the two also made the show process more smooth. Gonzales said he is lucky Dillon and him stayed close over the years.
“When we started working [together on the show,] we fell into [the process] like it was yesterday,” Gonzales said. “I think the trust we have in each other as collaborators allowed the script and story to naturally grow and the relationships in the cast to develop quicker. [Dillon and I] saw ourselves in them.”
Another unique aspect of this year’s BLPC was a tribute performance for Eugene Lee, honoring his impact and legacy among Texas State’s theater program.
“Who wouldn’t [want to work so] closely with Eugene Lee,” said Willery. “It was an absolute honor.”
The plays also offered diverse outlooks on life. The Brunch Crowd centered on a group of transgender people of color and their daily conversations, which may not be familiar to the general public.
“It’s fun to see the similarities and differences between [the actors’] perspectives on the events in our show,” Willery said. “[My character] is very complex and chaotic, and so am I.”
The actors, along with the playwrights’ guidance and vision, could embed pieces of themselves into their characters.
“[The actors] ask [the creative team] questions and provide a different perspective that we may have overlooked or forgotten,” Yruegas said. “[The festival is] truly a collaborative process where we can all learn from each other.”
For more information on the Black and Latino Playwright Celebration, visit https://blpc.finearts.txst.edu/2024.html.
