Technology Takes Center Stage in Four Plays from the Current Decade
Laureano Corces
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LAUREANO CORCES holds a Master’s and PhD from New York University focusing on Peninsular Spanish Literature. He also earned License and Maitrise degrees from the Sorbonne in ètudes théâtrales. His research focuses on Spanish theater, namely Golden Age and contemporary works, including selected Latin American authors as well as Latino writing in the USA. He is particularly interested in any literary work that establishes a dialogue with Hispanic texts and how multicultural discourse addresses key concerns in the age of globalization.
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Abstract
This article reviews selected Hispanic and Hispanic-inspired plays where technology plays a key role in the plot and character development: from a Pulitzer Prize-winning American play, to rewritten versions of Spanish classics, to a contemporary play where virtually all of the action takes place in cyberspace. This study is written with a particular eye to how technology is represented in the text, how technology touches on key aspects of character development, and how it invites readers/spectators to reevaluate the power of theater to represent daily life. Chat rooms, the internet, and other contemporary media are represented as forums that may build communities, while at the same time exploring the alienating forces of such technologies. These and other considerations are addressed as I attempt to unveil what happens to one of the oldest art forms when technology takes center stage.
This article reviews selected Hispanic and Hispanic-inspired plays where technology plays a key role in the plot and character development: from a Pulitzer Prize-winning American play, to rewritten versions of Spanish classics, to a contemporary play where virtually all of the action takes place in cyberspace. This study is written with a particular eye to how technology is represented in the text, how technology touches on key aspects of character development, and how it invites readers/spectators to reevaluate the power of theater to represent daily life. Chat rooms, the internet, and other contemporary media are represented as forums that may build communities, while at the same time exploring the alienating forces of such technologies. These and other considerations are addressed as I attempt to unveil what happens to one of the oldest art forms when technology takes center stage.
| etudesdec2018corces.pdf |
