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Jorge Huerta Papers
MSS 142
MSS 142
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Title: Jorge Huerta Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 142
Contributing Institution:
Mandeville Special Collections Library
La Jolla, California 92093-0175
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
60.0 Linear feet
108 archive boxes, 5 card files, and 14 oversize folders
Date (inclusive): 1964-2008
Abstract: Papers of Jorge Huerta, playwright, Chicano director, and professor at the University of California, San Diego. The papers
primarily document Huerta's directoral projects, academic work, and involvement with various national theatre organizations
and committees. The bulk of the collection is made up of documents from numerous Latino theatre projects, including TENAZ,
El Teatro Campesino, and El Teatro Ensemble. Included are typescript drafts of articles, essays, and books written by Huerta,
including
Chicano Theater: Themes And Forms (1982),
Nuevos Pasos: Chicano And Puerto Rican Drama (1989), and
Chicano Drama: Performance, Society, And Myth (2000). This collection also includes multiple typescript drafts of plays and articles written by various Hispanic playwrights
and scholars.
Creator:
Huerta, Jorge A.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Jorge Huerta Papers contain materials documenting his activities as a director, writer, professor, and expert on Chicano
theatre. The papers include meeting minutes and program information from various committees and organizations, typescript
drafts of articles and essays, and performance notes and script drafts from plays directed by Huerta. The majority of the
collection is made up of materials from numerous Latino Theatre projects in Southern California, including the San Diego Repertory,
El Teatro Campesino, El Teatro Ensemble, and Teatro de la Esperanza. The collection also includes typescript drafts of plays
and articles from other Chicano playwrights and scholars. The collection is arranged in eleven series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE,
2) WRITINGS BY HUERTA, 3) DIRECTING, 4) TEACHING MATERIALS, 5) COMMITTEES, CONFERENCES, & ORGANIZATIONS, 6) GRANTS, 7) LATINO
THEATRE PROJECTS, 8) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 9) PROMPT BOOKS, 10) WRITINGS OF OTHERS, and 11) IMAGES & MEDIA.
SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE
The CORRESPONDENCE series is arranged alphabetically and includes letters from Carlos Morton, Edit Villarreal, Nicolas Kanellos,
and other playwrights, directors, and actors. The majority of the correspondence deals with Huerta's involvement with Latino
theatre projects, including letters about casting and directing. This series also contains correspondence between Huerta and
various book publishers regarding the numerous books and articles Huerta had written about Chicano theatre.
SERIES 2: WRITINGS BY HUERTA
The WRITINGS BY HUERTA series is organized in three subseries: A) Books and Plays; B) Articles, Essays, and Lectures; and
C) Student Work.
A) The Books and Plays subseries contains typescript drafts, reviews, and transcripts from numerous published books and plays
written by Huerta, including:
La Llorna (1978),
Necessary Theatre: Six Plays about the Chicano Experience (1989), and
Chicano Drama: Performance, Society, and Myth (2000).
B) The Articles, Essays, and Lectures subseries contains typescript drafts, reprints, and photocopies of published and unpublished
articles and essays written by Huerta. This subseries also contains typescript drafts of essays written by Huerta for various
lectures he did regarding Chicano theatre.
C) The Student Work subseries includes essays, class syllabi, and course notes from Jorge Huerta's graduate work at the University
of California, Santa Barbara. This subseries is arranged in alphabetical order according to course title.
SERIES 3: DIRECTING
The DIRECTING series contains correspondence, typescript drafts, cast lists, and promotional material from various plays that
Huerta directed for numerous theatres and playhouses. These plays include:
El Jardín,
I am Celso, and
Deporting the Divas. This series also includes transcripts from interviews for Huerta's video series
Necessary Theatre. Materials in this series are arranged in chronological order.
SERIES 4: TEACHING MATERIALS
The TEACHING MATERIALS series is organized in two subseries: A) Coursework, and B) Hispanic American Theatre Program.
A) The Coursework subseries contains course notes, outlines, syllabi, and required reading lists from various courses Huerta
taught for both the undergraduate and graduate programs for Theatre and Dance at UCSD. This subseries is arranged in alphabetical
order according to course title.
B) The Hispanic American Theatre Program subseries includes correspondence, workshop notes, program proposals, and promotional
material from the Hispanic American Theatre Program, a specialized graduate program at UCSD. This subseries is arranged in
chronological order.
SERIES 5: COMMITTEES, CONFERENCES, & ORGANIZATIONS
The COMMITTEES, CONFERENCES, & ORGANIZATIONS series contains correspondence, promotional material, and conference notes from
numerous theatre organizations and committees. This subseries also includes transcripts of the audiorecordings of the Gardenia
Garden Planning Committee from December 1986. Materials in this subseries are arranged in chronological order.
SERIES 6: GRANTS
The GRANTS series is made up of grant proposals and applications from state and national grant projects, including travel
grants and theatre education grants.
SERIES 7: LATINO THEATRE PROJECTS
The LATINO THEATRE PROJECTS series is organized in nine subseries: A) Los Teatros de Aztlan (TENAZ), B) Teatro Ensemble de
UCSD, C) Teatro Mecha, D) Teatro Meta, E) South Coast Repertory, F) El Teatro de la Esperanza, G) El Teatro Campesino, H)
San Diego Repertory Theatre, and I) Miscellaneous Theatre Companies.
A) The Los Teatros de Aztlan (TENAZ) subseries includes correspondence, conference notes, festival material, and meeting minutes
from the TENAZ theatre group. Materials in this subseries are arranged in chronological order.
B) The Teatro Ensemble de UCSD subseries contains correspondence, workshop descriptions, and meeting minutes. This subseries
also includes European and domestic tour documents for the plays
Los Vendidos,
Johnny Tenorio, and
The Trials of Don Edwardo. These tour documents include tour schedules, contact information, and financial documents.
C) The Teatro Mecha subseries includes correspondence, meeting minutes, and performance notes. This subseries is arranged
in chronological order.
D) The Teatro Meta subseries contains correspondence, promotional material, and meeting minutes from various plays performed
by the Teatro Meta theatre group. This subseries is arranged in chronological order.
E) The South Coast Repertory subseries contains correspondence, newsclippings, and promotional material. This subseries also
contains correspondence and promotional material from the South Coast Repertory's Hispanic Playwrights Project. This subseries
is arranged in chronological order.
F) The El Teatro de la Esperanza subseries includes project outlines, performance outlines, and promotional material from
various El Teatro de la Esperanza performances, such as
Guadalupe,
Octopus, and
La Victima. The materials in this subseries are arranged in chronological order.
G) The El Teatro Campesino subseries contains promotional material, newsclippings, and typescripts of interviews with El Teatro
Campesino's founder Luis Valdez. This subseries also contains typscripts and promotional material from various El Teatro Campesino
performances, including:
Corridos,
I Don't Have to Show You No Stinking Badges,
Los Vendidos, and
Zoot Suit.
H) The San Diego Repertory Theatre subseries contains correspondence and promotional material regarding numerous performances,
including:
Bandido!,
Burning Patience,
Man of the Flesh, and
Zoot Suit.
I) The Miscellanoues Theatre Companies subseries includes correspondence, promotional material, and newsclippings from multiple
theatre companies Jorge Huerta was associated with throughout his career. These companies include: Centro Cultural de la Raza,
Compañia de Teatro de Alburquerque, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, and Mark Taper Forum. This subeseries also contains newsclippings
and promotional material from miscellaneous performances, including:
Floating Islands and
Soldierboy. Material is arranged alphabetically by theatre or organization name.
SERIES 8: BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL
The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL series contains Jorge Huerta's various awards and honors, daily calendars, and typescript drafts
of interviews with Huerta.
SERIES 9: PROMPT BOOKS
The PROMPT BOOKS series includes prompt books and production notes from numerous plays written by Hispanic playwrights, including
Carlos Morton, Estela Portillo-Trambley, and Octavio Solis. In some cases, additional material is included in the files, such
as schedules, programs, actor lists, and notes. This series is arranged in alphabetical order by playwright.
SERIES 10: WRITINGS OF OTHERS
The WRITINGS OF OTHERS series is organized in two subseries: A) Plays, and B) Articles and Essays.
A) The Plays subseries contains typescript drafts and photocopies of typescripts from multiple Hispanic playwrights, including
Silvia Gonzalez Scherer, Josefina Lopez, Carlos Morton, and Estela Portillo-Trambley. Some typescripts include multiple drafts
written by the authors with notes and revisions. This subseries is arranged in alphabetical order.
B) The Articles and Essays subseries includes typescript drafts of articles and essays and photocopies of published articles
written by theatre scholars and researchers. Materials in this subseries are arranged in alphabetical order by author.
SERIES 11: IMAGES & MEDIA
The IMAGES & MEDIA series is organized in four subseries: A) Slides; B) Photographs; C) VHS, Beta, & DVD; and D) Audio Recordings.
A) The Slides subseries contains slides from various Huerta performances, including
Blood Wedding,
Grass Harp, and
Cinderella. Slides in this subseries are arranged in chronological order.
B) The Photographs subseries contains photographs and negatives from various series throughout the collection. The photographs
include images of performances, workshops, and Huerta's personal portraits.
C) The VHS, Beta & DVD subseries includes videorecordings from performances, student films, and Chicano Theatre Festivals.
This subseries is arranged in chronological order.
D) The Audio Recordings subseries contains reel-to-reel and cassette recordings of performance soundtracks, lectures, and
interviews with Jorge Huerta. This subseries includes audiorecordings of interviews with playwrights and directors that Jorge
Huerta used for his series
Necessary Theatre (1995). This subseries also contains audio recordings of sessions from the Gardenia Garden Planning Committee sessions from
1986.
Jorge Alfonso Huerta was born in Southern California on November 20, 1942. He graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School
in Los Angeles, California, in 1960, and then attended California State University, Los Angeles, earning his degree in 1965.
Huerta went on to earn his Ph.D. from the University of Calfornia, Santa Barbara in 1974. Huerta was the first Chicano nationwide
to receive his Ph.D. in theatre. In 1975 he joined the Department of Theatre and Dance at UC San Diego as a professor. Huerta
was later named UCSD's Associate Chancellor and the University’s first Chief Diversity Officer, serving in that post from
2004 to 2007.
Huerta published two books,
Chicano Theatre: Themes and Forms (1982) and
Chicano Drama: Performance, Society, and Myth (2000). He is the author of numerous articles about Chicano theatre, as well as many essays and lectures for theatre groups
and universities. Huerta also edited three anthologies of plays, including
A Bibliography Of Chicano And Mexican Dance, Drama, And Music (1972) and
Nuevos Pasos : Chicano And Puerto Rican Drama (1989).
Along with teaching and writing, Huerta also directed in theatres across the country, including the San Diego Repertory, Washington
D.C.’s Gala Hispanic Theatre, La Compañía de Teatro de Albuquerque, and New York's Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. His main
directoral focus has been Chicano plays, including
Deporting the Divas and
El Jardín. Through his collaboration efforts he worked with numerous theatre groups, such as El Teatro de la Esperanza, Teatro Meta,
and El Teatro Campesino with Luis Valdez.
Huerta was honored as a Distinguished Scholar at the annual meeting of the American Society for Theatre Research in Boston,
and received the Lifetime Achievement in Educational Theatre Award from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education in
2008. On May 4, 2009, Huerta was awarded the “Latino Spirit Award” from the State Assembly for his leading authority on contemporary
Chicana/o and US Latina/o theatre.
Original audiorecordings and videorecordings located in Series 11: IMAGES & MEDIA, are restricted. Researchers must request
user copies be produced.
Not Available
Jorge Huerta Papers, MSS 142. Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Anaya, Rudolfo A.
Chávez, Denise
Conboy, Roy
Fernandez, Evelina
Gonzalez S., Silvia
Huerta, Jorge A. -- Archives
López, Josephina, 1969-
Moraga, Cherríe
Reyes, Guillermo A.
Rodríguez Solís, Eduardo
Villarreal, Edit
Mexican American theater