On the internationalization of Chicano theatre: the case of Carlos Morton

Abstract

This article tackles the dissemination of Chicano theatre abroad via the translations/adaptations of Carlos Morton's plays. More specifically, the paper discusses how the playwright reconciles the "ethnic" character of his oeuvre with the desire to reach a broader audience beyond the Chicano community.

Morton's texts contain plenty of culture-specific elements, which makes it difficult to export them to other cultural-linguistic systems. In addition, the semiotic complexity of drama, where multiple communication codes interact and as a result constrain dialogues, makes translation even more challenging. However, in some cases, non-verbal communication resources may help to get (textually) untranslatable passages through.