'Electricidad'

Center Theatre Group is proud to partner with the Getty Museum in presenting MacArthur Fellow Luis Alfaro’s Chicanx adaptations of classic Greek plays, Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, and Mojada in streamed readings filmed at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Alfaro's award-winning trilogy of plays transplant themes of the ancient Greek tragedies of Electra, Oedipus the King, and Medea into the 21st -century streets of Los Angeles, giving voice to the concerns of the Chicanx and wider Latinx communities. With performances around the world including celebrated runs at the Mark Taper Forum, The Public Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the Getty Villa, Alfaro’s electric adaptations question the role that citizens and community play in social issues facing us all today.

About Electricidad

In the days following the murder of her father by her mother, Electricidad is committed to vengeance. To get it, she’ll need her brother, Orestes, to return from Las Vegas and help her finish the job. Transporting Sophocles’ Electra to the Los Angeles barrios, Luis Alfaro investigates violence, loss, and redemption through the lens of this age-old tragedy.

“Besides tagging [on to] a ripping-good story, Alfaro opens a window [into] the look, symbols, language, and attitudes of cholo/chola culture. ...Alfaro’s lyrical, strongly rhythmic, yet simple language...liberally blends English and Spanish.” —TheaterMania.com

Performed in English with option for Spanish captioning.

Electricidad was produced at the Mark Taper Forum in 2005.

About Luis Alfaro

Luis Alfaro is a Chicano writer known for his work in poetry, theater, short stories, performance and journalism. Luis spent six seasons as the Playwright-in-Residence at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival from 2013–2019. He was a member of the Playwright’s Ensemble at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theatre from 2013–2020. Luis is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. He was recently awarded the PEN America/Laura Pels International Foundation Theater Award for a Master Dramatist, the United States Artist Fellowship, and the Ford Foundation’s Art of Change Fellowship. His plays and performances include Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, Mojada, Delano and Body of Faith. Luis spent over two decades in the Los Angeles poetry community and toured for ten years as a performance artist. He is a tenured professor at USC. His play anthology, The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfaro, was just released from Methuen Press.

Luis Alfaro was a participant in Center Theatre Group’s 2018/19 L.A. Writers’ Workshop.

Luis Alfaro is a member of the newly formed CTG Creative Collective, a dozen inspiring, innovative and highly collaborative artists shaping the contours of the theatrical landscape of the future.

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