The Bakersfield College’s Performing Arts Department ends the spring semester with plays from Luiz Valdez’s early works performed by BC students and directed by BC Theater Professor, Kimberly Chin. Three different plays from Valdez’s work will be showcased April 27 to 29 in a two and a half hour production at the Black Box Theatre, part of the Edward Simonsen Performing Arts Center.

Professor Chin has always admired Luis Valdez’s work with theater and film ever since she was a little girl. She grew up in Delano during the Delano Grape Strikes and remembers her family refusing to buy grapes and avoiding the stores that were being picketed. She is particularly excited to present his works at BC.

The first two plays presented will be short, she said. The first, “Las Dos Caras del Patroncito” translated to “The Two Faces of the Boss,” and the second, “Los Vendidos” translated to “The Sellouts,” are called “actos,” short plays, and they were created in the 1960s through improvisation in the midst of the protests against the labor conditions farm workers were forced to work in at the time. They were often performed during strikes to keep up spirits, inspire the protesters, and to inform onlookers of the reasons they were protesting.

After an intermission, the last play will be performed. “Bernabé,” Valdez’s first full-length work features themes of environmentalism through pre-columbian mythology and philosophy. This longer play is called a “mito” and Chin has worked with her students to try to showcase the evolution of Valdez’s works from “actos” to “mitos” in the performance.

Chin hopes that all watching know that those acting in the performance are BC students who are in her acting lab, THEA B27. She invites all to contact her if they are interested in fall auditions which will happen at the top of the fall semester.

If you are interested in attending a performance of “Luiz Valdez – Early Works,” visit Bakersfield College Performing Arts Tickets page.