This research, conducted during the Spring of 2014, investigates how to apply Spanish, in a practical sense, to a theatre career. Subjects explored include the challenges faced when the Stage Manager switches the room from traditionally English speaking, to one in which the performers and technicians no longer all speak the same language. Overall, the Stage Manager role grew into a nexus of communication among a crew of technicians who speak English and a cast who either speak Spanish or will be working with a script that utilizes the Spanish language and Latino culture.
The research included executing the production process of the musical In the Heights using both Spanish and English. Rehearsals involved giving certain instructions and directions in Spanish occasionally followed by an English translation, speaking only in Spanish to the performers who speak Spanish natively, and calling the show in Spanish. Thus, the combination of native and non-speakers and the pressure of practical performance simulated the process and challenges of working in a bilingual theatre environment. Furthermore, the language shift prompted some tension between white, male technicians and the production.
The outcomes include changes to subliminal job requirements and a lingual switch of the environment. As the process continued, the English-speaking students were thrown into a bilingual environment wherein they were expected to achieve their usual standards without their usual primary language advantage and to take it upon themselves to ask for translations. However, the room also experienced an increase in Spanish understanding and use by those who come into the room speaking only English.
This additionally led to a shift in attitude. Most personnel entering the process were adjusted to an environment wherein any person who does not speak English is asked to learn and communicate as the majority does. The process developed from being primarily English speaking into a process where the main resource language was mainly Spanish. Although many experienced tension within the process with regards to the power dynamics of the Spanish and English languages, the power of Spanish in the room could not be compromised
