SCR SEARCHES FOR LATINO PLAYWRIGHTS

Will the South Coast Repertory Theatre unearth a Latino Sam Shepard?

The Costa Mesa group, which has long prided itself on uncovering and nurturing new plays and playwrights, is embarking on a new voyage of discovery--this time for new plays by American authors of Latino descent. Any work submitted by a Latino playwright will be considered; three will be chosen for staged readings during a five-day workshop July 9-13. An April 1 postmark is the deadline for submission.

“We want to see what’s out there,” said Jose Cruz Gonzalez, 28, the project’s director and an NEA fellow at SCR. “And I, for one, would like to see more Hispanic plays in mainstream American theaters. This is a part of America we’ve heard very, very little from.

“So we’re sending out a call, getting the word out, and the entries are coming in. Boy, from all over: New York, Texas, Southern California, Northern California. Today I got a script that’s got no Hispanic characters whatsoever. It’s all about a Miss America pageant. Wild! Who says Hispanics have to write purely Hispanic themes?”

About 80 to 90 submissions are expected, according to Gonzalez. At the July workshop the three “winners,” working with a director and actors, will hammer their scripts into shape and present them to the public. But Gonzalez stressed that “producing perfect stage works is not what this project’s about.”

“More important, we’ll be bringing these playwrights into contact with directors, producers, actors, designers, theater-company people,” Gonzalez said. “The playwrights can also begin to chatter amongst themselves, make contact. The rest of their lives, they’re just so isolated.

“There’ll be seminars, there’ll be classes in dramaturgy--how to further enhance a script. And six ‘playwright observers,’ runners-up, if you will, will also be invited. They’ll be able to participate in the seminars, conferences and rehearsals, in everything.

“Sure, it’d be dynamite to discover a Hispanic Sam Shepard. But this project isn’t only about ‘discovering’ hot talent. Hopefully, this is something that’ll really take off and help a whole lot of people.”

David Emmes, SCR’s producing artistic director, is even less concerned with creating seamless evenings in the theater.

“We’re not doing this because we demand an end product,” Emmes said. “We’re doing it because we believe in working with a writer and maybe helping him or her to sharpen their tools. To expect a play that’s ready to be fully produced . . . if we put that onus on it, we’re probably never going to be able to do anything.

“This project is artistic R & D--research and development.”

Scripts should be mailed to Jose Cruz Gonzalez, Hispanic Playwrights Project, South Coast Repertory, P.O. Box 2197, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92628-1197. For more information, call (714) 957-2602.