___Interesting

___we had an exciting time tonight as we read and offered constructive critism to an exciting script presented by Marcos A. Franco. The play concerns a situation which is all too common in our city, an ESL classroom. The students are concerned with becoming proficient in the use of the English Language in order to be more capable of passing the required state tests. The Teachers and Administrators are under great pressure to achieve success and thus undergo much drama and some humor in achieving their goal.

___my turn

___i presented my major script which is actually about a 30-35 minute project and is entitled "Un dia en la vida de . . .". I wrote this play back in July, 1973 while i was still a student in the local colleges. The material might be dated but it presents some problems which are still relevent.
___it is about two brothers which have somewhat of an identity problem. Even though they come from the same family and the same home environment, they have diverse and different attitudes. Their struggle at home, at school and in their social element is depicted in the first three scenes.
___how they resolve their dilema leads to a somewhat simple solution.
___this play has been performed on two different occasions by students of LJC, once in the 70 and once in the 80's.

___two great efforts

___this past Thursday, June 25 we got to read and enjoy two great scripts from two great storytellers
___first up was Armando X. Lopez script which was entitled Julio's Night in the Dark. It is a family's home situation caused by a missing parent. It is humorous while still mysterious in it's development. The climax is very surprising and at the same time enlighting.
___Raquel Valle-Senties presented a very pleasing vignette of a situation which traps us almost everyday. Two ladies are stuck on the International Bridge and engage in a very revealing conversation. Their attitudes are expressed quite vividly. As they finally cross the Bridge and have an encounter with the Custom agent, they still find time to enjoy some humor at his expense. The name of the piece is "Nothing to Declare".

___Party Time

___another method that we use to build camaradarie (kamaradas) is by getting together every so often to share a few meal items, perhaps down several drinks while we enjoy some literature works to further expand our knowledge of the topic at hand.
___Saturday, June 27, a bunch of us got together at Bill Wisner's residence to partake of some delicious Pizza, furnished by our Director Carlos N. Flores, and several delicious treats of fruits and sweets.
___while there, we managed to read through Carlos Morton's classic play "El Jardin" and then we discussed it's many intricancies. The party broke up late as usual.

___First Read

___going back to our very first read as a group, on or about the week of June 9-11, we enjoyed very much his first effort that Mr. Robert Gutierrez (nee Ramon Serrano) submitted. His majestic first work is entitled "La Santa y la Muerte" and depicts a sinister scene that occurs in a hospital. Somehow the Priest and the Social Worker manage to diffuse a very difficult situation. All in all, it is a very promising effort.

___Rolling along

___last night we had our last meeting for the month of June and we had an opportunity to read through two very comical (?) and entertaining first drafts of what we hope will be material that we can mount and pub;ish.
___the first one was a ten-minute effort by Gentlemen Joe McCarry with the perplexing title of "Innocent Pay $11; Bets $9". In this effort, Maximo, Lucita, and Calixto struggle thru a somewhat difficult relationship which has an unexpected ending.
__second play was by Arturo Guajardo in which he depicts a very comical classroom scene. His delightful and charming students struggle to grasp a somewhat difficult concept due to language development problems common to the Laredo poplulace. The title is "Special De;ivery from Spain".
___we have come to the end of the first summer session. Our group has been very productive in turning out scripts to read and critique. Future plans are to define the direction in which our group will proceed. Vidoe taping of some "reads" are a distinct possibly in the near future

___"Ya era Tiempo"

___Recently Laredo Community College was awarded a grant under the auspices of the Americo Paredes Foundation to institute a Program under which our students can receive an Associate Degree in Chicano Studies. As a direct result of this grant, one of the first features of this program is the development of a Bilingual Teatro for Laredo, patterned somewhat on the philosophy of the "Teatro Campesino" founded in 1965 by Luis Valdez. Carlos N. Flores was given the assignment to spearhead this project.