Did you know? Our organization, ALTO: Liberated Theatre, has been around for almost 30 years!
It began as "Teatro ALTO" in
the 1980s at San Diego State University. The name, which literally
means "heightened theatre", has sometimes been incorrectly
assumed to stand for "A Latino Theatre Organization", while
our acronym now and always has stood for "A Liberate Theatre
Organization." How are we liberated? We like to remain true to
the spirit of artistic freedoms; if we are free of labels, we are
free to create art and provide a voice to the burning flame within
the heart of the artist.
Throughout the 80s, 90s and into this
early part of the 21st century, ALTO has gone through much
change, trials, hardships and tests of endurance. For several years,
the organization went defunct, suffering from a lack of people to
keep the dream alive. In the early 2000s, a newfound interest in the
organization helped give it a second wind, and for the past ten
years, we have fought hard to try and make ourselves known to the
community in efforts to continue our mission.
In the past,
Teatro ALTO has produced such shows for the San Diego State community
as Real Women Have Curves, a play
which helped audiences find a new appreciation for cultural
differences as well as differences in stylized perceptions of beauty,
as well as two shows by the renown political comedy and satire troupe
Culture Clash (A Bowl of Beings
and Bordertown)
which helped bring in the attention of several areas of campus
including the Chicano Studies, Liberal Studies, Women's Studies and
Political Science departments. These Culture Clash shows helped
open the floodgates to cultural acceptance too, albeit through a
whole new bag of tricks. We have also had touring shows produced by
ALTO, including the children's show Bocon!,
which was presented at the Theatre of The World Festival in 2005,
as well as Angels
and Onionskins,
written
by SDSU professor Margaret Larlham.
We
have also had a hand in the production of Lord
Derby's Giant Eland, Dog
Opera, Marisol,
as well as An Evening with Plautus.
We have also lent help and fully supported the annual SDSU
campaign for V-DAY and Eve
Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. Apart from these
endevours, we have also strived to offer a space and support to
various types of artists (spoken word, musical, theatrical, film,
dance, and mixed media to name a few) with our Annual
Artist Medley Night's.
Now we are glad to add George Orwell's classic Animal Farm to our list of productions, and welcome you to not only come see our show, but get informed and get involved with our organization. You don't have to be an actor, a director, a writer, a producer, a theatrician, a film buff, a stage manager, or anything more than simply someone who appreciates good stories, good people, good company, and a passion for freedom.
