Amalia Ortiz: Making and Teaching Art in San Antonio

A discussion with performance poet, performer, and playwright [Amalia Ortiz](Amaliaortiz.net) who directs the theater arts program at [SAY Sí.](Saysi.org) SAY Sí  is a year-round, long-term, tuition-free multidisciplinary arts program in San Antonio serving middle and high school students primarily at or below the poverty line. In this podcast, Ortiz talks about the work of SAY Sí in general and the theater program in particular. Ortiz discusses the program’s emphasis on producing original theater and encouraging a practical application of the arts.  The students learn all aspects of theater: they write the plays, cast them, direct them, create the costumes and scenery, do the sound and the lighting. They learn to work with their strengths, augment their weaknesses, and to come together as team. Ortiz also discusses creating theater in community and for community and the issues at the border for both the students and the teachers.  Ortiz discusses her own work and the impact of growing up three miles from the border on her life and her art, her commitment to and love of performance poetry, her 2020 American Book Award for Oral Literature, and her latest book The Canción Cannibal Cabaret & Other Songs. And we talk about her joy teaching at SAY Sí where she feels like a producer—helping to nurture ideas into original theater. We’d love to know your thoughts--email us at artworkspod@arts.gov.