Jelisa: How did you become the first student to have their play receive a full production at University of North Texas? How was that experience? I think that lives are very rich and you have to analyze what’s happening within yourself and reflect on that. I love creating people on a piece of paper and have them have dialogues with people and also with themselves. I use my own family, my friends, things that I would like to happen to me and things that happen to me. I see people and I imagine things because I don’t know anything about them, and that’s how characters are created. I chose to write because I had been reading like crazy. It was about a brother and sister falling in love but they didn’t know that they were brothers and sisters. It was a one act play called Love in the Heart Zone that we did in my high school. Hector Amaya: I could say that I started writing as a kid, but my first official entry into writing would be in 1996 when I wrote my first play. Jelisa Jay Robinson: When did you start writing? Why did you choose to write? In between writing and teaching, Hector sat down with me to talk about his experiences creating new work, how his Garifuna identity plays into his writing, and his passion for playwright Edward Albee. Nowadays, Amaya uses his keen observations of the world to write stories that speak to the human condition. He also worked on a translation of Lope de Vega’s sixteenth century play Castelvines y Monteses, which he saw performed by UNT’s Theatre Department in 2005, and two years later by the historic Rose Theatre in London. While in high school, his play Fifty was the winner of the annual Houston Young Playwrights’ Exchange (HYPE) at the Alley Theatre, and three years later it became the first student written play to be produced by University of North Texas’ Theatre Department. In addition to writing plays, Amaya scripts short stories and poems, translates and works as a teacher. The Garifuna American playwright has scripted over two dozen plays that stem from his observations of the world around him. He quickly became my colleague, and we swapped plays and gave each other feedback on our stories. When I found out that the dapper man (he was always dressed in suits) who raised money for the regional theatre, also wrote plays, I wanted to know more. The Principles of Community Speaker Series is sponsored by the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research, and Multicultural Programs and Services.įor additional information, contact Linda Faber at (540) 231-1403.I met Hector Amaya in early 2015 while working at the Alley Theatre. The Principles of Community Speaker Series is a new initiative designed to provide the campus community more frequent facilitated interactions and dialog concerning diversity issues at Virginia Tech. He is also chair of the Latino Caucus of the Society of Cinema and Media Studies. His research, writing, and teaching focuses on global media, Latin American film, comparative media studies, and Latina/Latino media studies.Īmaya is the author of two books and is chair of the Latina/Latino Communication Studies Division of the National Communication Association. His says his status as immigrant has greatly influenced his professional identity and pedagogical style. Registration for each session is available online.Īmaya migrated from Mexico in 1992. Session two, “The Impact of Latinos in the Media on Issues of Pedagogy,” will address practical resources for inclusive pedagogy that supports Latino student success. Session one, “Ugly Betty: Latinos, Media Perceptions, and Citizenship,” will discuss Latinos representation in mainstream media. 11, 2010.Īmaya will host two sessions from noon until 2 p.m. Hector Amaya, assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, will be the guest speaker at the first Principles of Community Speaker Series event Oct.
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