Abstract This article draws initially on Robert Weimann’s distinction between locus and platea as a means of viewing the representation of the Siglo de Oro Drama Festival at the Chamizal National Memorial, notwithstanding the specific configuration of the (Chamizal) stage space. The platea, situated closest to the audience, corresponds to a neutral, undifferentiated place that works to push boundaries and blur the lines between performers and viewers. As such, it represents a way of experiencing Hispanic classical theater vis à vis the popular tradition in the communal, intimate, familiar setting of the Chamizal festival. The concept of adaptation with respect to classical theater, of making a play fit into a particular historical time or socio-political context, is explored to suggest how it played out at Chamizal. Ending thoughts problematize the authority of the text in performance, following the work of W. B. Worthen.
Susan L. Fischer (Fri,) studied this question.