THELMA VIRATA de CASTRO
Legacy, Language, and Laughter

In this wide-ranging conversation, I talk with playwright Thelma Virata de Castro about drawing on the wisdom of her ancestors as part of her creative practice. We also touch on the dynamic evolution of language, what blessings (or curses) we’re passing on to our children, and what we’re collectively forgetting. Thelma shares her thoughts about losing (and learning) our native languages and the quiet power of the Southern California Filipinx community. Join us as we discuss what it means for artists to be legitimized by institutional approval and what it might look like when we embody our own definitions of worthiness.

“Creativity can take many forms and everyone can be creative. That’s why we live.” — Thelma Virata de Castro

Our conversation happened in May of 2022.

LISTEN HERE

GUEST INFO

Thelma Virata de Castro is a Filipinx dramatist whose plays explore identity and belonging. She’s practiced with Sarah Greenman’s Creative Alchemy Cycle since its formal beginning. Thelma’s interview-based work with Asian Story Theater (AST) investigated history and race within specific communities, with subjects ranging from the incarceration of Japanese Americans to contemporary mixed racial identity. She acted as a playwright and Community Liaison for AST’s California Humanities project Halo-halo, which centered San Diego’s Filipinx stories. With AST she won The San Diego Foundation’s Creative Catalyst Fellowship for “The Fire in Me,” which examined domestic violence in San Diego’s Filipinx community. Thelma received two Hedgebrook residencies and attended the A Room of Her Own Foundation retreat. She founded San Diego Playwrights and serves the Dramatists Guild on the Regional Affairs Committee and as San Diego Co-Ambassador. She builds community in affinity spaces with United AAPI Artists, Pinay Playwrights, and Honor Roll! She worked with incarcerated writers as a Playwrights Project teaching artist, and serves on the Board of Directors for San Diego Writers, Ink. In 2022 she became a Commissioned Artist with The Old Globe. The San Diego Union-Tribune included her in its list of Phenomenal San Diego Women: Creators and Performers.

SHOW NOTES

Artists & Writers Mentioned:

  • Amanda L. Andrei

  • Trixi Anne Agiao

  • Emilio J. Virata

  • Anne Bautista

  • Robin Wall Kimmerer

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