Study on Chilean Theatre Works Examines How Humor and Play Illuminate Dictatorship Trauma

Marin Laufenberg, PhD, professor of Spanish and director of the Spanish MA program in the Department of Anthropology and Languages at ISU has had an article, “Accessing Traumatic Pasts through Play: Children’s Perspectives in Two Chilean Theatre Pieces,” published in the open-access journal Kamchatka by the Universitat de Valencia. 

The paper explores how two theatre works, El año en que nací by Lola Arias and Gemelos by La Troppa, use children's perspectives, play, and humor to represent the trauma of life under dictatorship in Chile. By lightening the mood with playful elements, the plays help audiences understand these difficult experiences in a new way. This approach may be a key method for younger generations to connect with and reflect on their society's past.

“In my current research, I continue to be very motivated by studying the nuances of humor that are unique to different cultural settings, and the experiences of children who live through trauma,” Laufenberg says. 

Laufenberg attended live performances of the Chilean plays El año en que nací in Chicago and Gemelos in Montreal in 2014, while working on her doctoral dissertation which treated the use of humor and laughter as tools to transmit affective knowledge and to preserve memory of social traumas in Argentine theatre.

“When witnessing these plays staged, it struck me how children were centered as subjects and how a child's way of knowing their world is often mediated by play, humor, and a different emotional tone than our adult existence,” Laufenberg says. “That aesthetic is highlighted by both performances. This was the connecting thread that led me to study these two plays in unison.” 

This article connects to many of the themes Laufenberg teaches in her courses for the Spanish MA program at ISU, such as SPAN 5501: Latin American memory, SPAN 6676: Latin American theatre and performance, and SPAN 6676: Argentine humor. 

Dr. Marin Laufenberg believes that experiencing live theatre as an audience member allows scholars to understand the impact of these works in more profound and nuanced ways, revealing layers that might be missed when only reading a script. She encourages her students to complement their reading of play scripts with viewing videos of live performances for a richer analysis.

This summer, Dr. Marin Laufenberg taught a Master's class on Argentine humor in theatre and film, where engaging discussions on topics like dark humor, parody, the absurd, and incongruence proved inspiring for both her and her students.

Laufenberg is scheduled to present her work at two conferences this November. At the American Society for Theater Research conference in Seattle, Washington she will explore how humor in the Argentine film Relatos salvajes can create space for reflection, challenge the status quo, and offer new ways of understanding. She will also discuss similar themes in the Argentine play Continente Viril at the Pacific Ancient and Modern Languages Association conference in Palm Springs, California.