Playing Latinx: Laughing through Your Casting Type

Guido Garcia Lueches has gotten very good at doing the stupid accent, the one posted in casting calls and audition briefs seeking Latin-American talent. Now he is bringing his one-person comedy show, Playing Latinx, to the Edinburgh Fringe with the question – why are you laughing?

“It came about from me realising I was getting cast as the exotic one in any kind of project,” Garcia Lueches tells me over Zoom from their home in London. “I had to kind of learn how to put on a very stereotypical Latino accent to go into some of these audition rooms. The second I did that I started getting hired.”

This idea is at the centre of Playing Latinx. Originally from Uruguay, Garcia Lueches has been working in the UK for almost a decade and is familiar with the perils of the audition room. For him, it is not about sitting on the sidelines and screaming at the referee but acknowledging your part in the game.

“The very day we opened this show for the first time, I went to audition for a thing where I put on a stupid accent, and made people laugh with it and was very good at it to be honest.” He admits, “I think that's also the problem. I have gotten good at doing the terrible thing. I think that's a lot more interesting of an introspection than just storming in and shaking your fist at the ‘big bad white casting director’ who has maybe put a stereotype in their call out.” 

Blending poetry, music and stand-up, Playing Latinx is not just a lecture, either. The audience participates in the show, creating new hilarious and uncomfortable moments every night. It is silly, fun and for a good reason.

“If you are laughing at whatever I'm saying or doing, then you're more or less already on my side. Then we can start talking, then I can ask you why you're laughing, or I can charge you for the laugh and tell you, ‘Well, maybe you shouldn't have been laughing at that.'”

This isn’t the first time Garcia Lueches has dabbled in breaking the fourth wall and by the sounds of it, this won’t be the last. According to the performer, audience participation is more than just a way to engage; it’s a shared project.

“I think [with] the things that I make, I'm like, okay, we are here so we might as well acknowledge that we're here and have this collective experience together. It's not just me doing something at you. What can we build together in this hour that we're going to spend together?”

The use of audience participation grew from a shared vision with co-directors Mariana Aritstizábal and Malena Arcucci. The creative duo are the founders of MarianaMalena, a female-led theatre company based in London which champions Latin-American stories. With their help, Playing Latinx became what it is today.

“We were all drawn to a similar kind of vibe, to a certain silliness, and to a certain kind of political intent. I think it was that realisation of we're saying something important but also, we want to be as stupid as we can with all of this.”

Playing Latinx can be difficult to pin down. Is it stand-up, or a play? Is it silly, or serious? Should we laugh, or look away? When asked, Garcia Lueches wasn’t confused as to where his priorities lay.

“I am an entertainer, first and foremost. So, if you've laughed for an hour, then great. If you take nothing else than that, my job is still done… Laugh first, then let's have a chat.”

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Playing Latinx, Summerhall (Cairns Lecture Theatre), 2-27 Aug (not 14, 21), 6.55pm.