This thesis is a dramatic metaphor of the creative journey I went through when I left my native country, Mexico, to enroll in a graduate program at UBC in the Department of Theatre, Film and Creative Writing. Since I am a theatre practitioner, and not a critic or an academic, "From 'La Esperanza'to 'La Realidad'" Is not an academic dissertation, but a personal reflection on how reality has informed my theatre practice and has changed my perception of my social responsibility as an artist. The

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... esis' hypothesis is that there are no clear boundaries between the personal, the political and the artistic: these are three different aspects of our lives as social beings and as such our theatre practice is informed by them, whether we are conscious of it or not. This work is a product of my own practice as stage director and it is written in a personal style that combines poetry, a theatre piece and fragments from my director's journal with the intention to depict the complexity of the theatre-making process. The thesis consists of three parts. The first part is the script of La Maestra (The Teacher), a play that I directed during my first year as a graduate student. The second part of the thesis is a direct consequence of the staging of La Maestra; in it I reflect on the relation between reality and fiction juxtaposing the plot of La Maestra with the most recent events in Chiapas, Mexico. The third part is built on the question "What kind of theatre should I do?"; in it I analyse how popular theatre can be used as part of the process of cultural and political struggle led by the indigenous peoples of Mexico. These three parts are combined with a self explanatory theatre piece written by me and called "The Traveler". This piece is divided into six movements and its only character, The Traveler, is myself.