In the area of the arts, the Mexican American has discovered a rich cultural heritage which gives him a strong sense of pride and a deep feeling of satisfaction. A new interest in the literature of Mexico and the Southwestern states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and California has started the Chicano people reading classic and modern works written in Spanish. The area of dramatic arts has developed a special kind of theater as a result of this movement of ethnic interest: Teatro Chicano. This "teatro" is, in essence, what its name suggests: half Mexican and half Anglo American. Teatro Chicano was created as a direct reply to both Mexican and American writers of dramatic literature. Its ultimate goal is to give the Mexican American in the United States a new, accurate, and proud picture of himself. This thesis provides a short history of the theater and its singular progress in modern times. The treatment of the Mexican American in the theatrical literature of Mexico and by American dramatists such as Maxwell Anderson and Tennessee Williams is reviewed. Excerpts from the plays of Celestino Gorostiza, J. Humberto Robles, Maxwell Anderson, Tennessee Williams, and Luis Valdez are given. (Author/NQ)