2012 Latinx Theatre Artists

Washington, DC, 18 May 2012

In 2012, eight Latinx theatremakers gathered in Washington, DC at the invitation of Karen Zacarías, then playwright in residence at the American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage (the precursor to HowlRound) with the intention of discussing the opportunities and challenges facing Latinx theatremakers and Latinx Theatre in the American theatre field, filling a gap of lost industry-wide affinity space. The group sought an opportunity to update and expand the narrative of the American theatre. Over the course of a day and a half the group identified several shared aims and set the intention to form what would become the Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC):

• To seek the recognition of a canon of Latinx plays and create an ongoing venue for conversation in person and online among Latinx theatremakers
• To establish new incubators of multilingual and multi-ethnic environments to facilitate conversations and sharing among Latinx theatremakers
• Over the course of the next year, establish a 15-20 person Steering Committee to plan and execute a larger convening in 2013, to be hosted by HowlRound Theatre Commons at Emerson College.

“How do we get more authentic work by a diversity of Latinos onto our stages? How can we support each other in taking risks?”—Karen Zacarías

Participants included (all affiliations listed are as of 2012):

• Kristoffer Diaz (Playwright, New York NY)
• Anne García-Romero (Playwright; Assistant Professor of Theater, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN)
• Lisa Portes (Director; Professor of Theater, DePaul University, Chicago, IL)
• Tlaloc Rivas (Director; Assistant Professor of Theatre, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA)
• Antonio Sonera (Director, Portland OR)
• Enrique Urueta (Playwright, Minneapolis, MN)
• Jose Luis Valenzuela (Artistic Director, Latino Theater Company, Los Angeles, CA)
• Karen Zacarías (Resident Playwright, Arena Stage, Washington, DC)

This gathering led directly to the creation of the LTC. You can read more about the origins of the LTC in Anne García-Romero’s 2012 essay here.