Meet the Participants of the 2023 Latinx Theatre Commons Designer and Director Colaboratorio!

We are thrilled to announce the participants selected for the 2023 Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC) Designer and Director Colaboratorio, which takes place from 28 June through 2 July 2023 in Portland, Oregon, hosted by Northwest Children’s Theatre, Portland State University, and World Stage Theatre.

Colaboratorio is a five-day series of learning opportunities designed to encourage authentic creative expressions and collaboration between Latinx designers and directors. This event will foster alternative communication models for production teams, challenging the typical director-driven model. The LTC received over one hundred applications, which were reviewed by the event co-champions Tara Houston (Ashland, Oregon), Daniel Jáquez (San Diego, California), Dámaso Rodríguez (Portland, Oregon), and Pamela Rodríguez-Montero (Santa Cruz, California), and LTC producer Jacqueline Flores.

“The selection process was rigorous, as we were committed to discussing every application,” the co-champions shared. “It took many hours on Zoom to narrow down the pool and select a cohort of thirty-seven participants (six directors, twenty-four designers, and seven scholars/documentarians). Having scholars/documentarians on site was a priority for us, and we trust it will result in a sharing of knowledge and resources with the field and as a learning opportunity for future collaborations. We are looking forward to gathering this group in Portland and to the conversations that will ensue throughout the residency.”

The participants are as follows:

Directors:
Francisco Garcia, Tamanya M. M. Garza, Miranda Gonzalez, Rulas A. Muñoz, Tlaloc Rivas, Benito Vasquez

Designers:
Anthony Almendarez, Sonia Alvarez, Carmen Amon, Jorge Arroyo, Tania Barrenechea, Alex Vásquez Dheming, Mariana C. Fernandez, Michael Shane Flores, Blanca Forzan, Luis Garcia, Pedro L. Guevara, Alejandro Melendez, Susana Monreal, Laura Moreno, Noel Nichols, Eme Ospina-López, Ash Parra, Daniel Pinha, Luzet Romo, Azaria Jade Rubio, Jesse J. Sanchez, Efrain Schunior, Frank J. Oliva, Dominique Zaragoza

Scholars/Documentarians:
Carla Della Gatta, Mateo Hernandez, Dolissa Medina, Carl(os) Roa, Daphnie Sicre, Linnea Christina Valdivia, AnaSofía Villanueva

Colaboratorio marks the thirteenth convening produced by the LTC since its founding in 2012, when a group of eight Latinx theatremakers, led by Karen Zacarías, gathered at Arena Stage in Washington, DC under the auspices of what is now HowlRound Theatre Commons to reimagine US theatre as a space that welcomes and champions the work of Latinx theatremakers. The LTC has now grown into a national volunteer-driven movement of Latinx and allied theatremakers working to establish a strong, visible, equitable, and inclusive network of over 6,300 constituents, championed by sixty active steering committee members and thirty-five advisory committee members. The LTC is committed to producing events and dialogue through a commons-based approach to ensure their methods are intersectional and diverse and that their impact on the field, and on the lives of practitioners, is lasting.

Find the participants’ full bios here.