October 2023 marked ten years since the Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC)’s first national convening in 2013. To celebrate this anniversary, I joined over 100 theatre makers for the Tenth Anniversary Convening! The LTC Tenth Anniversary Convening was a celebration of the last ten years, a reflection on our learnings and successes thus far, and an opportunity to discuss the future of the LTC and have field-wide discussions.
The Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC) is a national movement that uses a commons-based approach to transform the narrative of the American theatre, to amplify the visibility of Latinx performance making, and to champion equity through advocacy, art making, convening, and scholarship. The LTC is a flagship program of HowlRound.
Our values include Service, Radical Inclusion, Transparency, Legacy & Leadership Cultivation, and Advancement of the Art Form.
The actions of the LTC are championed by a volunteer Steering Committee made up of passionate Latinx theatremakers and scholars from across the country. The LTC Steering Committee a self-organized collective that has chosen to adopt a commons-based approach to advocate for Latinx theatre as a vital, significant presence in the New American Theatre.
The Latinx Theatre Commons fosters emergent national leadership through an organic organizing method of activating our networks and expanding our circles of connection. We seek to celebrate diverse connections, honor our past with reflection, and envision our future with optimism and enthusiasm.
Global Majority Intimacy Conference
April 28-30 New Orleans, LA
The first Global Majority Intimacy Conference is focused on the following concepts, ideas, and actions:
To serve as an informative and alliance-building gathering place for like-minded and globally-oriented Intimacy Professionals, theatrical artists and filmmakers.
To share globally-minded intimacy innovation and cutting edge, inclusive principles of accountability and acceptance
To bring global majority voices to the forefront of the conversation about our bodies, minds, and experiences
To deepen alliances with social justice, transformative justice, disability justice and technology experts on the expansion of creative brave space in The Arts.
To form regional groups for camaraderie, information sharing and employment networking
To establish allied guidelines for working as an intimacy professional on productions with members from the global majority
“Staging the Political”
A Roundtable on Theater, Feminism, and Politics
A Roundtable, co-sponsored by the Department of Global Studies, the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, the Department of Political Science, and the MAPSS Program. This roundtable will explore the relationship between theater, feminism, and politics.
Monday, April 24th, 12-1:30pm CT, Classics 110 (1010 E 59th St, Chicago, IL)
With
Valentina Moro (University of Verona, Visiting Scholar in Philosophy at De Paul), Sharvari Sastry (Harper Schmidt Fellow, TAPS, Chicago), Denise Yvette Serna (Loyola University Chicago), and Agatha A. Slupek (Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Chicago)
Registration is not required. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Racially restrictive covenants and deed restrictions were legal instruments used to promote racial segregation in the first half of the twentieth century. They were first created and deployed by individuals, but then were embraced by real estate leaders and economists, who led national organizations based in Chicago. Covenants and restrictions became so widely used in Chicago that it was estimated that 80% of the city’s homes were covered by racial covenants.
These records have been buried in the files of Cook County, but a new collaboration is unearthing the documents to illustrate how racial segregation in Northern cities such as Chicago was not accidental. It was a system that was intentionally created, house by house, block by block, and subdivision by subdivision, across the city and across the country.
There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of covenants held in the files of Cook County. Too many for one person to find — in the 1940s scholars tried and had to rely on sampling neighborhoods because it was too labor-intensive.
The only way we will find all these covenants is by bringing together a wide array of people from around Chicago to take on this effort, piece by piece.
In response to continued police violence against black communities and the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, this 75-minute, interactive training from Right To Be offered training on how to safely intervene in the face of police violence and anti-Black racism using Right To Be’s 5Ds of bystander intervention.
We started by talking about the types of violence and racism Black folks are facing right now — from microaggressions to murder — using a tool called the “spectrum of racism.” We studied how anti-Black racism is so ingrained into the fabric of our society that we see it present in all forms, from everyday tasks or activities to larger societal institutions. We discussed the deep impact harassment, violence, and constant threat of violence has on Black communities.
This training utilized Right To Be's 5 D's of bystander intervention methodology.
A virtual interactive training on bystander intervention. Topics covered included: the types of disrespect that Muslims and those who are perceived to be Muslim are facing right now - from microaggressions to violence - using a tool called the "spectrum of disrespect"; what to look for, the positive impact that bystander intervention has on individuals and communities, Right To Be's 5 D's of bystander intervention methodology, and how to prioritize safety while intervening.
A virtual interactive training on bystander intervention from the Stand Up movement. Training covered a clear, adaptable, and expert-approved set of tools that have been proven to reduce the prevalence of street harassment: Right To Be’s 5Ds of bystander intervention. Training included intervention tactics, real life scenarios to examine and react to, and resource based discussions.
Street harassment ends here, and we are all part of the solution!Bystander Intervention to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment
A virtual interactive training on bystander intervention. Topics covered included: the types of disrespect that Asian and Asian American folks are facing right now - from microaggressions to violence - using a tool called the "spectrum of disrespect"; what to look for, the positive impact that bystander intervention has on individuals and communities, Right To Be's 5 D's of bystander intervention methodology, and how to prioritize safety while intervening.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Harm Reduction in the OPIOiD CRISIS
While serving as Associate Artistic Director of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, I led the community engagement programming for the 2022 World Premiere production of Spay by Madison Fiedler.
Narcan Training at Rivendell
Narcan training and distribution took place in the lobby before performances and at town halls, courtesy of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, The Potocsnak Family Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine.
Volunteer Action with The Night Ministry
At Rivendell Theatre Ensemble on Monday, March 28th 2022, we gathered and assembled an evening’s worth (and then some!!) of sack suppers for the South Shore Stop of the Health Outreach Bus. The Night Ministry’s specially designed Health Outreach Bus features a fully equipped nurse’s office and brings basic medical care and a sense of community to individuals and families six days per week in diverse, underserved areas of Chicago. The majority of people who visit the Health Outreach Bus have either not eaten anything or had enough to eat when they receive a meal at the Bus.
Rivendell Town Halls
Facilitated informational panel discussions with professionals and advocates for the issues/subject matter raised in the show. Fentanyl test strip kits (5 per kit) provided by CDPH Office of Substance Use and Recovery were distributed at town halls . Moderator: Brit Cooper Robinson
April 9th - "Families in Crisis, Community in Action" Panelists:
Jill Wolf LCSW, Executive Director, @wolfpacktherapyservices and Laura Fry, Executive Director, @live4lali
Stephanie Lagalo, LMSW, CAADC, part time instructor Western Michigan University
Lisa Martinez, MA, Adjunct Faculty, DePaul University, HIV Prevention Coordinator, Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago
Chelsey Laliberte Barnes, LSW, Democratic Candidate for IL State Rep D-51
April 16th - "Harm Reduction in the Opioid Crisis" Panelists:
Jill Wolf LCSW, Executive Director, Wolf Pack Therapy
Laura Fry, Executive Director, Live4Lali
Jody Daitchman, Angel Moms Coordinator & Grief Group Facilitator, Live4Lali
THE BREATH PROJECT
Through art, action and advocacy, The Breath Project (TBP) seeks to build a more equitable theater community in this country, and actively dismantle structural racism in the American Theater.
Art: In partnership with organizations and artists across the nation, TBP will create, develop and support original theatrical works, created by BIPOC artists. The work that is housed by TBP will be used as a tool for education and advocacy, as a living time capsule of this moment in history.
Action: TBP is working to build relationships between local artists and theaters in their community and region, creating more opportunities for BIPOC theater artists, technicians and administrators throughout the country. Working across our national partnerships, we will seek to end the notion that plays by BIPOC artists fulfill a quota or check a box for a theater, and instead become an organic and permanent part of the American Theater landscape.
Advocacy: TBP will work to support the organizations that produce, fund and support the American Theater to eliminate the racism and biases that exist in our institutions and business practices.
View the festival program here
We uplifted and amplified the missions of the following organizations with this festival:
Casa Al-Fatiha
FB: @CasaAlFatihaChicago
IG: @casaalfatiha
https://www.patreon.com/casaalfatiha
USPCN
https://uspcn.org/
FB: @USPCN
IG: @USPCN
Our Music My Body
https://www.ourmusicmybody.org/
FB: @OurMusicMyBodyChicago
Edgewater Mutual Fund
https://edgewatermutualaid.org/
FB: @EdgewaterMutualAid
IG: @EdgewaterMutualAid
donate via Venmo @EWmutualaid
Glad Rags
www.gladragsmusic.com
FB: @GladRagsMusic
IG: @GladRagsMusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/37dq9ObsO8dk3q8zqA4UJa
EDI WORKSHOPS FOR THE ARTS
The national arts community is engaged in a conversation about how to become more accessible and equitably diverse. In response to this, The West Side Show Room has collaborated with EDI Facilitator Denise Yvette Serna to create an ongoing series called EDI (Equity Diversity Inclusion) Workshops For The Arts which addresses the needs of the Rockford area arts community.
The workshops are funded by generous grants from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, Illinois Department of Human Services/Chicago Community Trust, and Rockford Area Arts Council. These grants enable The WSSR to offer the workshops at reduced cost or free to anyone associated with a Rockford area arts organization.
Howard Area Community Center
Unveiling artwork inspired by HACC Adult Education students and created by artist-in-residence, Molly Costello on Monday, October 12th 2020. Creative Direction and Project Management of #MuralMonday campaign, and a community occasion in which the stories from HACC’s Adult Education program and Rogers Park organizations were shared through art, with a raffle for a Molly Costello original – titled – “Community Connections”.
Howard Area Community Center invites you to celebrate the neighborhood where you've planted roots, and the public art blooming throughout that neighborhood. We love Rogers Park, and are taking advantage of the opportunity to safely enjoy the outdoors, and free public art that reflects our shared history and bright future. Public murals are one of our favorite ways to enjoy Chicago’s rich artistic heritage, free from cultural, cost, and class barriers that may be associated with the arts.
Share images of the murals you discover using #MuralMonday, and search the tag to find some more murals from other Chicagoans, for you to discover on your next walk! We’ll be sharing some of our favorites here in Rogers Park, following the historic Mile of Murals!
The Mile of Murals is a community-based public art initiative in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, located on the far north side of the city. The project began in 2007, and is sponsored by the Rogers Park Business Alliance and the Clark/Morse/Glenwood Special Service Area #24. With a ten-year project goal to paint a full mile of murals along the CTA Red Line track from Estes Avenue to Pratt Boulevard along the Glenwood Avenue train line, the Mile of Murals covers ten block-long walls, seven viaduct walls, and two overpasses.
Windy City Times 30 Under 30 Awards held in Bridgeport | 2018-06-20
The 19th annual Windy City Times 30 Under 30 Awards were held June 20 at Polo Cafe in Bridgeport. A diverse group of people from 18 to 30 were honored for their activism, cultural work, entrepreneurship, promotional work and more.
Windy City Times welcomed co-sponsors AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago House, Center on Halsted, Howard Brown Health and Polo Catering.
See full list of honorees and their stories here.
And the Windy City Times Pride issue has a full review of honorees in PDF form here.
In August of 2018, I had the honor of participating in a Long Table discussion with Kyoung’s Pacific Beat in partnership with ALTA—The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago, Invisible 2 Invincible: Asian Pacific Islander Pride of Chicago, Nothing Without a Company, Pop Magic Productions, The Sip, Urban Theater Company at Batey Urbano, six, local grass-roots organizations serving queer, artists and activists of color.
The long-table discussion on “Feminist Perspectives on Building Intersectional Communities,” was facilitated by Joy Messinger (Program Officer of Third Wave Fund) and invited speakers Lenox Magee (The Sip), Denise Yvette Serna (Pop Magic Productions), Jessie Fuentes (Puerto Rican Agenda in Chicago), Kyra Jones (Northwestern Univeristy), Hannah Li-Epstein (Nothing Without a Company) and Guest Culturebot Blogger, Tanuja Jagernauth.
The long-table centered Chicago-based, queer artists and activists of color and foster a conversation about the solidarity and dynamics that exists within different affinity groups in the QPOC community and how male-led institutions can relinquish power to elevate female, trans, nonbinary, and GNC leadership.
Learn more about PILLOWTALK
“Exponential Festival: Unexpected Theater in Unfamiliar Real Estate”, Laura Collins-Hughes, The New York Times. Jan. 24, 2018.
“Beyond Whiteness: A January Festival Wrap Up”, Nicole Serratore, American Theatre Magazine. Feb. 2, 2018.
“‘Pillowtalk’ Theatrical Play Explores LGBT, Interracial Relationships”, Don Tagala, Balitang TV. Jan. 26, 2018.
“Kyoung’s Pacific Beat presents PILLOWTALK” by Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody. Jan. 19, 2018.
“Coital Exchanges”, Culture Catch. Jan. 16, 2018.
“Playwright Kyoung H. Park on the Themes in PILLOWTALK and the Importance of Intersectionality”, Jose Solis, StageBuddy. Jan. 15, 2018.
“Bedroom Conversation-An Intimate Moment with the Collaborators of PILLOWTALK”, Jess Applebaum, Culturebot. Jan. 2018.
“Kyoung H. Park on PILLOWTALK”, Dyonisian Magazine. Jan. 2018.
“Community Partnerships & Long Table Events Announced for PILLOWTALK by Kyoung’s Pacific Beat @ The Tank”, TalkinBroadway.com. Dec. 2017.
“Kyoung’s Pacific Beat to Bring PILLOWTALK to The Tank this Winter”, Broadwayworld.com. Aug. 2017.
“Kyoung Park–BAC Story by Diep Tran”, Baryshnikov Arts Center, BAC Story. Jun. 2017.
“Facing Discrimination Against Gay Marriage”, New York Korea Times. Mar. 2017.
In April of 2018, I visited South Bend, Indiana to join theatre practitioners, activists, and inclusion-driven community members who share a commitment to social justice for the inaugural Community Theater for Social Justice Action Conference. The conference was in partnership with the Civil Rights Heritage Center, IUSB Women's and Gender Studies, and ND Show Some Skin. Together we explored theater as a tool to strategize for effective social justice in our society.
The purpose of this conference was to create a space for strategizing for a diverse background of individuals to have deeper impact in their respective communities.
Ntozake Shange, the playwright, poet, performer, and creator of For colored girls who have considered suicide / When the rainbow is not enuf, was our inaugural conference’s keynote speaker!
Conversations I participated in were:
Staging Muslim Visibility and Disrupting Fetishization by Dr. Sahar Ishtiaque Ullah
Stories From The Inside Out: Giving Voice To Women and Men In Prison by Kathy McGregor and David Jolliffe
Performing Collective Imagination: Theatre, Participation, and Reproductive Justice by Alyssa Vera Ramos
Strategy Circles: Uprooting Anti-Blackness
Stories to Data: Grounding the Arts in Theoretical Frameworks by Dr. Dé Bryant and Dr. Cecilia Lucero
Just Like Us
“What makes us American?”
Based on Helen Thorpe’s bestselling book, this documentary-style play follows four Latina teenage girls in Denver—two of whom are documented and two who are not—through young adulthood. Their close-knit friendships begin to unravel when immigration status dictates the girls’ opportunities, or lack thereof. When a political firestorm arises, each girl’s future becomes increasingly complicated. Just Like Us poses difficult, yet essential questions about what makes us American.
Join community members and organizers to uplift the voices of immigrants in Chicago.
On Sept. 5, the president announced that he was terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Obama-era program provides relief from deportation for an estimated 800,000 young immigrants. These immigrants have gone to our schools, they live and work in our communities, they have families, and now they’re at an even greater risk of deportation.
THE Harry Potter Alliance
This August, I’m racing 26.2 miles in London to support HPA's leadership and education programs!!
Here’s how it works:
Sign up with your name and email.
You can run anywhere, logging miles with any kind of device.
Log your miles on the race page or using our app: iOS App or Android App.
Racery will keep track of fun stats like your total mileage, runs/week, and streaks!
Run, walk, or wheel anywhere, anytime you want, then log activity and see yourself move on our digital route and leaderboards. We've got racers all over the globe!
This unique event will benefit the Harry Potter Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that turns fans into heroes. Since 2005, the HPA has used the power of story to engage millions of fans in their work for equality, literacy, and human rights. Proceeds will directly support the HPA’s leadership and education programs, less Racery’s fee of $7.50 per participant and Stripe’s 2.2% + $0.30 fee per transaction. More information about the HPA’s financials can be found on Guidestar, where the organization maintains a Gold rating.
For millions of children across the world, basic access to books and literacy programs is hardly a given. The Harry Potter Alliance is engaged in a permanent campaign to balance the scales. Our ultimate goal is to raise 1 million books for schools, community centers, and literacy programs across the world. We also endeavor to build 25 permanent libraries in places that need them. Last year, we had our most successful Accio Books yet, with over 100,000 books raised for 50 literacy programs across the world and a new library established at an elementary school in Masaka, Uganda!
This year, we are partnering with Words Alive, an organization that provides literacy and education services to over 5,000 children and families in Southern California. HPA chapters and members will raise thousands of books for Words Alive, allowing the organization to provide quality books to students of all ages for many years to come. Many chapters outside the western United States will choose to donate books to schools and programs in their local communities. Overall, we expect to match last year’s incredible effort, with dozens of communities across the world transformed by the generosity of our members.
Donations to this campaign will help us coordinate this global campaign in support of education and literacy!
artEquity's 2016 cohort represents a diverse cross-section of the American theatre and broader arts community. The 37 participants come from all parts of the US representing over 32 arts organizations. Artistic Directors, Executive Directors, Dramaturgs, Designers, Educators, Program Directors, Freelance artists, and many more, came together for a meaningful learning exchange and deep-dive theatre experience to support movement-building in the arts.
artEquity is a national cadre of facilitators who support equity-based initiatives nation-wide. Alumni of the training are supported to sustain peer networks, intentional collaboration, and ongoing learning. The 2016 cohort training took place during two intensive weekend retreats in the Twin Cities hosted by Penumbra Theatre in September and October. The retreats were set a month apart to allow participants time to reflect on the themes presented and to practice facilitation competencies.
On January 19th, 2017 at 5:30pm in each time zone across the country, we gathered outside of theaters to create a "light" for dark times ahead, and to make or renew a pledge to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation, and compassion for everyone regardless of race, class, religion, country of origin, immigration status, (dis)ability, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation. #GhostlightProject #BeALight #AllAreWelcome
International Women’s Day 2017
Each one of us - with women, men and non-binary people joining forces - can be a leader within our own spheres of influence by taking bold pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity. Through purposeful collaboration, we can help women advance and unleash the limitless potential offered to economies the world over. #BeBoldForChange
NoDAPL fundraiser
A night of Native performance and visual arts, silent auctions, and raffles to raise funds for The Standing Rock Nation. #NoDAPLchi128
Women’s March Chicago
Rally Accessibility for Attendees with Disabilities and Families with children marching
Accessible Viewing Area (intersection of Jackson and Columbus): On a level surface, near the accessible vehicle drop-off area and the stage. Ideal for those being dropped off, needing close proximity to the speakers and/or needing access to ASL interpreters, Open Captioning, Assistive Listening Devices, and Audio Description. Chairs will be available in this viewing area. To accommodate as many people with disabilities as possible in this area, please try to limit the number of companions who will not be using accessible services.
Family Area: Marchers with children can join a designated Families Area if they prefer or need to be out of the main crowd in the rally space.
Access Tents
Access volunteers will be available to provide information on accessible viewing area and available services.
The tent will serve as a meeting point for those wanting to connect with volunteer guides.
American Sign Language interpreters will be stationed at the tent to facilitate communication.
Accessible portable toilets will be located near the Access area
Accessible Services and Accommodations for Rally
Physical Access
People requiring physical access may participate in the rally from the Accessible Viewing Area.
Accessible portable toilets are available near the Accessible Viewing Area.
American Sign Language Interpretation
American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation will be visible from Accessible Viewing Area, near the stage.
ASL interpreters will also be present at the Access Tents.
Open Captioning
The rally will feature open captioning via two different points.
From the stage, captions will be presented on a 50” flat-screen mounted on the stage, viewable by the first several rows of seats. These seats will be reserved for guests who identify as wanting to use the captions, and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Captions will also be available on a large JumboTron screen located south of Jackson.
Assistive Listening Devices
Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) are available in Accessible Viewing Area. Headsets may be picked up at the Access Tent next to Accessible Viewing Area.
Audio Description
Audio Description is available in Accessible Viewing Area. Headsets may be picked up at the Access Tent next to Accessible Viewing Area.
A limited number of Access Volunteers are available to guide attendees from the Access Tent to either accessible viewing area.
Rogers Park Day of Action
Live Community Culture, an art-ivist movement with its roots in Latin America, made its North American debut in Rogers Park, Chicago by hosting a Day of Action. LCC is an uprising of love and creativity in the face of a downward spiraling culture of war and death. Residents and organizations in Chicago's most diverse neighborhood united to reveal the healing, transformative, joyful, activist roots alive in Rogers Park.
47th annual chicago Pride Parade
Thresholds
Established in 1959, Thresholds provides healthcare, housing, and hope for thousands of persons with mental illnesses and substance use disorders in Illinois each year. Through care, employment, advocacy, and housing, Thresholds assists and inspires people with mental illnesses to reclaim their lives.
The Harry Potter Alliance
The Harry Potter Alliance turns fans into heroes.
We’re changing the world by making activism accessible through the power of story. Since 2005, millions of fans have come together tor work for equality, human rights, and literacy.
HOGWARTS RUNNING CLUB PLATFORM 9 3/4K (YEAR TWO)
Hogwarts Running Club's fifth event of 2015. All proceeds from this event went to support the Harry Potter Alliance and their Accio Books! campaign. Accio Books! is the Harry Potter Alliance’s annual book drive and since 2009, Harry Potter fans around the world have donated more than 200,000 books to underprivileged or underserved readers.
Total 2015 donation: $77,500
Helping Haiti Heal
Following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010, the HPA helped create Helping Haiti Heal, a home-grown effort to contribute to aid and relief. The HPA raised over $123,000 for Partners In Health and sent five cargo planes of life-saving supplies to Haiti.
NOT IN HARRY'S NAME
Upon learning that Warner Bros. Harry Potter-branded chocolate was being sourced from child slavery in 2008, the Harry Potter Alliance embarked on a campaign demanding Fair Trade chocolate instead. Not in Harry’s Name follows from the belief that products inspired by the series should not be complicit in the injustices it criticizes.
The HPA partnered with Free2Work, who determined that the chocolate products had earned an “F” grade for worker conditions that violated human rights. These findings inspired action from hundreds of thousands of fans, from signing petitions to sending letters.
In late December of 2014, the Harry Potter Alliance was notified that Warner Bros. would make all Harry Potter-branded chocolate Fair Trade or Utz certified, marking an unprecedented victory in the realm of fan activism.