The COVID-19 pandemic dimmed the lights and closed the doors of live theater. Although it’s not on life support anymore, it’s struggling to regain the vibrancy and attendance it once had.
The Los Angeles-based Latino Theater Company has received a three-year, $5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation. The grant will fund the National Latinx Initiative, a new re-granting program designed to elevate Latinx theater companies across the U.S. and Puerto Rico by funding projects and providing financial stability.
Latino Theater Company Artistic Director Jose Luis Valenzuela and internationally recognized arts administrator Olga Garay-English will direct the initiative.
“This re-granting initiative was inspired by Black Seed, the first-ever national strategic plan to affect change and revive Black theater institutions,” Garay-English said. “The collaborative effort involving national and local foundations will allow us to make 40 to 60 grants nationwide from 2023 to 2025.”
The Latino Theater Company is a world-class arts center based in the Los Angeles Theater Center, a historic landmark and five-theater performing arts complex in downtown Los Angeles. Now in its 38th year, the company has an exciting season lined up.
The program is good news for the artistic and theater world in a post-pandemic landscape. Initial donors include the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Joyce Foundation and California Community Foundation.
Theater everywhere, from Broadway to London’s West End, has been hit hard by the pandemic. Yet the Latinx community has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown. Many Latinx theater companies have turned to virtual platforms to continue sharing their diverse art and stories.
The program will elevate not only the L.A. Latino Theater Company but also countless artists, designers and production professionals. This will help theater company grantees nationwide emerge stronger than they were pre-pandemic.
The initiative aims to serve the audience and revive attendance in Latinx theater, remaining significant not only in Los Angeles theater but also on a national scale.
The Latino Theater Company is a world-class arts center based in the Los Angeles Theater Center, a historic landmark and five-theater performing arts complex in downtown Los Angeles. Now in its 38th year, the company has an exciting season lined up.
For more information, visit latinotheatercompany.org or call 213-489-0994.
