Diversity & Representation in American Theatre

Jump-start your theatre career this summer from anywhere with an Internet connection at Center Theatre Group's free, virtual professional development series. Designed for current college and university students studying theatre but open to all, the Working in Theatre Summer Series is a 10-week course focused on the skills and knowledge emerging professionals need to build a career in live theatre.

This week’s session delves deep into Diversity & Representation in the theatre space. Our panelists discuss how the industry upholds discriminatory practices; the past, present, and future of equity, diversity, and inclusion in American theatre; and how we can divert current notions of theatre making to create spaces of healing for BIPOC. This session is Part 1 of 2.

Panelists:

Donna Simone Johnson is an Actor, Director and Choreographer who celebrates, liberates and disrupts as a form of activism. In Arts Leadership, Donna is on the Ovation Rules Committee, Co-Founder of Hardcorps (an arts organization providing training to under-resourced artists) and on the boards of The Road Theater Company, Watts Village Theater Co., LA Poverty Dept. and an associate producer and alum for Directors Lab West.

Peter J. Kuo is bi-coastal LA native, and the Associate Conservatory Director at AmericanConservatory Theater (A.C.T.), where he serves as the Chair of the Staff EDI Committee. He is a theatre director, producer, writer, and educator focusing on raising the visibility of marginalized communities.

Victoria Lewis is a pioneer in theatre and disability, working since the 1980s in a variety of theatrical models—grassroots, community-based, regional not-for-profit, and television and film. Victoria is the Founding Director of Other Voices at the Mark Taper Forum which provides theatre training for people with disabilities, as well as a Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Redlands.

Alexandra Meda is the Artistic Director of Teatro Luna West, a national Latinx/WoC ensemble practice. She is a stage director, culture-producer, disrupter for social justice, and a digital media creator. She is a 2020 Center Theatre Group Sherwood Award Finalist, named Inspiring Young Latina by Latina Magazine, a TCG Young Leader of Color, an #ArtEquity alumni cohort member, a NALAC Leadership Institute graduate, an American Express Leadership Training Alumni, a Kennedy Center Leadership Midwest alumni, and a Mellon Foundation Artistic Leadership Fellow at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Resources and Suggested Pre-Reading

Learn more about the Working in Theatre program.