New Voices of Diversity: The Gradual Evolution of Commercial Theater
The Playroom Theater
151 W. 46th St., 8th Floor.
Presented in association with TRU's Young Patrons and Artists' Circle (YPAC), co-founders Molly Morris & Kimberly Eaton. Moderated by YPAC Outreach Director, Christin Cato. With Luis Reyes Cardenas, Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director, Open Hydrant Theater Company; Gabriela Garcia, Co-Founder/Director, Making a difference through the Arts; Maria Goyanes of The Public Theatre; Daryl Sledge, producing member of Rhymes Over Beats, a hip hop theater company; Tiffany Vega, general manager Hi-Arts/Hip-Hop Theatre Festival.
This important discussion will consider how new forms have found their way to Broadway, with specific focus on Hamilton, and other ways in which hip-hop may be insinuating itself into the mainstream ... how Broadway theater-goers are being exposed to, and embracing to an extent, a greater range of diversity through Hamilton and other shows like Allegiance, On Your Feet and Fun Home ... and how producers have successfully merged different genres of music and diverse content and are bringing it to Broadway audiences. What works, what has worked, and what didn't work, and why? And from the artists' point of view, given the fact that the theater world is evolving and that it is inevitable, how does the diverse spectrum of creators, directors and producers see to it that their visions are included in this evolution?
Panelists
-
LUIS REYES CARDENAS
is Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Open Hydrant Theater Company, the first ensemble professional theater company in the South Bronx. Film: Shakespeare High Executive Produced by Kevin Spacey and From Bronx to Yale Executive Produced by The Guardian. Actor: Fools in Love at MET, BAM, Lincoln Center Boro-Linc and Open Hydrant, Balm in Gilead with Barefoot Theatre Company and Durang, Durang at Open Hydrant. Playwright: Play The Papers For Lupe, Visa Decline, Place of Assembly and Last Exit In New York. He is currently a member of the New Play Development at Laguardia Performing Arts Center and a member of The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre Company's Playwright Unit. He is the Director of Individual Events at The Stanford National Forensic Institute at Stanford University.
-
MARIA GOYANES
joined the staff of The Public Theater in 2004 as an Artistic Associate under Producer George C. Wolfe, and is currently the Associate Producer to the Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis. As Associate Producer, she is responsible for producing a full season of plays and musicals at the five-theater venue at Astor Place and at The Delacorte Theater for Shakespeare in the Park. While at the Public, she has worked with hundreds of artists, including David Byrne, Suzan-Lori Parks, Alex Timbers, Michael Friedman, Phyllida Lloyd, Lisa Kron, Jeanine Tesori, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tommy Kail and Julie Taymor. In addition, Maria was the Executive Producer of Obie-award winning 13P (13 Playwrights, Inc.), a 13-play project founded with a collective of writers that included Sarah Ruhl, Young Jean Lee, Anne Washburn, Lucy Thurber, and Sheila Callaghan. She ran the Soho Rep Writer/ Director Lab for two years developing work with David Adjmi, Jason Grote, Karinne Keithley, and Mike Daisey, among others. She was the recipient of the Josephine Abady Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women. She graduated from Brown University and is a first generation American hailing from Jamaica, Queens.
-
DARYL SLEDGE
is a theater producer as well as a film and television professional. He was the producer of the Off-Broadway solo project Fried Chicken and Latkes written by and starring Rain Pryor at the Actors Temple Theatre. His main objective is producing commercially whether it be Broadway, Off Broadway, Regionally/Touring and the West End. Daryl is lead producer for the play Pound for Pound by Steven Alexander, which he found through TRU's Speed Date, and is in negotiations to present a professional staged reading of the work. He produced the documentary, That Daughter's Crazy featuring Rain Pryor (winner of Saatchi and Saatchi Achievement in Film Award), and the HBO Best Short Film, 2nd LiFE by Jake Alexander, which is now in the first round for being nominated for Best Live-Action Short Film for the Academy Awards. He is developing a feature length screenplay/film based on the murder of Emmett Till and producing two smaller independent films: Satellite Flight and The Dark. He has been a member of Theater Resources Unlimited and has and is taking courses and attending seminars at CTI. He would love to see more people of color and women get involved with these two great organizations.
-
TIFFANY VEGA
joined the staff of Hi-ARTS/Hip-Hop Theater Festival in 2010 and currently serves as its General Manager. She is a graduate of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures Leadership and Advocacy Leadership Institutes, is on the Steering Committee for the Latina/o Theatre Commons and is on the Artistic Selection Committee for the Harlem Arts Festival, the Selection Committee for The Field Leadership Fund and was on the Artist Selection Committee for El Barrio's Artspace PS109. She is a member of Women of Color in the Arts, a founding member of La Cooperativa of NYC Latin@ Theatre Artists and was a Hispanic Foundation for the Arts Scholarship Recipient. She is also currently being trained to become a facilitator in Diversity and Inclusion by ArtEquity. She is the President & Founder of La Vega Management, a company that focuses on theatrical general management and producing. Tiffany received a MFA from Columbia University in Theatre Management and Producing and a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland-College Park and is a Lifetime Active Member of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.
