LOOKING FORWARD: LATINO THEATER COMPANY

LOOKING FORWARD: THE FUTURE OF THE PERFORMING ARTS IN L.A.

INTERVIEW: LATINO THEATER COMPANY

JOSÉ LUIS VALENZUELA

Artistic Director

BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO

Now almost a year into the ongoing pandemic our fond memories of live entertainment seem to be waning—and too much so for my liking. Just like that rare blue moon we saw this Halloween, the ancient ritual of live theatre is now deemed rare and magical—an artifact of the “before times”. Even so, if we take a moment and tune out the din of social media, the news, our own inner anxieties and frustrations, I know we can recall, maybe even find hope in, our memories from the “before times”. The feeling of eagerly sitting in a full theatre as the lights begin to dim. The sound of an orchestra tuning moments before they play a majestic downbeat. The smell of popcorn wafting around a movie theatre like tasty electricity. The restless anticipation of waiting in the wings before making your first entrance on stage. The sound of applause that roars in a venue like thunder that means no harm. You see these memories are not dreams—they were real. And whenever these memories start to get fuzzy all we need to do is take the time to summon them, thus reminding ourselves that they will return.

In the spirit of looking forward, what’s next for live entertainment? Broadway has announced its return for June 2021—well what about L.A. and the rest of the world? When will we be able to appreciate the performing arts in person again? That date remains to be seen. Accordingly, what have performing arts organization been doing since the shutdown? How has this impacted them both now and in the future? In the next couple of weeks, I will be publishing interviews with artistic directors of various performing arts organizations in L.A. and they will answer these questions and many more. In this Tin Pan L.A. exclusive José Luis Valenzuela, Artistic Directors of the Latino Theater Company, tells us about the future of theatre for his organization and the steps they are taking to keep it alive.  

What was your fondest memory of live theatre by your organization before the pandemic? 

My fondest memory of theater right before the pandemic was the hustle and bustle of the theater. We had just come off of a very successful community college Fall tour of “La Victima” and we were finishing up rehearsal for a Spring tour; we had also completed our casting for “Just Like Us” by Karen Zacarias, which we were planning on producing in the Spring season; and IAMA Theatre Company was performing their first musical “Found” in one of our spaces. Our Spring Season was about to take off and our theater was alive and full of people creating. I miss that.

How has the COVID pandemic impacted your organization and its current programming?

COVID has had a tremendous impact on our organization. From working remotely to learning new technical skills, the staff has had to quickly adapt to a new theatrical environment. All our programming went digital as well. Instead of live theater, we ended up producing the works virtually and live streaming them via social media platforms. We also streamed some of our archival material from previous productions and hosted live panels with artists, designers, and playwrights from our past works.

How can audience communities best support its theatre companies during and after this pandemic? 

One of the most important things is that audiences stay engaged with us through digital platforms, and then increase their participation once theaters are allowed to open again. For our part, we need to create content that really speaks to the current social unrest within the country and facilitates dialogue between the company and the community we serve so that we promote communication and healing. Also, we appreciate any donations people can make at this time as this will help us stay afloat since our digital programming is free and we are not generating any revenue like we normally would from ticket sales

Since your organization accepts/develops new theatre works (plays and musicals), what type of work is your company looking for to best serve the city’s diverse performers, and audiences while upholding your company’s mission?

We normally hold a festival during the summer by which we identify new works from up-and-coming playwrights that we then decide to produce on the mainstage for the Fall and Spring Seasons. Instead, next year, we are planning on digitally producing one of these new works every month. The LTC is always looking for plays from diverse writers and performers that speaks to the current concerns within our communities.

Is virtual theatre a tool that is more of the moment or will it stick around for a while? Is this something your organization is utilizing? If so, what are some of its advantages and disadvantages?

I think virtual theater will definitely stay with us for much longer that we had originally anticipated. The advantage of this is that we are able to reach and engage a much wider audience with our virtual programming. And although acquiring these new technological skills to produce virtual content along with all the new research and marketing ideas it entails can initially pose short term difficulties, we hope that in the long run it becomes a strength as the company becomes more and more adaptable to the ever changing theatrical landscape. The biggest disadvantage is working in uncharted territory without a lot of financial support and resources.

What kind of work and activities is your theatre company doing right now to keep theatre alive?

One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that it has given the company an opportunity for self reflection. We have been focusing on our 5-year strategic plan, a succession plan, and programming for the upcoming year. We have also taken this time to engage our staff on a deeper level and create more dialogue around the work that we want to produce. We are also researching what new technology is available to us so that we can bring our work to the community.  

OTHER LOOKING FORWARD INTERVIEWS:

PAUL WONG, Member the Committee of Artistic Directors, Musical Theatre Guild

JULIE BERSANI & MALCOLM BARRETT, Co-Artistic Directors Ammunition Theatre Company 

caryn desai, Artistic Director/Producer of International City Theatre

Armina LaManna, Founding Artistic Director Imagine Theatre

Doug Haverty Artistic Director The Group Rep