 Hi everyone. Welcome. Bienvenides. My name is Jacqueline Flores. My pronouns are she, her, ella, and I'm the producer for the Latinx Theater Commons. Tonight we have Lavender Sumier and Selena Flowers from Pro Bono ASL who are providing ASL interpretation and National Captioning Institute is providing the live human written captions. If you would like to comment there is a web chat next to the live video player. I am zooming in from the land of the Nakata tank whose descendants belong to the Piscataway people, colonially known as Washington, D.C. Adrienne Wong of SpiderWebShow has created the following digital acknowledgement I'd like to share with you all. Since our discussion today is shared digitally to the internet, let's also take a moment to consider the legacy of colonization embedded within the technology structures and ways of thinking we use every day. We are using equipment in a high speed internet not available in many indigenous communities. Even the technologies that are central to much of the art we make leave significant carbon footprints contributing to changing climates that disproportionately affect indigenous people worldwide. I invite you to join us in acknowledging all of this as well as our shared responsibility to make good of this time and for each of us to consider our roles in reconciliation, decolonization, and allyship. The Latinx Theater Commons is a national movement that uses a commons-based approach to transform the narrative of the American theater to amplify the visibility of Latinx performance making and to champion equity through advocacy, art making, convening, and scholarship. It brings me great joy to host a conversation between the Diane 2022 and 2023 awardees moderated by Chantal Rodriguez with an introduction by Jose Delgado. The Diane Rodriguez Deathly Style Award known as the Diane is a Latinx Theater Commons first award dedicated to an individual working in the theater field who is committed to increasing Latinx representation across disciplines. With this award the LTC aims to continue the legacy of Diane Rodriguez an award-winning multi-hyphenate theater artist who tirelessly advocated for other artists and open doors for future leaders in the field. After studying theater at UC Santa Barbara Diane became a leading actress for 10 seasons with the groundbreaking theater company El Teatro Campesino, the farm workers theater where Luis Valdez was founder and artistic director. Rodriguez also was a co-founder of the comedy troupe Latinx Anonymous. She worked at center theater group for 24 years as associate artistic director at CTG. She oversaw the production of new plays and developed the work of more than 75 artists, playwrights, and companies. In recent years she also wrote and directed play centering strong latinas. Rodriguez also wrote and consulted on scripts for Mattel's live Barbie productions including Barbie Live and she was a consultant on the animated Disney series Elena of Avalor about a Latina princess. The inaugural award recipient was unanimously selected in the summer of 2022 by a group of seven nominators myself Amelia Costa-Powell and García Romero, Lisa Cortes, José Luis Valenzuela, Abigail Vega, and Karen Zacarias. This year's awardee was selected from nominations made by peers and colleagues throughout the field. All the nominations were reviewed and the awardee was selected by an appointed committee. With this approach we aim to amplify Diane's spirit of generosity and her commitment to empowering fellow artists throughout her remarkable career. Diane Rodriguez served on the LTC's advisory committee for six years. The 2023 Diane selection committee included inaugural recipient Patricia García, Diane's husband José Delgado, Santa Rodriguez, Jackie Segui, and Eric Schwartz. Thank you so much to everyone who made a nomination into the committee for their incredible work. Thank you also to those who have donated to the LTC. This award is made possible because of your support. The Diane is fully funded through our individual giving contributions and if you'd like to make a donation you can go to bit.ly slash support the LTC which will also show up in the chat where you're watching this. So now it's my pleasure to introduce José Delgado, Diane's husband who has been involved in the process since the idea was formed and it's been an honor to get to know Diane more through your eyes. José has 50 years of experience in theater and artist management as a general manager, tour manager, administrator, producer, and business manager. He was a member of El Tadro Campesino and currently sits on their board of directors. He also served seven years on the Cornerstone Theater Company board of directors, six of those as a chair. He was a producing director of the Ohio Playwrights Conference for 10 years and has been on their board of directors since 2011. And as the owner of Playwrights Management, he manages Mariachi Sol de Mexico and Mariachi Reynas de Los Angeles. JD, thank you. Well, thank you, Jacqueline. You make me sound ancient. Well, you know, I'm thrilled to have been part of the Diane board of directors, the Atarista Award Selection Committee and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Latinx Theater Commons for creating this award and for the time and dedication that it takes to raise the funds and tend to the matters of soliciting nominations, gathering information, scheduling Zoom meetings, etc. I have to say that the process was thorough and thoughtful and Diane would have been thrilled to have been to have seen the response in the field and the roster of nominees. They ranged from new artists, mid-career and legacy artists. And I know she knew a good number of the nominees and if she were still with us today would have reached out to befriend the new faces. It may be happy to be introduced to a whole new generation of Latinx Theater artists. The field is healthy and thriving. The committee members were very kind to me because I am patient because I'd often digress and talk about just little stories and anecdotes about Diane. And I might have digressed too much with stories about Diane and her career, but permit me to digress just a bit with a couple of other newer stories which the committee members have not heard. Now, I've already given Patricia a license to give me the signal to stop if I go on too long. Diane had a number of mentors in her career and they included Professor Jorge Huerta, Luis Valdez, Philip Himberg, Director Lisa Peterson, Olga Garay-English, just to name a field. Professor Huerta introduced Diane to Luis and the Teatro Campesino. At the time, Jorge was at UC Santa Barbara and as a student Diane was discouraged actually from pursuing a career in the theater by more than one of her professors. I'm sure that many of you might have gone through a similar experience. She applied to CalArts after graduating from UC Santa Barbara to go to the graduate school and knew that her other option was to join the Teatro Campesino if she was not admitted. Well, she was not admitted and she joined the Teatro and remained a part of the company where she thrived. Years later, the School of Theater Arts at CalArts was conducting a search for a new dean. She was approached by a member of the search committee to know if she might be interested in applying. She respectfully declined. We did a lot of touring when we were in the theater. We drove these two huge outfitted Dodge Cargo Vans and Diane learned to drive them like a champ. I'm sure many of you could never envision seeing Diane behind the wheel of a huge Dodge Cargo Van. But anyway, she would often say that driving those vans while on the road taught her how to be a leader, especially when she was driving the lead van. And you know, we take turns. It trained her, she said, to make sure that the second van was following close behind. If it didn't make a light, she would pull over and wait until it caught up. She learned that part of the responsibility of the leader is to make sure that the others were following. Now these were her words, okay? Now she would say that driving those vans also taught her how to be a follower, which was equally as hard, but just as important. And that leadership was about knowing when to follow and when to lead. That the ultimate goal was to make sure that everyone was moving forward together. Diane was always a bit of an outsider. That's what she considered of herself to be. And she reflected in a notebook how this was true. And I'll end by quoting her, okay? For many years, I considered my greatest strength was due to the fact that I was an outsider working on the inside. I'm on the artistic staff of one of the largest theaters in the country. And I like not being part of the status quo. I basked in it. And then I became president of the TCG board, which is the largest service organization for professional theaters in the country. And then the White House called one day in May of 2014. They call with the idea of a nomination from President Obama to the National Council of the Arts. It took eight months to be vetted. The years as an outsider came to an end when the nomination was announced on January 10, 2015. Now, I have to admit I kind of mourn the loss. It's cool being a renegade to be under the radar. It was comfortable. And you know, it's easy being comfortable than having to actually redirect yourself, right? Change is hard. And I had to open the window to my crazy mind and let the Pacific air flow through. The most comforting idea to me is that you will never be alone if you take care of your family, your community, your land. When your children move away after all and have children of their own, you will not be alone. The community you give to will give back and the generosity of spirit with which you led your life will fulfill you throughout. It's now my great pleasure to introduce this little clip, which the committee has selected from a group that Diane was one of the co-founders of Latin's Anonymous as was described earlier by Jacqueline. And just to give you, to contextualize it just a little bit, this original ensemble, which was made up of Luisa Lixin, Rick Nakada and Armando Molina, met each other actually at a cattle call audition. And so they started talking and they realized that they were all fighting the same struggle. They were all being called off for the same stereotype, typical roles. This is in like the late 80s. And so they got this group together. Luisa Lixin was always working, but she was an aspiring TV writer. She's now a showrunner, I believe for Netflix and some Netflix, some of the network shows. Rick Nakada is a producer and he's done quite well for himself. Armando Molina runs as the artistic director for a company of angels. And then of course there was Diane. That was the original class. But this clip was something that they did, well, maybe about 15 years ago, well, 20 years ago. And it may not include Rick. It may include Chris Franco in Rick Nakada's place because Rick went off after about four, five years. And Chris, who's now a comedy writer, may have been in this role. So let's take it away. It's almost show time. The La La La Awards. Do we have to have a meeting now? Yes, we do. My name's Armando. Hi, Armando. And I admit I'm a Latin. Hi, my name is Diane. Hi, Diane. And I'm a recovering Chicana. Hi, I'm Chris Franco. Chris, it's anonymous. Oh. Hi, I'm Chris. And I admit I'm a sensitive man trapped in a macho body. Nicolette? Oh, no, no, no, no. I am no longer Nicolette Sauvignon Blanc. From now on, you can call me Luisa Josefina Gomez. The program really works. All right. That's fantastic. Okay, breakthrough. All right. I'm in. It sure beat watching hard copy. It's the only family entertainment we could afford. Yes, we looted. We saw all the mundo playing supermarket sweep. And I worked 27 hours a day. We deserve a break today. So I broke a window. I rented a man. I leased a store log, cleared an entire Levitt warehouse. I loved it at Levitt. We had a ball. It was the best day of my rotten life. Oh, hangilless, will you ever forgive us? Hente, there you have it. The decadent sexual practice is the cause of the LA riots. Take him away. Please welcome a woman whose lips know no rest, the irrepressible Churro. Thank you. Thank you, Jose, for those words and for introducing that wonderful and hilarious clip. I won't keep you all waiting much longer to meet our awardees. Today's conversation is moderated by Chantal Rodriguez, who is a mentee of Dianne's and served on this year's selection committee. Chantal Rodriguez is the associate dean of the David Geffen School of Drama and associate artistic director of Yale Repertory Theater. She is also an associate professor adjunct in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism. Prior to joining the Yale community in 2016, she was a programming director and literary manager of the Latino Theater Company, operators of the Los Angeles Theater Center, a multi theater complex in downtown LA. At the LATC, she helped produce many seasons of culturally diverse work, including the historic Encuentro 2014 festival. She is a member of the Latinx Theater Commons Advisory Committee and the National Advisory Board for the 50 Playwrights Project. Chantal is a graduate of UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where she earned a PhD in Theater and Performance Studies in Santa Clara University, where she earned a BA in Theater and Spanish Studies. Chantal. Hi, everybody. Thank you, Jacqueline. It's really an honor to be here virtually with everyone and honoring the great Meramera Dianne Rodriguez. I want to give my thanks to Hal around, to the Latinx Theater Commons, and in particular to our guest tonight, our two awardees, who I'll introduce in just a moment and also just want to give a big shout out and a lot of thanks and love to JD. It's been an honor and a pleasure to spend time with you in this committee. And so I'm really thrilled to introduce you to our awardees. The 2022 awardee is Patricia Garza. They use they, them pronouns. They are the producer and director of programs at Los Angeles Performance Practice, supporting the production and presentation of contemporary performance. Prior to joining LAPP, they served as director of programs and engagement at the network of ensemble theaters. A former member of the artistic staff at Center Theater Group for over a decade, Patricia filled roles spanning artistic and new play development, education, and community engagement in partnerships and programming. They had the honor of working alongside Dianne for over 60 years, and together they engage world-renowned international and local companies on multi-year projects focused on collective and ensemble creation. Patricia also works passionately with other creative professionals nationally on issues surrounding anti-racism and collective liberation. They have an MFA and MBA in theater management from Cal State Long Beach and a BA in English with a minor in theater studies from UC Berkeley. And so I invite you to join me in welcoming Patricia to the virtual stage, and I'm going to introduce the 2023 awardee, Adriana Gavidia. Adriana is an actress, voiceover artist, writer, director, advocate, and creative producer. She is founding member and co-artistic producer of The Soul Project and lead producer for SoulFest. She serves on the advisory boards of 50 Playwrights Projects and Florida International University Theater Alumni, the executive team of Parent Artist Advocacy League, and she's on the steering committee for the Latinx Theater Commons. Adriana has performed as an actor at regional theaters across the nation, and she's also appeared in a variety of commercials as well as television and film. She's an award-winning artist who received her BFA from Florida International University and her MFA from the Yale School of Drama, which makes me doubly excited to welcome her to the virtual stage. Please join us. Welcome, Patricia and Adriana. It's such a joy to be here moderating this conversation between the two of you. I'm personally friends with you both, and it makes me really thrilled to share space and to just have this rich conversation today. It's so wonderful to celebrate Diane's legacy and spirit today, and the award is such a great way to honor her legacy and ongoing legacy in our field. So first, I would just love to invite you. Can you each share a little bit about what being a recipient of the Diane means to you? And maybe, Patricia, we can start with you since you're the inaugural recipient. Sure. Yeah, thank you, Chantal, for that wonderful introduction and JD for really framing our Diane's legacy and Jacqueline for the bio that can never be long enough. I mean, my Diane did it all. Y'all, this is so exciting. Just congratulations to Adriana, and I'm so honored to share space with you and Chantal, a good friend of mine today. And I think for me, I'll just tell a funny story. So Karen Zacarias tried to get a hold of me for like weeks to tell me about this award, and I can be like, ah, like voicemail because I was sick with COVID at the time. And so thank you, Karen, for your tenacity. But when I heard I was literally like in IPJs like covered with daycloth. And I really didn't believe it, you know, because JD really keeps secrets from me. And I didn't know this was happening. So I was pretty surprised. We had been talking about a legacy award for Diane for a number, you know, since she passed, we were like, we need to do something. The community needs to come together. We need to honor her legacy. And, you know, just for whatever reason, and never nothing really stuck through our conversations. And so the fact that this all happened, and I didn't know about it, and I was surprised by it, it just meant so much to me. I think I probably wept from the medicine and also from the shock, but also just Diane was a dear friend, a colleague, an inspiration, a mentor. And so for me to even be associated with her legacy in any way just meant so much to me personally as a theater professional, as a performance maker, but also as a friend. You know, I think, you know, as we were moving through her life, you know, towards the end of her life, she just had these really moments of clarity. And she would like shout out orders to like think she wanted to get done still. She's like, don't forget to do look into this. Because that's how Diane is, you know, always looking towards the future, always looking towards, you know, the legacy of her community. And so I just really felt inspired to continue that work before the award and then now particularly after the award, really thinking about what does it mean to have to be the Diane awardee and what does it mean to carry forward her legacy in all things. And so I'm constantly evoking her. I'm constantly asking her for support and guidance in my life. And she's she's here. This is her photo that was here. And I have her on my my atar. And, and I just feel like her presence is always going to be with me. And now to see it being shared with a larger community just means even more to me. So I'll pass to Adriana. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, Chantale, JD and LTC. I think what they say I think you started at a trend because because I was also it was in the morning to and not, you know, right, like not ready. Also caught by surprise. And when Jacqueline and Chantale told me definitely ugly cry, ugly cry, and completely in shock and also so meaningful on top of that because because it was from Chantale and Jacqueline who was relaying that information. And, and just to be, yes, I was it was it was a huge it was a huge moment. It meant a lot to me. You know, Diane, I did not have the fortune of working with her as long as you did or or knowing her as long as you did. But the moments and the interactions that I did have with her really, really motivated me to be a better artist to be a better person. Really inspired me. I was a soul in all of everything that she did. And she was such a close friend to a lot of people that are really close to me. So that's like, you know, it's family. And it was it wasn't it still is very special. And sometimes I I it's unbelievable, right? Because sometimes you, you know, you you do something you don't know if it's making an impact or a difference. And when I would see Diane, I would see what, you know, what a difference she was making and what an impact she was making. And I just looked up to her so much. And I, I was I was just an awe of Diane. So it meant a lot to it means a lot to me. Thank you both. Yes, I can attest that, you know, we surprised Adriana, we had to fight, we concocted a reason why we needed to talk to her. So we could so we could surprise her with the information. But it was so joyful. And in fact, this whole process of being on the selection committee has been so joyful. And we'd like to continue the tradition where the awardee then serves on the committee the following year. And it's just such a way of connecting the dots. As Adriana mentioned, even if someone didn't know Diane directly or work with her directly, sort of the degree of separation was probably like one person in terms of, you know, the impact that she had in the field. And not just within Latina Latina next theater, right, she was a force in the American theater and also on the global stage. And as a presenter, producer, I mean, she was still committed to such an expansive understanding of the arts and such a rigorous approach to art making that it's only fitting that two artists and administrators and multi hyphenate folks such as yourselves are the first two recipients. And so one of the things that Diane was so passionate about as she was a really like a staunch advocate, right, for equity and inclusion, wanting to make sure that our spaces, you know, she really broke barriers and then held the door open for those of us coming behind, right? And she like, you know, cracked open a window for folks to climb it. I mean, she was always about trying to support folks in not only getting into organizations and but changing them, right, to be a better, more inclusive spaces to make really rigorous and risk taking art. So I'd love to know, you know, I know that both of you have dedicated your careers to advocating for artists in various ways. And for instance, Adriana, one of the things that was so impressive about the nominations for you was not only your advocacy in the Latina theater artists, but specifically for parents, right, working with pal. And so I wondered if you could talk to us a little bit about what advocacy means to you in the field and how you see your work in a continuum that not only connected to Diane's legacy, but but to those artist activists that have come before. Yes, definitely. I always go back to and I will say this for the rest of my life that the 2014 Encuentro for me was life changing. That's where I met Diane. That's where I met probably where I met Patricia. I met so many people during Encuentro and it made me think of things very differently. Up to that point, I had done the typical, not the typical, but a usual trajectory where you go to graduate school. I graduated as a performer. You audition for roles. There's not enough roles. You're frustrated. And that's what I was doing. I was auditioning for roles. And for me, the Encuentro allowed me to see other theater makers who were multi-hyphenated, who were doing their own material, who were changing things, who were doing a lot of advocacy. And at the same time, balancing their work life, right? Having a work life balance, which is something that I've always aspired to. So when I saw it firsthand as an example, I was like, this is amazing. And so that's what started everything for me. I went back to New York with that fire in me to not to really own the responsibility that I had as an artist to make things better, to create change. And that's when, and David was another artistic fellow at Encuentro. So David introduced me to Jacob and that started those conversations with The Soul Project around that time. Again, it was this whole family work, balancing both. That was always something that was a huge interest for me. And a couple years later, I met Rachel, who was also feeling similar struggles. And we started partnering, and we started, I mean, she was doing her thing. There were a couple of groups that were doing things overseas that I was also inspired about in Ireland and in London, who were really addressing the issues that artists were having, you know, trying to balance both having your family and also having a career. And so we started little by little, just having panels and going to having just opening the conversation, doing things virtually. It's a passion that I have talking about that, especially fertility and reproductive care, parent, artist, caregivers, so not only parents, but also as you take care of your of your aging relatives and aging family members. I think that that all needs support as you go through this, you know, as you go through your career, which has not been present in the past. And so all of this started because of Encuentro, because I felt a responsibility as an artist to make things better. And specifically, Diane, just seeing her do all these things in many capacities. Thank you. That's so beautiful. And I just want to shout out to the artistic director of the Latino Theater Company, who runs the LATC. And I'm really proud that we're doing this today as well, when they've just announced that the Latino Theater Company is working on, you know, supporting a multimillion dollar granting award for Latino Theater Company. And so I see sort of, you know, I see Diane's legacy in her contemporaries, and and in folks and leaders that have these shared values. And another leader I think of when I think of Patricia and our time together is also Carmen Morgan, the amazing arts advocate community organizer and just brilliant mind. And Patricia, I know you've done a lot of work with art equity as an example and sort of anti-racism work. And I wondered if you could speak about that advocacy work in the field and how you see it connected to your work with Diane. I know that together at Center Theater Group, for example, the two of you were really working to make change. And I just love to hear how you've taken sort of that inspiration and that collaboration with Diane and out into all of your different roles in the field now. Yeah. First, I just want to uplift what Adriana is saying about parent, guardian, caretaker support is just so needed in our field. There's not enough people funding it. There's not enough people building programming to, you know, accommodate. So that's just something I'm super passionate about and something that I'm really putting in some practices at my current organization that's building off the legacy of the founder there, Miranda Wright. Because, you know, we have so many incredible artists that have left the field, you know, because we're not making space for them. So anyway, I just wanted to applaud that work and lift that up. Yeah. I mean, I've been so blessed, you know, Diane. Diane is instrumental in all of my major decisions as long as a couple other key mentors from Center Theater Group, Leslie Johnson, you know, who really advocated me for me in education and community partnerships. And then I moved over to Diane to work with Diane. And I mean, I don't think it's a surprise that CTG is a predominantly white institution, still is. And I think, you know, when you move through those spaces, you look for those friends, you look for those lifelines. And Diane had this little game, right? Like, you know, if somebody knew a color came in, hey, hey, did you see that person? We would like run, you know, the four of us would run to their office and be like, let's go to lunch. We have lots to talk about. And the strategy, I think that what our equity is about, it's really about putting practices in place, tools and strategies, because we cannot do this alone. One, two, we need to know real, you know, real practical strategies, community organizing strategies that obviously Diane had in, you know, ingrained in her from the theatrical and also just who she is. So I learned by watching, but I also learned by taking trainings, you know, I highly recommend, you know, in the Latinate community, we all need anti-blackness training. We all need to educate ourselves, to continually educate ourselves and grow and expand and excavate our racial identity as it relates to a larger, you know, societal conversation. And so I was very fortunate to be part of the first group that started, you know, Black Indigenous people of color surviving predominantly white institutions, which was a series that actually started right after Diane passed. And I remember being so in such an emotional state from some of the advocacy work I was doing in the larger field at that time in the wake of George Floyd's murder that I didn't know if I could do it. And then I, you know, I called on my ancestors, I called on Diane and she was like, you better do it because we need to advocate for that kind of collective strategy. And so I think that's also part of what I am putting into practice with our equity is really about, yes, facilitating conversations, opening space for people to have brave and safe conversations about these type of things, but also to say, you actually don't need to be in a space that's harmful. You actually don't need to be in a space that is actively causing harm, you know, and actively not working on bettering themselves. And so and that was something I had, you know, a lesson I had to learn the hard way. And also I think what I will say also about access is this idea that JD was talking about following and leading. So when I had Diane with me, I can say I followed her for the most part. I mean, yes, we strategize, we whispered, we had our really hideous couch that everybody sat on that was broken. And we had our little strategy sessions there. But when she was left center theater group, you know, before she passed and then after, I had to move into a leadership space because it was a void. And I think she knew that, I knew that folks around us knew that. And I think it was something that I still am very proud that I did. And I am continuing to say, okay, what where is my voice needed? And where can I still follow? You know, so I think it's both end. And I think I also need to just it was a lesson that I had to learn where actually I can offer something into the conversation. I don't always have to follow. But then there's times where maybe I do need to follow and and introduce a new voice and introduce a new generation as well into into these jobs into these conversations. So I continue to work with our equity. I think they're an amazing resource. We also have a black indigenous people of color leadership circle that is going on the next cycle soon. And I highly recommend folks if you are in a leadership position at a white institution, a culturally specific institution, and you just need that support, Chantal was a fellow. And we just want to provide support strategy, a network. That's another program that I highly recommend folks check out that I'm on the facilitation team for as well. Thanks so much. It's so beautiful to hear you both sort of talk about your careers and just how sort of rich and diverse that your experiences have been on both coasts, right? And and I really it really warms my heart hearing how much connection happened at at the Encuentro in 2014 and knowing that sort of every festival or every sort of coming together where artists are at like it's just there are these magical moments and places where we plan to seed that bloom sort of later and connections with one another. And so I'm also noting that we're talking many of both of you have used the term right Diane is and because for she's still so present for for all of us and in the field. And I just I really it's it's a better world, you know, acknowledging that her spirit is still with us. It's just in a different plane, you know, it's helpful, I think with the grief, but also we can see it in each other's work in each other's faces. And I think she would be so proud of both of you and so proud to know that that we're working to acknowledge artists in our field. And in particular, you know, one of the things that Diane was so passionate about, as we saw in this great clip from Latin synonymous, was really acknowledging what the industry is like and what the field is like for Chicanos, Latinos, right, Latina, Latinx communities, the terminology has changed and we've gotten more nuanced about our identities and how we talk about them. But I think Diane's work shows how some of these issues have not changed, right? It's the clip that we saw was so funny because sadly, many of those stereotypes still exist. And so, you know, I'm interested if you could both talk a little bit about your work in particular with the Latina, Latinx community. And, and so for instance, Adriana, you know, your work with the Soul Project has been fantastic. And the Soul Project also is connected to Diane by the work of Jacob Adron, right, another one of her mentees. And so could you talk to us a little bit about your work with the Soul Project and how you see it connected to the impulse to really support diverse Latinx representation and visibility in the performing arts? Yes. So the Soul Project is a collective, right? And so we, we have long conversations about this. And when, when there are opportunities to partner with a theater, especially when they're primarily an institution, you know, we do have to have very hard and, and long conversations on whether this is a theater we want to partner with. Is this a one time thing? Because we ask a lot of from our partners, we hope that when we partner with a theater that this is not a one time thing, that this is, that this continues. And also selecting the play or selecting the playwright, what is, you know, what is it that we, what are we saying, right? What are the stories that we're putting on stage? It's so hard to get a play produced that we want to make sure that when we make those decisions, you know, they have, they have an effect, right? They have an impact. So it's definitely something that we don't take lightly. And it's really hard because there's so much work, right? There's so much great work that needs to get produced. And as, you know, the Soul Project is a very, it's a very small initiative. It's a, it's a small collective. And so sometimes it's so frustrating, right? Because we want to be able to open so many doors and be, and be able to, you know, we're constantly trying to think of like different avenues, you know, like with SoulFest, we do the New Play Festival during the summer, or like readings this year, or last year we started a writers retreat, like how can we take care of each other, right? How can we take care of the artists, but not just one time, you know, like longevity, right? Because we go through so many stages in our career, and we all have different needs. So it is, it is something that we don't take lightly, and we do, we're very intentional, we're really thoughtful about things. We don't always get things right. We always, you know, I'm always learning things, and I'm always real, you know, acknowledging like, oh, that didn't work. Can't do that again. And then there's moments where like, wow, that was really great, you know, how can, how can, how can we make that happen again? So, yeah. Thank you. Yeah, I wanted to build off that, you know, yeah, I love this idea of care, right? This idea of like community care, and yeah, Diane was always so great about like checking in, right? Like she would just call and be like, how are you doing? You know, how are you doing? We got to go to lunch. I haven't seen my wife, like she doesn't always want to go lunch with my wife, which I appreciate. And but I also think, like, and even I would be curious to hear your thoughts and Shantel, maybe you can chime in as well. I feel like it's that end also being dedicated to the practice, right? Like, as a collective and as the LTC and the work that she did with TCG and the NEA, it's also about accountability to one another as well. And I think that sometimes we don't do as good and we don't do as well in that part, right? Like, as a collective, we do rely on sometimes the singular leader or, you know, a few folks, right, to put in the, the labor. And I'm just curious about that because I know Diane was always teetering with that as well. And I think that's really something for us to consider since this is a commons, you know, based conversation that, you know, she had to carry a lot of that load, you know, for 24 years at CTG and also at TCG and also at NEA. And, you know, she had to be the one voice, you know, and how do we, with that community care lens, how do we also take care of like that, how hold each other accountable with grace and love, but also hold each other accountable. So I don't know, I'm just very curious what you thoughts are on that. Yeah, I, and I really appreciate your bringing this up because I remember being at a TCG conference with Diane, you know, we were just both there and, and I think we were doing like a leadership of color meeting and got very heated. There were, you know, there was, there were folks in the room that, you know, were maybe not supposed to be there. And Diane really sort of acknowledged the moment and shared her piece, right? And she was not necessarily in agreement with the majority of the group at the time, but she really owned her voice and, and used it right to, to speak her mind, but also from a place of love of like, if I love you, then I need to show, I need to share with you what is wrong or how I feel, like, you know, she was always so direct and honest about whether it was like giving theater notes, like the artistic notes, or if it was more like institutional feedback or receiving the feedback. I mean, I think in her role, she probably also received a lot of feedback, like critical harsh feedback regarding institutions that she represented and had to do so with a lot of grace and then take, take those notes on, right? So I think the burden onto the singular sort of leader is a model that we should move away from so that we're, we're holding each other, like you said, with care, but also holding each other accountable. And it's rare that you find someone who will, who will sort of tell you the truth at any, at any moment and give you that as a leader. And I wonder, Adriana, how you feel about this, especially working with a collective with this whole project. Yes. And, and even if you are in a collective, you know, I like what you say you said, sometimes, and it just happens, right? Because for whatever reason, sometimes the labor does fall, right, on, on a few, on a few folks. But I'm so glad that you brought that up because I have these conversations a lot with, with my PAL team. And we are all, we're all, we're all women. And so we love talking about this, because I feel like our experiences are, I don't know, they're just, we have shared experiences as, as artists, right, who identify as female and, and how we navigate spaces where maybe we might be the only woman in the room and how we're treated differently. So it's, it's, it's a great space for me to be able to have those conversations with them. And we talk a lot about also being caregivers, right, whether you're taking care of your parents or your grandparents, or you have kids. It's also another thing, right, another additional responsibility that one has. And how does one not burn out, right, because there's just so much coming at you. Feedback and criticism. And then also navigating, like I said, certain spaces. And so the summit that we're doing this December addresses that, right, how, how do we take care of ourselves? And having, you know, conversations about that, what are the tools that we need? And, and also how to show examples of spaces that do work. Right, because it's easy to talk about, okay, you know, this isn't work, but okay, how about, how about, how about this team or this collective, but they're doing a great job and like, those things are working. So how can we bring that into, into our, into our space. And we, we, we're living in a time, right, when it's easier to know what other people are doing, when we don't, we're not in a silo. Like, I love that we've had so many, we brought up so many people, we're East, West Coast, right. So in the past, it would be like, oh, you know, there's not a lot of conversations, you know, and now, you know, there is, it's just so much easier to know what's happening all over the world, not just in this country, and seeing like, oh, that's being done over there. Why, why, why are we accepting that the way things are here, you know, and asking for more stuff, demanding that, that, that the quality of life needs to be better. And so I am seeing, you know, things changing a little bit, bit by bit, but definitely care burnout, making sure to take breaks, and then having, you know, having people support you, you know, it's really, it's really hard. But you need to find a way to build that. And to have backup plans, you know, you want, you can't carry everything. And so hearing about the program that you were talking about, I was like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I didn't know the program existed. I love that. Because sometimes you just need to talk about it, and you need to talk about with other people. And then that way you can say like, oh, okay, great, how did you handle that? Wonderful. I, because I, I'm, I'm constantly learning. Diane was so direct and so good at just saying the way it is. And I, I'm still, I'm still not there. You know, I've had to learn. I think I'm a more, I'm a, I'm a great listener. But sometimes I don't know how to, I don't know how to say things, you know, and like, I don't have the vocabulary. And so hearing Chantel, hearing you, like, I'm always learning. And that's, that's what it's about, right, learning from each other. I think that that's one of the things the mentor-mentee relationship is something that has been missing, at least when I started out. And I think that we're slowly, each year, starting to build that. Yeah, that's really beautiful. And I think the mentor-mentee relationship that, that Diane had with others, and I, and I think the relationship in particular with Patricia was, it seemed like, you know, you had an intergenerational sort of mentor-mentee relationship where there might have been some slippage, because I assume that Diane learned a lot from, you know, maybe sometimes you were the mentor to her in terms of accessing or thinking about different kinds of art, or, you know, we're just from different generations. And so I, I have a, you know, a couple gems from Diane that I hold onto, and I'd love to know, Patricia, like, are there any gems of wisdom or a joke or some, like a phrase or something that sort of, it becomes an anchor in your work when you think about Diane, or just wondering, you know, any little gems from your time with Diane that have become an anchor as you, as you go through your career? Oh my gosh, I mean, where, where is my novel? You know, I mean, we needed a Diane novel, of course. There's too many to count. But one in particular, I've come back to this piece of writing of hers several times, and, and it was for the World Theater Day. It was like a speech she wrote for World Theater Day. And I've quoted this, and then, you know, once with the current organization I'm in, you know, there's a lot of talk about vision. I mean, what's the vision? What's the vision? What's the vision? And, you know, I believe vision is collective, and I also think vision is something that grows and is informed right through an iterative process. And it can't be, again, going back, it can't be one singular person saying, this is my vision. And then, you know, I'm not trying to discount, you know, titles and such, but I've never really been interested in that game and agree to disagree. You know, I've had some criticism around that from friends and, you know, family. But for the most part, that's just my thing. But something, I was sitting down with the current organization LAPP and I was like, okay, what is like something about Diane that has really inspired me? And with that World Theater Day speech, she talks about this idea of the non-commercial practices of theater and how we often, you know, confine ourselves into a container, right, of budgets, ticket sales. And not to say those things are not important. Of course they are. You have to keep those numbers around. But the fact that they really rule us on and off stage and that we're really obsessed, she says the word obsession, which I think is really powerful, with tickets. We're really obsessed with money. But we're not obsessed with this thought of our community, right, that we actually can activate the community around us as creators, this idea of community as creators. And that to me has been my guiding principle, you know, and again, it can cross aesthetics. It can cross. And we're not talking about, you know, community theater in the traditional, it's talking about the expansive definition of community theater and how we need to activate that creativity in everyone. And it's not just about the passive ticket buyer. It's about our art form, our actual practice, being in conversation and in community with those who want to see it, who want to be in it, who want to create it alongside you. And yes, some of those will be ticket buyers, absolutely. But they're still need to be engaged with as creative beings. And so I think for me, that's really been the gem from that speech that has carried all of my vision, if you will, for anything I do. And so I really, that's my practice. I'm always listen to Adriana's point, listening, learning, and iteratively designing with folks and not for folks. That's something that I think she has always taught me for sure. That's wonderful. And other than that, I know that, you know, you perhaps didn't have a mentor, mentee relationship, but you've certainly been very close to a lot of folks that have worked directly related to Diane and even at a slight distance, you know, that she was a large figure in the theater. And so I wonder, are there any sort of, you know, mentorship gems that you've heard in your career or that you use as an anchor as well, that you find relate to these themes that we're talking about this evening or afternoon? Yes, definitely. I know for Jacob, I know for Jacob, Diane was a huge part of, for the Soul Project, I know she was very proud of Jacob and in this initiative. So it was very special for us to acknowledge Diane when we received the overseas this year. You know, she, there are so many, there are so many moments, just from a distance from seeing her across the room, that really just landed with me. Just it was strong presence, commanding, but also so generous. There's been so many of my friends who, and I was actually encouraged to contact Diane because I was looking for like a mentor, mentee relationship. But I was a little bit shy. And I was afraid to reach out. Because sometimes, you know, when you're starting out in your dream, that's how you feel. But I had a lot of friends that did reach out and she opened her home, you know, and she took them under their wing. And so I learned through them. And so, and then something else that that I was thinking a lot about, while both of you were talking about this, when I did the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Leadership Program, I had never, no one had ever talked about, as an artist, you never think of yourself as an organization, you know, or as like a, you know, and so a lot of the participants were both artists and also institutions or companies. And so when we were looking at mission statements, and all those things, I was like, what does that apply to us? And that was when, for me, it was like, wow, as an artist, you do have to have a mission statement for yourself. You do have to have a guiding star. So having a North Star for yourself as an artist, that way, you can always check in with yourself and see if you have steered away. It's always, you know, it's okay to check in and seeing if things change or your priorities change. But having that, and that is something that I saw with Diane and with the Latino Theater Company, making your own art, making your own art and building your own community. I even see that with, you know, Pregonas and Puerto Rican Travelling Theater, when I go see their shows and the audiences, it's not about like how you said tickets and shows and all that stuff. No, it's about la comunidad, you know, and that's something that I have witnessed. And I understand now that I didn't understand before, because when I graduated from Yale, it was you graduate, you work regional theater, I was working regional theater, that was what I knew. So I didn't know this. And so that's why it was so wide opening for me. Thank you. That's really beautiful. So, you know, I want to take us in another direction and watch a little some more of Diane's work. You know, for so many of us, Diane continues to loom large as a transformative leader, which she certainly is and continues to be with her legacy. And it's a source of pride for us that she was not only a multi-hyphenated artist and administrator, but in addition to co-founding Latin's anonymous, as JD mentioned, she also worked with the most notable Chicano theater collectives in the field. So naming only two as D'Astro Campesino, as we've said, but also doing a lot of work with Culture Clash in their early years, as well as very recently before her passing, having directed at Pasadena Playhouse, their work. And so I would just love for us to look at Diane's comedic acting together and share some reflections. This is a clip from Culture Clash's television show, Culture Clash, I believe had the first Chicano sketch comedy show on television in the 90s. And so we're going to watch a clip called Cholo in the Well. So I'm going to ask my colleagues at HowlRound to please cue us up. This is Baboso reporting for CCN. From a vacant lot here in East Los Angeles, Borat Cholo is trapped in an abandoned well. Excuse me, sir. Can you shed some light on the dramatic chain of events that led to this tragic incident? Go and get me out of here. Yes. It's your mother. I brought you the newest edition of Lowrider Magazine and your favorite pajamas, the ones with the little feet. We have here what appears to be the mother. This must be very tragic for you. Actually, no. It's really quiet around the house I'm trapped in this horrible home. My name is Matt Dodd. You're making me look like a pug. Man, who said something about the Goldie Hawn could play me in the TV movie? I'll touch up my root. I just saw you on TV. Oh, I have something for your son. A very touching moment here. As a total stranger here comes here to lend his support. All right. Thank you so much to our friends at HowlRound. I'm going to invite Patricia and Adriana to come back onto the screen. I think we need somebody from HowlRound to activate. Okay. Can we get some tech support to get our fabulous... There we go. Great. Thank you. So welcome back. You know, it's so funny because this video is from the 90s and the 90s are not 10 years ago anymore, as I always think that they are. But I wondered what reflection do you have sort of looking at this now? And in particular sort of reflecting on Diane as a comedic actress, you know, just what is coming up for you in viewing that piece now? Yeah. I mean, I mean, first of all, just again, brilliant comedian, physical actress. I mean, for me, you know, what's so important about clips like this and Latin's anonymous and having the archives, you know, and Chantal obviously wrote a beautiful book archiving Diane's Latina Theater Initiative time as well. This idea of capturing the political nature of comedy and the way that satire can be utilized through and kind of penetrate, you know, our conversations today. And so that's really Diane and Culture Clash and her colleagues and her peers. This is really the nature of their work. And to your point about collaboration, kind of secondarily, but still equally important, I mean, they have worked together, you know, Richard and Herbert and Rick and Diane for years, you know, and it's always about, you know, just like any friendship, you know, ups, downs, maybe they take some time apart, what have you, but we, they know that we are anchored together, right? We're tethered together through a community. And so I think seeing her in their TV show and also directing their plays and, you know, doing things to end her, you know, we commissioned Richard and Roger Gwendover Smith when I was working with her. So it's like it always is very cyclical in nature. And I feel like that's also part of it too, is that not only is she anchoring her artistic practice in politics and specifically comedy and physical acting, but also this idea of always kind of coming back to your roots, always coming back to like lifting your community up. And I just love seeing them crossing all the time. But I can never get enough of this clip. I think it's really it. I had never seen this clip before and I absolutely loved it. She's, she's just so funny, you know, comedy is hard. Comedy, not everyone can do comedy. And especially because, you know, as a performer, you do have to have that vulnerability and you have to have that genuineness and that honesty and she's just so talented and so funny. But at the same time, you know, I think that's something that we are missing today, you know, as a, if you're a performer, having a theater company that you work with each other and then you grow with each other and then the more and more shows you do with each other, you learn and you grow as an artist and then you find also your voice and what's important for you and what it is, what it is that you want to say. And I see that when I watch these clips, right? I see ensembles that have worked together, you know, and that continue to work together and, and, and grew with each other and made them and made each other better. You know, it's not always perfect, right? But having that is really great. And I wish we had more of that. Yeah. That's a really great point. You know, I had the privilege of working very closely for seven years with the Latino Theater Company. They're like my theater parents, my family. But, but there is a shorthand, right? And I think you can sort of see it in in the way that that Diane sort of is part of the culture clash ensemble there. And as a director, how she supported ensemble making and worked with artists that she built vocabularies with. And when I was reflecting on this clip just now, I remember a very, when I first met Diane, I was working on my PhD and she had donated her material to an archive in the Chicano Studies Research Center at UCLA. And I wanted to interview her, you know, for a publication. And I was very early in graduate school. And I came to interview her and I was very sort of, you know, and I thought I had all my thoughts together. And I asked her like very bluntly about if she could talk about, you know, the difficulties of being a woman in the Chicano theater movement. And I was, I was making all of these sort of feminist like assumptions. And Diane was a feminist like from, from her, you know, lived experience and the advocate she did. But she really taught me something that day because she gently held me accountable and gently, you know, offered to me to look at the, the campesinos work and to look at the early work and not sort of just assume that the women sort of, you know, didn't have access. But, but she taught me sort of how to find where the subversion was and where the strength was within sort of the time. And so in this case, I feel like this clip is so funny because not only is she like have like a total rubber face that, you know, she commits like that she was an actress who commits, which is so important. But also in this role, like this really satirical subversion of the long-suffering mother, right, which is a Chicano theater and performance media trope where mothers, right, you know, are only ever like suffering or in service. And then this reversal where she's like, well, it's actually quite, it's nice and quiet at home, you know, and like how they subvert and that the violence that the gun violence that is show, you know, we don't see anyone die. And in fact, the reversal that they actually survive. And, you know, how to find a deeper nuance in reading performance, especially through a cultural lens, and not to sort of make assumptions and really look for the ways that that the artists are making a commentary. It's something that I so appreciated. And how she did so quite gently, for me, was much appreciated. And so as we as we start to to wrap up one thing that I remember a story that I'll share as I was, as I was applying for the job here at Yale, I was very concerned not only about, you know, leaving Los Angeles, which was my home, or my family is, but also my theatrical home. And I asked Diane for support and advice in how to, you know, how to share with my with my, my other mentor, also at least read that I was going to need to leave. And she was super, super supportive. I got the job. And like, I don't know, a month after I had started the job, I was still super overwhelmed. She called me and she was like, so what's next for you? Diane, I just got here, like, can I take a moment? And she's like, you always need to be thinking about what's next. And I want to encourage you to do that. And then like a year later, I was called, I'm like, this is what's next. You know, and so like, I would love to, in honor of Diane, I would love to just invite you to dream about and talk about with me sort of what's next for you in your career? What are some, you know, short term, long term goals? Is there anything you sort of want to help manifest in this space while we invoke Diane's spirit and relentlessness of asking us to think about what's next? What's next? That's so, that's always such a big question. I find myself, there are certain things that opportunities that might pop up and that will terrify me and scare me. And then I'll say, and then I feel like I have to do it, you know, just to challenge myself. So open, definitely open to new opportunities where I'm challenging myself, which includes directing. Yes. And something that I talk a lot about, which I think it's important to talk about open, you know, like if anyone else is listening, you know, for me, again, I still have the same dream. I want to have a family. I want to have kids. I'm still trying to make that happen. And to me, that's really important. So that is a goal of mine. And there's so many ways to make that happen now, because there are just a lot more options available to to women nowadays. So yeah, those are some of my things. That's great. I want to see you directing. And we all want to be invited to all the family birthday parties. What's next for you? You've had a bunch of, you know, career moves in the last couple of years. And what is something you're hoping for or dreaming about in the next stage? I guess I'll speak more broadly. I mean, I think what I Diana and I were always interested in is like, where is theater going? You know, like in pushing the form and to your point about forms and characters and the lineage of the theater legacy. I'm very interested in just erupting what we think performance is, you know, and I think that we started that a little bit with our collaboration at Center Theater Group. And she's only lit the fire further now that I'm at Los Angeles Performance Practice, which really is a more broad contemporary performance organization working in multidisciplinary practices like dance and music and puppetry. And to Adriana's point, like, you know, I was like, my first dance project, I'm like, this looks great, you know, but then, you know, you have to educate yourself, you have to learn, you have to, you know, dig in and oh, it's building off this history. Okay, this legacy and and I see where it goes. And I think that to me, particularly where our field is right now, I'm very interested in like the what's next of theater and performance. And we need to, and I love a good structured play. I worked in dramaturgy for a long time. But I also love the mess of a nonlinear, immersive, wild thing that can't even be categorized. And I think we need more artists that is getting messy, and challenging what the form is, I would say that. And I would also say, continuing to work towards, you know, that collective liberation together as a community, I'm really passionate about the conversations that have started, that still need to get, you know, deeper. So I feel like that's really important to me, in terms of my own practice. And then, you know, I'm with everyone, I mean, I think for me, I'm really reflective of where I put my time now. And, you know, my wife and my family and my dog babies are actually so important to me. And I think, you know, I gave a lot of my life and my earlier career, a lot of late nights. And not to say that that's not worth it. And I encourage folks like you do you, you know, you, we have seasons of life. But I'm just in a phase now where I want to up my artistic practice more, you know, I want to write, not for theater, but just for myself. And I want to meditate more. And I want to take care of my body. I want to move more. And I think those things take time. And so for me, that's really what's next for me is how do I prioritize myself and prioritize my health, and my own artistic practices, as well as continuing to do those kind of bigger field wide pushing disruptions. But Chantal, are you going to answer two? Yes, I will answer two. Thank you. There's somebody in the chat also wants to know. Okay, let's hear it. Well, I will say, you know, I always think of Diane and with because she's the one who would tell, you know, kept pushing me. And I Andre de Shields also when he accepted his Tony, I think talked about, right? The bottom of the, you know, once you reach the peak, you're just at the next goal. And and I have the pleasure of working with Andre de Shields here. So all of those voices, you know, when I think about what's next, I'm like, Diane's on to something. And I will say, so I've just begun my tenure as a theater artistic director of Yale rep, we're going to open our first show next week. I wish you were here by tonight to see and I really feel Diane spirit with me because I was really missing artistic producing, right? I've been administrator at the school for a long time and teaching in dramaturgy, but I hadn't been overseeing and supporting like the making of live theater. And so that's been really inspirational. And I'm really looking forward to diving into that even more. And one commitment I'd like to make is I want to explore international theater more and the way that Diane, you know, she went to Poland, like every every couple years with another colleague, John Rivera, who's a dear friend as well. And like, you know, she was so her artistic sensibility was honed by so much engagement and like Patricia said, in so many different kinds of theater. And it was just so I'd love to sort of I need to go to Chile, I need to go to Poland. And in this role, I would like to sort of move into that realm and really sort of stepping into my power and thinking about sort of the ground that Diane has laid for us and how we step into that power. So those are sort of two things, you know, I want to I want to do well in this position and program great work and support work being done in a in a humane and celebratory way. And I just I want to sort of revel in in the work of artists. And she continues to be an inspiration for me in that regard. So I think this is a great place to just sort of pause our conversation. I want to thank you both so much for this enriching dialogue just with two, you know, folks that I really admire. But I have found speaking about Diane is always just so heartwarming and helps with the grief. I mean, I think, you know, I think many of us will long grieve her absence. But she's present in the faces of our colleagues and in the work that we're seeing. And so I just thank you for this time. And I want to invite Jacqueline back to the virtual stage so she can help us close out this beautiful evening. And thank you, Chantal, for beautiful questions, beautiful conversation. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, thank you all so much for this rich conversation. It's really been wonderful. Congratulations again, Patricia and Adriana. Thank you, Chantal and Jose. I can't wait to hopefully gather us all in person soon and to see what's next for you all. Nominations for the 2024 Diane Rodríguez Tatista Award will open in early 2024. And you can find more information about the award at Latinxtheatercommons.com. Thank you all again. To end the night, we'll now get to listen to audio of Diane singing De Colores accompanied by Dani Valdez on guitar and vocals.