Hollywood has lost a giant in the Theatre arena. Diane Rodriguez, 68 died on April 10, 2020 from lung cancer. The LA Times called it a “Seismic loss” and that pretty much says it all.

In the theatre world there was no one more passionate and a supporter of theater artists of color. She was inducted into The College of Fellows for the American Theatre in 2018, and appointed by President Obama to the NEA’s National Council on the Arts.

She began her career in theater working in San Juan Bautista with Luis Valdez’s reknowed El Teatro Campesino before moving to Los Angeles where she worked as an actress, helped found the comedy troupe Latin Anonymous (with Armando Molina, Luisa Leschin and Cris Franco) due to a lack of role for Latinos at that time. She then transitioned into becoming part of the artistic staff at Center Theatre Group ultimately as associate artistic dirtctor for a 24 year run.

In 2018, Rodriguez was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, for which she was treated for two years. What complicated her illness was suffering a stroke in March.

Aside from working as an actor, director, playwright, and producer, she later was the book writer for the Broadway-style musical Barbie Live!, creative and cultural consultant for the Disney Television Animation series Elena of Avalor.

Her husband, Jose Delgado announced Diane’s passing with this loving message:

“It is with a heavy heart that I write to let you know that my bride of 43 years, the incomparable Diane Rodriguez, passed away at 12:50 AM today, Good Friday. She was a beloved partner… a beautiful wife and I am grief-stricken. Diane left a mark on this planet, and I was lucky to be on that ride. She has so many friends here in Los Angeles, around the country and globe. I appreciate all the outpouring of love… “

Rodriguez’s most recent project was the directon of the world premiere of Las Mujeres Del Mar for Playwrights’ Arena in 2019. She directed Culture Clash’s Bordertown Now at Pasadena Playhouse, and Richard Cabral’s Fighting Shadows at Inner City Arts, both in 2018. Her play Living Large premiered at Teatro Luna in 2012 and The Sweetheart Deal premiered in 2017 at Los Angeles Theatre Center.

The news of Diane Rodriguez’s death began on social media, and the outpouring of friends, co-workers and family was immense.

Luis Alfaro — Long time friend and Mark Taper Forum’s Latino Theater Initiative co-director along with Rodriguez remembers Diane:

“I remember the first time Diane Rodriguez and I got serious about changing the world (or at least our theatre).It was 1994. We were both performers for a benefit at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Diane was part of a comedy troupe she had co-founded called Latins Anonymous and I was a solo performer around town.

Diane had that wonderful straight black hair with the severe bangs. Lots of big loud jewelry, black tights and a funky t-shirt; her performance drag. She was always good for a laugh backstage or some chisme about some gig. But this night, she came up to me and said there was a job opening up at the Taper and that we should apply together, as a team.

Diane was a magical person. Crazy and magical. And sometimes moody and ambitious and complicated and one of the most larger-than-life beings I knew. She lived large.”

Lalo Alcaraz — Cartoonist And Friend published a special La Cucaracha Toon In Her Honor

Debra J.T. Padilla — Besties Forever

“… my Chola sister and my confidant Diane Rodriguez. I can’t bring myself to write all that I feel, but here are a few of my cherished photos of us together. We leaned on each other for over 30 years. The weight of this immense loss is compounded by the loss of my mother… Two key anchors in my life, no longer here in my life, no longer here. In my heart yes, but not here here. Ironically, Diane passed on the same day my father did in 2002. May we all be blessed with a best friend as I have been. Abrazos. Besos y Amor… “

Xavi Moreno: Her Infectious Faith in Theater

“…passing of the great Diane Rodriguez– playwright, director, fearless producer, activist, and a champion for diversity on and off the stage. Her faith in Teatro was infectious. It was an honor to have worked with her both as an actor and graphic designer….”

Dolores Chavez — Sisters Por Vida!

“She Called Me Sister. I whispered Por Vida! And we grew from that promise. Our lives were braided and blessed together for over 25 years. Madres of the Earth and Sky, Homegirls for the community, Soul Sisters of the open road.“

Chavez invites anyone wanting to make a donation to honor Diane’s memory, that they consider:

El Teatro Campesino
Company of Angels
Latino Theatre Company at Los Angeles Theatre Center

Dan Guerrero — Best Buds

I met Diane and her beloved JD in 1982 after moving back to Los Angeles after 20 years in New York City. My dad introduced us. “Mijo, there’s someone that wants to do a musical revue using my music. Wanna go meet them with me?” And that was that.

Di and I particularly bonded and our friendship deepened and matured over the next many decades as our lives and careers continued to intertwine and intersect. We became best buds fiercely loyal and supportive of each other through “good times and bum times,” as Sondheim famously penned.

When I wrote a solo show in 2005, I invited a handful of close friends to a reading . Di immediately saw something. The show lived on as I proudly watched Di’s career expand and explode to international heights. But she was always the same loyal and supportive friend.

We both had impossible schedules and if too much time passed without getting together, one of us would call the other. Happy day when my phone rang and I’d see the name Diane Rodriguez on the screen. And then the strong and familiar voice, “Hi, honey!” I can still hear it. I think I always will. 

Ruben Martinez’s Farewell

“… The breakthrough that she and Luis Alfaro staged through the Latino Theater initiative at CTG cannot be overstated. They won and lost battles but pried the doors open. When I was coming back from a long season of self-inflicted wounds, I approached her with a rough performance idea and she, the wonderful matchmaker, introduced me to Colin Campbell, the beginning of a wonderful collaboration and a friendship that I treasure. That’s Diane for me: a woman making connections, hatching plots, making art and community happen…”

Adriana Sevahn Nichols – A Force of Nature

“Diane Rodriguez was and will continue to be a force of nature. I join the multitude of artists in whom her global legacy will live on. She had a laser insight, a capacity to both see and read a person’s gifts and not just notice, or speak them, Diane saw to it that in whatever capacity she could, those gifts were nourished…“

Daniel Valdez — Creating Teatro

There are no words that can express how much Diane Rodriquez meant to me personally. She was not only my dear friend and fellow teatrista, but my warrior-sister whom I shared a life time of memories and experiences with. From the many tours and performances that took us across this country for years. In theaters, in parks, labor camps and community centers, you name it, we performed there. 

We created Teatro together in a time when we all were discovering our own identity and cultural history as Chicanos and Chicanas. Diane was Teatro as was I. We lived it. We defined it for our generation. We shared it 24-7. We evolved as the Teatro evolved. Diane was there at the most important times of my life. For this, I will always be grateful and honored to have known her. Diane my Dear Sister, I love you…and I shall miss you.

Marissa Herrera — In The Midst Of It All

“… [for the] past 2 years I spent more time around Diane as she was directing work at The Rosenthal Theater. In the midst of her diagnoses she dove into her creativity and passion. If she was sick, and in pain (which she was), she didn’t show it. She never asked for pity or sympathy. In the midst of all the madness, many mourn in the City of Angeles. Rest In Peace, Diane.

Bel Hernandez — Lady Di

She was christened Lady Di by our mutual friend Miguel Delgado (RIP) in the early 80s…and she wore the title well. Her spirit lives on in all of our hearts. RIP Lady Di.

A giant in the theatre industry, Rodriguez’s shoes will be hard to fill. But she leaves a priceless legacy for future generations of theatre professionals.

She was inducted into The College of Fellows for the American Theatre in 2018 and appointed by President Obama to the NEA’s National Council on the Arts. In addition, she was a 2017 Directing Fellow for Sundance Theatre Lab in Arles, France, and 2016 Directing Fellow for the Stage Directors and Choreographer’s Foundation. She was a part of the artistic staff of Center Theater Group for 24 years and had worked with other major companies across the country.

Diane is survived by her husband, Jose Delgado, owner of Pleiades Management and producing director of Ojai Playwrights Conference; her mother Helen E. Rodriguez of San Jose.

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Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director Diane Rodriguez announced that she will leave the organization on June 30, 2019, after 24 years on the artistic staff at the leading nonprofit theatre organization. Rodriguez has overseen new play production at Center Theatre Group since 2005, commissioning, developing and producing the new work of over 75 artists and was the director of a significant 10-year-long Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project devoted to collaborative new works.

“It has been my distinct honor to call Center Theatre Group my artistic home since 1995 – it provided me a platform to lead, develop and produce work,” Rodriguez said. “I arrived at Center Theatre Group as an artist and I depart as an artist. As a director, playwright and creative producer, I look forward to continuing my work with the stellar artistic community of Los Angeles, as well as national and international collaborators I have had the pleasure to work with over the years.”

Michael Richie, Artistic Director of Center Theatre Group, stated that after arriving at CTG, it was Rodriguez who urged him to further explore the evolving nature of their art form and, “to understand that the future of nonprofit theatre would rely on embracing our tradition of breaking boundaries and expanding the public’s perception of what ‘live theatre’ represented.”

In addition, Ritchie stated, “The organization and I were fortunate to have a boundless artist like Diane on staff. It has been with her continued sense of exploration that we’ve been able to create and present bold new works across the vast locales of Los Angeles and work with a diverse group of extraordinarily remarkable artists, both local and international. These values so championed by Diane are part of Center Theatre Group’s DNA and will continue with us as we move ahead into our next 50 years.”

Rodriguez Projects
A producer, director, actor and writer, Rodriguez will launch a new artistic company, Rodriguez Projects, helmed by Rodriguez in which she directs, writes and produces artistic endeavors and projects for and with other entities. Later this summer, she will be a Master Artist at the National Institute of Directing and Ensemble Creation in Minneapolis and, in the upcoming season, she will direct various works in Los
Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Providence, R.I. She will also serve as Resident Artist at The Rosenthal Theater in Los Angeles.

About Diane Rodriguez
For Center Theatre Group, Rodriguez has commissioned, developed and produced the new work of over 75 artists, both playwrights and companies, including recent productions of “How to Be a Rock Critic” by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, “Straight White Men” by Young Jean Lee, “The White Album” by Lars Jan and “Venice is Dead” by Roger Guenveur Smith and Richard Montoya. She curated and produced, with REDCAT, RADAR LA, An International Theatre Festival in 2011 and 2013. She has directed for East West Players, South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, City Theatre in Pittsburgh, Mixed Blood in Minneapolis, Actors Theatre of Phoenix (two Best Director nominations, ariZoni Theatre Awards), Borderlands Theater in Arizona, Victory Gardens in Chicago and Playwrights’ Arena/Los Angeles (Best Director nomination, LA Weekly Awards) among others. For 10 seasons, she was a leading actress for the seminal theatre company El Teatro Campesino, with whom she toured internationally. She was also a co-founder of the ground-breaking comedy troupe, Latins Anonymous.

Rodriguez served on the Theatre Communications Group (TCG) Board for eight years (three as president) and was appointed to the National Council on the Arts, the advisory body of the National Endowment for the Arts, by President Obama. Diane will continue with her appointed service with the NEA and provide service to the College of Fellows for the American Theatre. She has also written, directed and premiered two of her own full length works, “Living Large” at Teatro Luna in Chicago and “The Sweetheart Deal” at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. She worked for Mattel, Inc. as the book writer for the Broadway-style musical “Barbie Live!,” which toured Asia in 2013 and Latin America in 2010. She also worked as a creative and cultural consultant for the Disney Television Animation series “Elena of Avalor.”

About Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1600 to 2100-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics, and circumstance to serve Los Angeles. 

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