Founded in 1965, East West Players (EWP) is Los Angeles’ longest running theater company dedicated to raising the visibility of the Asian-American experience by presenting inventive world-class productions and developing artists of color.  For decades, their groundbreaking productions such as Pippin (infused with a hip-hop, anime aesthetic) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (set in the ancient Pacific Islands) have ignited L.A.’s theatrical landscape with daring interpretations and non-traditional casting. EWP continues that tradition with their upcoming take on Spring Awakening (October 26-November 19, 2023)  featuring a POC (people of color) cast including Latinx actors. 

Director Tim Dang said that it is with intention that many of the cast are of mixed heritage, mixed-race, bi-racial, hapa, or bi-cultural. Noting that these young performers represent today’s primarily POC generation, Dang continued that the balance of power shifting to this burgeoning majority makes this new EWP production of the 2007 Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening significantly different than prior productions.  Dang has assembled a distinguished multicultural cast, including Spanish-speaking actors Mia Sempertegui and Eric Renna.

Dang added that his casting is more intentional than colorblind. The mission of East West Players is to portray the contemporary Asian-American experience as it truly exists — not in a vacuum, or a silo, or a monolithic community. This production emphasizes the intersectionality of today’s youth and that his casting is “race conscious and race specific.”

Boasting a Tony Award-winning score by rock composer Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening took Broadway by storm in 2006.  Originally set in 1891 Germany, repressed, adolescent students stumble into adulthood as clumsily as they do into each other’s arms. With parents fearful of instructing their children in life’s sexual realities, two desirous teens, Melchior and Wendla, surrender to their mutual attraction. Nature takes its course and so does their unforgiving society. This generation-defining musical is a rock anthem to all the “guilty ones,” poignantly exploring the dark, passionate, and twisting journey from adolescence to adulthood.

EWP has historically presented their casts with opportunities to tackle roles that they might have otherwise been passed-over by most theatres.  The cast of Spring Awakening is led by Mia Sempertegui (Sister Act, Beehive: The 60’s Musical) as Wendla Bergman, Thomas K. Winter (The Secret Garden, The Last Five Years) as Melchior Gabor, Marcus Phillips (The Prom Nat’l Tour, La Mirada Theatre’s Joseph…Technicolor Dreamcoat) as Moritz Stiefel, Madison Grepo (Evita, Anything Goes) as Ilse Neumann, Tamlyn Tomita as the Adult Women, and Daniel Blinkoff as the Adult Men. 

As a longtime supporter of EWP, I’m thrilled that this sterling arts organization is welcoming a wider spectrum of acting POC into their creative process.  This artistic approach mirrors Los Angeles’ powerful diversity and, as Dang inferred, is an acknowledgment of the culturally rich and challenging times our youngest generation now navigate.   

Spring Awakening is widely recognized as possessing one of Broadway’s best pop/rock scores; the driven melodies are tuneful while the lyrics are deep, articulate and au courant. Schoolboys sing of their unfulfilled sexual desires as “The Bitch of Living”. And when Melchior admits to his headmasters that it is he who authored an erotic letter, the cast sings that he is “Totally Fuc&ed”.  But what is perhaps most prescient about this musical is how it addresses our current battles over sex-ed. For in their Old World efforts to “protect” their children, the adults of Spring Awakening resort to keeping their youth ignorant of the vital information they need to avert the high price of sexual ignorance.  This message is of particular significance to our Latinx communities. 

According to Pew Research, American Latinos are 70% Christian/Catholic.  Religion can play a huge role in the parents’ attitudes towards sex and sexual health, which gives this topic a negative stigma. So, hispano parents often avoid discussing healthy sex practices with their children as the adults consider the subject taboo. Parents hope that not discussing sex will discourage their children from engaging in intimate encounters. However statistics show this lack of sex-ed as having the opposite effect. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2017 the birth rates for hispano teens were more than two times higher than the rate for non-Hispanic white teens – not to mention increased rates of sexually transmitted diseases and abusive relationships.

This Latinx cultural dilemma is at the heart of Spring Awakening which asks: What happens when normal sexual curiosity is infused with shame, guilt and ignorance?  Spring Awakening brilliantly explores this pertinent question.    

Though almost completely sung-through, the show does not adhere to the conventions of the traditional musical. Here the songs do not necessarily move the plot forward, rather they explore the characters’ psycho-emotional state and thus moves the story’s emotional arch forward. It’s the perfect approach to this tale which dares to delve into the treacherous world of those private moments when we “awaken” to our bodies’ desires.   

For all show info: www.eastwestplayers.org

Photo credit: TJ Ramirez/Teolindo.Art

The post East West Players’ New Mix-Race Take on Tony Winning Play ‘Spring Awakening’ first appeared on .

Actors John Leguizamo and Laz Alonso and showrunner Gloria Calderón-Kellett will headline Amazon Studios’ Voices/Voces: An Entertainment Celebration for Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 30.  

The event will present three panel discussions about identity labels used by nearly 60 million Latinos living in the U.S., content created in the Americas in the two other most-spoken languages–Spanish and Portuguese, and the disproportional representation in Hollywood of what is now the nation’s largest minority group. Primetime Emmy winner Leguizamo (When They See Us, Ice Age franchise) will speak at the “Lightning Talk: Who We Are… Hispanic, Latino, Latiné, Latinx, Afro-Latino, Indigenous, Understanding the breadth and depth of the community.” Alonso (The Boys) and Calderón-Kellett (One Day at a Time) will join “Conversation: The Evolution of Latiné Representation on Screen.” The other panel is titled “Industry Conversation: Content Across Borders.”

The Amazon Studios Latino-focused event is part of the company’s new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy. Launched this past June, the initiative comes at the time of a persistent push to have equitable representation of people of color and other underrepresented groups in Hollywood, especially since the #OscarSoWhite movement in 2015 protesting the lack of diversity of the Academy Awards. Also, streaming platforms like Amazon seem interested in developing diverse portfolios in search of subscribers both here in the increasingly diverse U.S. market and abroad in a world with a very diverse population. 

Amazon’s DEI recently developed an “inclusion playbook” that includes “minimum aspirational goals” for casting across speaking roles in its projects: “30% white men, 30% white women and non-binary people, 20% men from underrepresented races and ethnicities, 20% women and non-binary people from underrepresented races and ethnicities.” 

Voices/Voces seem to fit into the streamer’s new diversity efforts by exploring issues of representation.

“The Latiné community is comprised of many rich and dynamic cultures with multilayered stories to tell,” said Latasha Gillespie, global head of DEI for Amazon Studios and the trade site IMDb. “To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re thrilled to present a Voices/Voces event with an esteemed group of creators, performers and community members from the pan-Latin diaspora.”  

Other Voices/Voces participants include a journalist, a politician and four streamer executives. They are Clayton Davis, film awards editor for Variety, and Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro, who is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The Amazon Studios execs are Yolanda Guillen, senior executive of casting; Malu Miranda, producer and head of originals Brazil; Javiera Balmaceda, head of local originals, Spanish speaking Latin America; and Lorenza Muñoz, senior global awards.

In addition to serious topics, comedian Gina Brillon will perform a set to close the event.

Voices/Voces is the third program of a series launched by Amazon Studios earlier this year focusing on Hollywood underrepresented communities. The previous two centered on the LGBTQ+ and Asian-American communities.

The Sept. 30 event will stream on Amazon Live and Amazon Studios DEI Twitch. 

Featured Photos: John Leguizamo (Credit: Amazon Studios) / Laz Alonso (Credit: Jennifer Cooper)

The post Amazon Studios’ ‘Voices/Voces’ to Mark Hispanic Heritage Month first appeared on .

In the last few years, audiences have made a substantial call for content from major and independent studios to include ethnic talent in front of and behind the camera. While there is a positive increase in Black talent and content such as Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Judas and the Black Messiah, representation for Latinos is greatly underrepresented.

In response to the persistent lack of Latinos directing film and TV projects, directors Alberto Belli (The House of Flowers), Joel Novoa (Arrow) and Diego Velasco (Orange Is the New Black) and Aurora Guerrero (Gentefied) took matters into their own hands. They created the online database Latinx Directors. Launched last summer, the website’s goal is to offer studios, agencies and others an easy-to-search online resource to find Latino directors for their projects.

Currently, the database lists over 200 talents organized in a dozen genres, from action, comedy and documentary to drama, live events and science fiction. Visitors can filter the roster by the length of experience in television and filmmakers’ participation in diversity programs.

Latinx Directors is a valuable tool needed in the entertainment industry to address the lack of Latino talent hired for films, streaming programs, television shows and commercials. Latinos represent 18.5 percent of the U.S. population.

The 2019 USC study Latinos in Film: Erasure On-Screen & Behind the Camera Across 1,200 Popular Movies found that only 4 percent of all directors were Latinos. The survey evaluated films released from 2007 through 2018. It was conducted by USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Wise Entertainment.

Among the talent featured in Latinx Director’s database are the TV directors/showrunners Tanya Saracho (Vida) and Gloria Calderon Kellet (One Day at a Time), as well as film director Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead 2013 and Don’t Breathe).

In our exclusive interview with Velasco, he shares the development of Latinx Directors, their current goals, and hopes for the future.

JUSTINA BONILLA: What was the genesis of Latinx Directors?

DIEGO VELASCO: We’re all directors and part of the Latino Committee at DGA [Directors Guild of America]. We were all separate, [but] hearing, “Oh, I’m looking for a Latin director, but I just don’t know where there’s any.” There are all these shows that have Latin characters and Latin stories, but it was just white guys directing it.

My wife is a writer, and she did [a list], called the Untitled Latinx Project, which is a bunch of female writers who got together and started creating a list to share names. Anytime they would have meetings with executives and studios, they would hear about projects and [asked if they] could send them the list. And [the executives would ask], “You mean you want to send a list of people competing for your job?” They wanted it to go to a Latinx person. [They’d] rather it go to one of us. If [they] don’t get it, then give it to someone whose [on the list].

I thought that was really inspiring. We should be doing the same as directors. We’ll have one place where these producers have a place to find Latinx directors.

JB: How do you qualify to be a part of Latinx Directors?

DV: [Potential members] have to have qualifications to be accepted. They have directed a feature that has been in a recognized in a festival; we have a list of festivals. Or, you have to have done a television episode that is streaming or on a network.

We want to help everyone and be able to lift everyone. But at the same time, we can’t put somebody in a situation that they might not be ready for. We set standards, so if any one of them gets hired, we feel confident that they can do a great job.

JB: How does your database work?

DV: You can [use] filters. We have self-identification, LGBT, or you can do cultural identity or heritage. And you can combine all the ones you want. Plus, you can do film experience, TV experience, union, or not union. It’s the only searchable database for Latinx directors that allows you to do all those things.

JB: What is the overall goal for Latinx Directors?

DV: Our motto is, “No more stories about us without us.” And then, don’t box us into just one category. There are Latinx directors that are incredible in genre, incredible in sci-fi. Just because you are Mexican or your Salvadorian doesn’t mean you can’t [direct] Star Wars.

We just want to be authentic to our culture and to share our unique points of view.

JB: Apart from promoting Latinx Directors, what is your key aspiration?

Velasco: If people who are not familiar with Latin culture, to not fear it. It’s okay to not know all the answers. It’s okay to be intimidated by it. But, if they give themselves a chance to work with Latinx directors, you might be surprised that everybody who is on that list wants to go above and beyond and wants to do the best job they can. So, you really get a level of commitment that I would encourage everybody to try.

The post EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Diego Velasco Talks About the Creation of ‘Latinx Directors’ Database first appeared on .

CBS announced a new one-hour entertainment special, Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event Event, a celebration of Latinx culture in America, produced and hosted by Eva Longoria, along with Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin, to be broadcast Monday, Oct. 26 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. It will also be available to stream live and on demand on CBS All Access. Produced by Funny Or Die, in partnership with Momento Latino, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Global Philanthropy, the special will honor the contributions of the Latinx community to the United States and their importance to its future.

Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event will celebrate America’s diversity with a focus on Latinx culture, bringing joy, awareness and aid to the Latinx community that has been deeply impacted by and played an essential role in fighting COVID-19. Through musical performances, comedy pieces, docu-shorts and star-studded appearances, the special will explore the Latinx experience as told by Latinx voices. Performers and participants will be announced closer to air.

““The Latinx community has been the backbone of this country for hundreds of years, not just the last seven months, and it’s time that we not only know our own worth, but are also recognized, appreciated and celebrated accordingly for our contributions, pandemic or not,” said Longoria. “When COVID-19 hit the United States, people were quick to applaud our essential workers, many of whom are Latinos, for helping to keep food on our tables, delivering our packages and working in our healthcare system.”

Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event Event is created by Henry R. Muñoz III. The special is produced by Funny Or Die, Momento Latino, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Global Philanthropy. Executive producers are Henry Muñoz for Momento Latino; Longoria and Ben Spector for UnbeliEVAble Entertainment; Maggie Neilson for Global Philanthropy; and Mike Farah, Joe Farrell, Jim Ziegler, Moira Noriega, Gloria Medel Solomons and R.A. Clark for Funny Or Die. The special is directed by Ron de Moraes.

“We created Momento Latino because we understand the challenges that Latinos in America face every day, and we knew we had to bring together a national infrastructure of opportunity to move the community forward into the future,” said Muñoz III, founder of Momento Latino. “We’ve brought together more than 130 organizations, nonprofits, artists, activists and community leaders so far, and through this special we can share with the nation the inspiring stories of how Latinos served as the backbone of this country’s essential workforce throughout the pandemic despite being among the hardest hit by the disease and the economic fallout.”

Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment’s recently partnered ViacomCBS’ Entertainment & Youth Group for their First Time Directors program highlighting BIPOC and women filmmakers to produce 50 films across the group’s portfolio of networks and streaming services. Soon UnbeliEVAble will produce Before I Forget for Amazon, the multi-generational drama Chicano centering on a Mexican-American family that immigrates to Los Angeles in pursuit of the American Dream for ABC, and the HBO film A Class Apart, with Robert Rodriguez directing, which tells the incredible true story of a group of Mexican Americans fighting for their civil rights during a landmark case that leads all the way to the Supreme Court. Past projects from UnbeliEVAble include the Emmy Award nominated Netflix documentary Reversing Roe, ESPN’s 30 for 30 series Versus, and the Lionsgate film John Wick

Momento Latino is a growing coalition of activists, leaders, nonprofits and artists lifting our voices and pushing for change for the Latinx community. COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated longstanding inequalities, and has had a disproportionate effect on the Latino community’s health, education and economic stability. But with crisis comes opportunity: together, we can create real change. Our partners – more than 130 activists, artists, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups and corporate leaders – are working together to build an America where the Latinx community can reach out full potential. For more information, visit https://momentolatino.us/ and follow us on Instagram at @momento_latino.

CHEAT TWEET: @EvaLongoria produces and hosts MOMENTO LATINO with co-hosts @GloriaEstefan and @ricky_martin, a new 1-hour special that’s a celebration of Latinx culture in America, to air 10/26 9PM ET/PT #CBS! https://bit.ly/36z3cfP

RATING: To Be Announced

The post Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event to Celebrate Latinx Culture in America first appeared on .

Los Angeles, CA – On on the most anticipated events of the year is once again brought to you by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) will host their annual Latino Media Fest presented by Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo, from October 2-4, 2019 at the AMC Century City 15. This three-day showcase of U.S.-based Latinx content and filmmakers will feature nine narrative shorts across two programs. 

“NALIP’s work on the ground-level, as well as its role as an industry partner, has successfully implemented programs and resources with the purpose of increasing inclusion and three-dimensional, authentic portrayals of this community,” says Benjamin Lopez, Executive Director of NALIP. “There is a well of untapped Latino talent in this industry that we are working to bring to the forefront, and our programs exist for that exact purpose.”

The Latino Media Fest works to advance the state of representation in the entertainment industry by featuring various speakers, workshops, panels, mixers, and an award ceremony highlighting Latinx excellence in the United States.

NALIP recently co-presented a new study with USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which highlights the lack of equal representation with 4% of 1,200 top-grossing films from 2018 were directed by Latinx. 

Latino Media Fest sessions include:

• How to Package, How to Produce: Sandra Condito (SVP of Production & Development | Sony Pictures International Productions)
• PARENT in HOLLYWOOD: Balancing the Best of Both Worlds (Presented by Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo): SJ Main Muñoz (Director | Tica Productions), Michael Perri (Writer | The Blacklist, State of Affairs, Teresa)
• Party of Five (Presented by SONY): Michal Zebede (Co-Executive Producer, Writer | Party of Five)
• Emerging Content Creators Workshop (Presented by Warner Bros.): Danny Fernandez (Writer | Love, Simon: The Series; Grand Hotel); Tania Lotia (Writer | Swamp Thing, The Dark Tower); Grasie Mercedes (Actress + TV Writer | Perfect Harmony)

To conclude the second day of programming, NALIP will honor the following awardees (more awardees to be announced soon):

• Best Latin American Filmmaker: Issa Lopez (Writer, Director) – Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017), Todo Mal (2018)
• Best Latinx Film: Ben DeJesus (Director, Co-Founder of NGL Studios) – John Leguizamo’s Road to Broadway (2018), Raúl Júlia: The World’s a Stage (2019)
• Excellence in Entertainment Journalism: Carlos Aguilar (Film Critic/Journalist) – TheWrap, REMEZCLA
• Best Latinx TV Show: Gloria Calderon Kellett (Writer/Actress) – One Day at a Time (Season 3)

NALIP serves the needs of diverse content creators including, producers, performers, writers, directors, and industry professionals with the tools and mentorship they need to advance in their careers within the entertainment industry. 

The post NALIP Hosts Annual Latino Media Fest Oct. 2-4th first appeared on .

We’re excited to partner with @Starz to giveaway tickets to a SPECIAL EVENT 5/21 at a SECRET LOCATION celebrating Season 2 of the hit show VIDA. Fill out the linked form for a chance to attend. The Sip & Paint experience will consist of an exhibition inspired by the show featuring local art by LatinX artists, complimentary cocktails, and Vida-themed Loteria. Tickets are limited! You must live in Los Angeles. Winners will be contacted by 5/17. #VidaSTARZ

ENTER TO WIN AT: https://tinyurl.com/y54dxsgf

The post Attention “VIDA” Fans Win Tix for Season 2 Special Event first appeared on .