Palacio Podcast
Replay: José Luis Valenzuela on America’s Diverse Stories Part 2
The challenge of telling and sharing the diverse stories in America today is the theme of part two of our Radio Palacio interview with José Luis Valenzuela, Artistic Director of the Latino Theater Company and the Los Angeles Theatre Center.
José Luis Valenzuela is a Distinguished Professor and Head of the MFA Directing program at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & Television. Valenzuela is an award-winning theater director. He’s been a visionary and an advocate for Chicano/Latino Theater for over 30 years.
José Luis Valenzuela
We met Valenzuela at a Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the LA County Arts Commission on Equity and Inclusion. This issue of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hangs over many Arts organizations and institutions. But it also hangs over the Entertainment industry. It’s the challenge they all face telling diverse stories that truly represent the America that exists today.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced the addition of 683 new members as part of an effort to diversify itself. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Forty-one percent of the enormous new class is comprised of people of color, bumping the overall academy from 8% to 11% people of color.”
Valenzuela was not impressed with the numbers. For him, they don’t represent examples of a diverse America or its diverse stories.
PalacioMagazine.com caught up with José Luis Valenzuela at the South Coast Repertory. He is preparing to direct Destiny Of Desire by Karen Zacarías. The west coast premiere is October 14 – November 13, 2016.
We began our questioning of Valenzuela on how he saw the L.A. County Arts Commission’s initiative on Equity and Inclusion and efforts like the Motion Picture Academy. The question was especially important against the backdrop of what is happening on a national level now during this political season.
Telling the Diverse Stories of America
When you speak with Valenzuela, you immediately realize you’re talking to someone who celebrates the power of culture. For him, it defines who we are as people and a country. Theater, the live shared experience, is a celebration of the community defined by culture.
José Luis Valenzuela has fought many battles over the years over the lack of diverse stories that demonstrate a diverse America. He shared a story about his efforts with the Advisory Committee of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
” Every six months we meet with all the networks and the studios about the percentage of people that are employed by these institutions.”
He cited the meeting with a network. Last year, they had eighteen actors in regular roles but most of those were from the sitcom, Telenovelas. When the series was canceled, the network lost 11 of those Latino actors.
“So now we’re going down to seven. And there’s nothing in the pipeline for this year….is that progress? It’s not.”
This was not the example of the diverse stories and America he was talking about. Neither was the network’s response.
“And they give you the same excuse which is we only cast the most talented people. We can’t think about race or color which is an excuse that has been given to us for fifty years.”
Valenzuela sarcastically or cynically added that we had more Latinos on television in the 50s. The issue of programming that represents those diverse stories has been around for a long time. Those battles have been around since the sixties and early seventies. For him, we’re still fighting the same battles.
The Vision and Mission of the Diverse Stories of America
José Luis Valenzuela has directed critically acclaimed productions at major theaters both internationally and nationally. In 1985, he created the Latino Theatre Lab at the LATC. In 1991, he established the Latino Theater Initiative at the Mark Taper Forum. Most recently, he directed Evelina Fernandez’s La Olla – Plautus’s The Pot of Gold for the Latino Theater Company at the LATC. He is currently directing Fernandez’s A Mexican Trilogy: Faith Hope and Charity September 8-October 9, 2016.
The Latino Theater Company are the operators of the LATC. The Company’s Artistic Director, José Luis Valenzuela, has been responsible for developing its artistic vision and organizational mission. Simply put, that vision and mission is to produce programming that represents the diversity of Los Angeles.
The Busy Career of José Luis Valenzuela
José Luis Valenzuela is one busy person. In 2002, he directed the world premiere of Dementia, written by Evelina Fernandez. It won the 2003 GLAAD Award for Outstanding Theater Production in Los Angeles. Nationally, he has directed Destiny of Desire, by Karen Zacarias at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. Other international directing credits include Manuel Puig’s Kiss of the Spider Woman at the National Theatre of Norway.Valenzuela has assisted his mentor, Norwegian director Stein Winge, with Hamlet, The Glass Menagerie, Barrabas, Pantagleize, Die Walkurie, The Inspector General and The Wild Duck. In 2007, Valenzuela was featured in the New York Times for the LTC’s annual holiday pageant, La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin, at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral.
Valenzuela’s film directing credits include:
- Dementia currently in post-production
- The award-winning film Luminarias for Sleeping Giant Productions and Distributed by New Latin Pictures
- How Else Am I Supposed To Know I’m Still Alive? for Universal’s Hispanic Film Project
- Una Vez Al Año Para Toda Una Vida, La Redada and A Bowl of Beings, for PBS’ Great Performances.
Valenzuela also serves on the national Steering Committee of the Latina/o Theatre Commons. He produced the historic national Latina/o Theatre Festival: Encuentro in 2014, and convening at the LATC in the Fall of 2014.
José Luis Valenzuela’s artistic vision and community commitment has garnered numerous recognitions, nominations, and awards. They include the Ann C. Rosenfield Distinguished Community Partnership Prize and the Hispanic Heritage Month Local Hero of the Year Award sponsored by Union Bank and KCET. Both awards recognize distinguished individuals for their contributions to improving the quality of life throughout their respective communities.
