A Conversation on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Tacoma's Theatre Community

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2020 at 7:00pm

CLICK HERE TO JOIN

Please be a part of the first in an upcoming series of conversations about Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JEDI) in Tacoma's Theatre community. While we wish we could be meeting in person, these events will be held via Zoom until it is safe to do otherwise.

The first conversation will be discussing our community and where we see ourselves today and how we can continue to grow and be stronger.

Each subsequent conversation will focus on specific areas of JEDI.

These gatherings are for Tacoma's artisan community to come together and make sure that we are all doing our part to make the arts representative of our community. Please be respectful to others and the purpose of this forum. We hope for these to be productive conversations that will generate respectful, forward looking dialogue.

To register, please click the button below

GEORGE MCCLURE, MD

2019 ANNUAL FUND DRIVE

Dear Friend of Tacoma Little Theatre: 

Our next century has begun, and with it being our 101st, what better way to celebrate than with “A Season of Firsts”. It’s our first time performing each of our seven mainstage shows, and the first time that we are remodeling the auditorium. Calendar Girls was a wonderful way to start off the season, the most successful opening in the last 10 years. This is because of the support of you, our community, and your trust in this century old Tacoma treasure.

 “I have so much pride when I say we are season ticket holders each year because I feel this theatre embodies what theatre is all about – heart, soul, and passion.  You all bring it every single time with love!” -A TLT Season Ticket Holder

 In June of 2019, TLT was honored to attend the American Association of Community Theatre Festival held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with our production of The Pillowman. TLT came home with top awards for Best Supporting Actor (Sean Neely), the Adjudicator National Award for Best Ensemble, Best Set Design, and Overall Best Set Designer for Bell, Book and Candle. (Blake R. York). TLT is now Washington’s Oldest National Award-Winning Community Theatre!

The “Grab A Seat And Enjoy” campaign for the auditorium upgrades is well on its way. Demolition is planned to start in June after the last performance of The Manchurian Candidate. When our 102nd Season begins, you will have an entirely new auditorium experience complete with new seats, seating chart, sightlines, and accessibility. These are all items that have been requested by our patrons for the past six years. We take your suggestions very seriously, so please always let us know what you’re enjoying, and what we could improve upon. TLT staff members are always available to answer your questions, and inform you about what’s happening in your theatre.

“Just wanted to tell you how brilliant A Little Night Music was. I'm always afraid to see a musical, as they all seem to demand the highest talent. However, like a fool, my smile was particularly broad all the way through this production as it found that talent.”-A TLT Patron after seeing A Little Night Music

TLT provides the South Puget Sound region with an education program serving youth and adults in the community year-round, helping them reach their creative potential.  During the 2018/19 season attendance for this program continued to increase, and our Summer Camps were filled to capacity. Last season we expanded outside of our walls and have brought theatre to the schools of Pierce County with our Students on Stage (SOS) program. Through SOS and our Scholarship Program, TLT is committed to providing access to Performing Arts education to every child in our community.

“She learns how to work as a team and support others, which, we as her parents like, as we know that is lifelong. She loves spending time with friends she's made there and singing.”

“We can't speak highly enough of this program. We are eternally impressed and grateful. Thank you! All we want to know is...when's the next one!?” -TLT Parents after Summer Camp

Your generous donations have helped sustain TLT for over 100 years along with the performing arts in our region.  It is only through the continued support of our community members that the arts can thrive.  We offer a range of donation options that are listed at the bottom of this letter.  You can even pledge your donation amount over a monthly or quarterly payment schedule.  If you are interested in establishing a legacy gift of support through planned (estate) giving or stock transfers, please contact me directly.  Remember that any amount helps us, from $1 to $10,000. TLT is a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and may be fully tax-deductible (please check with your tax advisor).

If you have already donated to us this season, thank you!  If you are considering donating to us now, thank you!  Please fill out the bottom portion of this letter or visit us at our website, www.tacomalittletheatre.com, to make a donation online.  To donate over the phone, you may call me personally at 253-272-2281.  It’s always a delight to have the opportunity to speak with you, one of our generous patrons that will keep TLT thriving into the next century.

All my best,
Chris Serface
Managing Artistic Director

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

MARIA-TANIA BANDES B. WEINGARDEN, PRESIDENT

BOARD TERM 2022-2025

Maria-Tania Bandes B. Weingarden (she/her) is an artist/scholar who has recently joined UWT as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the department of Arts Media and Culture. 

As a director, Maria-Tania uses theatre to challenge homogeneous ideology.  She addresses issues of race and gender on stage by not only the content of her work, but often by casting non-traditionally, works that fit within the more traditional canon.

While her area of scholarly specialization is in Theatre History, more specifically Latinx theatre, her research focuses on revolutionary theatre.  Her book, Echoes of Revolution: Nicaragua, aims to expand the knowledge of the canon of works of Central American playwrights as well as explores both the successes and limitations of theatre that has undergone political turmoil.  Echoes of Revolution: Nicaragua, is the first of a three-part series on the revolutionary theatre of Central America. 

Other areas of research include Queer Theatre, more specifically the representation of bisexuality on stage.

Jeanette Sanchez-Izenman

BOARD TERM 2022-2025

Jeanette Sanchez-Izenman is a director, teaching artist, dramaturg, intimacy choreographer, stage manager and theatre theorist/historian. She did her actor training at the University of New Mexico where she earned her BFA with honors and returned to complete an MA in Directing and Educational Theatre under the mentorship of Susan Pearson.

 She moved to the Pacific Northwest to study at the University of Washington School of Drama where she achieved her PhD candidacy in Theatre History and Criticism in 2006. While working toward her candidacy, she was a Drama School Intern at the Seattle Children’s Theatre (Class of 2004), where she remained working for several years in the box office and as a dramaturg/consultant for Jason and the Golden Fleece and Night of the Living Dead. She also worked with the marketing team to help promote Tomás and the Library Lady.

 Jeanette highly values public scholarship and earned a fellowship at UW’s Simpson Center for the Public Humanities in 2005. She was in the inaugural cohort of the Project for Interdisciplinary Pedagogy at UW Bothell where she taught theatre and performance studies for nearly a decade. Her classes focused on social change (Latino Theatre for Social Change and Theatre for Young Audiences) and outreach (Education and the Performing Arts) where she partnered with local schools to bring theatre education into their classrooms via UWB students leading creative drama exercises. Her script analysis class, Project Hamlet, became an exploration of languages as she began working with larger numbers of international students and explored how to perform the play multilingually.

She is a co-founder of eSe Teatro in Seattle and has worked as a dramaturg with Teatro Vision in San Jose (Perla) and with Teatro Nuevo Mèxico (Electricidad). Her doomed dissertation was an exploration of women dressing as men in contemporary Latinx productions, most of which were reimagining classical works.

 She works with Lakewood Playhouse as a stage manager and teaching artist. She won a “Woody” in 2017 for her work on The Rocky Horror Show.

 She is a founder of Screaming Butterflies Productions with Kathryn Philbrook in Tacoma. Their indie company seeks to use performance to re-vision myth, community and justice through imaginative, tenacious, unapologetic creativity. She is working with Break the Table RPG, a local streaming group using fantasy and table top game mechanics to shape stories told by and for BIPOC to address some of the current issues we are dealing with. She also helped to found Rise Up: a South Sound BIPOC Theatre Artist Coalition.

 She is currently serving as a commissioner on the Tacoma Arts Commission for District 1.

She is a deep believer in the power of collaboration in theatre, consent and inclusion.