PORTLAND, Ore.: Advance Gender Equity in the Arts (AGE) has announced 35 partnerships for IGNITE, a national program for U.S.-based women and nonbinary emerging theatre artists of color who will be paired with BIPOC women and nonbinary theatre leaders.
“The launch of this inaugural program is based on the roots of shared experience, cultivation, and expansion,” Minita Gandhi, AGE’s national program director and IGNITE founder, said in a statement. “Many of us have not had the opportunity to have had a mentor, or past mentors have been primarily white and male. This program really explores what it means to draw a new line of inheritance.”
The IGNITE program, which runs through July 31, offers a chance for partners to meet for four one-on-one sessions. Cohort participants will also have the option to attend virtual events throughout 2021, including panels and a social media marketing workshop.
The theatre leaders for this year’s program include playwright Jocelyn Bioh; playwright and screenwriter Carla Ching; producer Mica Cole; actor and producer Sandra Delgado; Minita Gandhi; Priti Gandhi, the vice president of artistic at Minnesota Opera; playwright Aleshea Harris; artistic director, producer, and arts activist Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway; playwright Hansol Jung; director and choreographer Ameenah Kaplan; performer Jenn Kidwell; actor and producer Miriam Laube; actor January LaVoy; playwright and screenwriter Lisa Loomer; actor Audra McDonald; Alexandra Meda, artistic director of Teatro Luna; Dr. Monica White Ndounou, associate professor of theatre at Dartmouth College; writer and actor Christina Nieves; director and playwright Colette Robert; arts administrator and production manager Sloane A.L. Spencer; playwright Marike Splint; Sam White, founding artistic and executive director of Shakespeare in Detroit; playwright and producer Leah Nanako Winkler; performer and writer Kristina Wong; Stephanie Ybarra, artistic director of Baltimore Center Stage; playwright and teaching artist Diana Burbano; playwright Donnetta Lavinia Grays; playwright and performer Jiehae Park; playwright and actor Nambi E. Kelley; Natasha Sinha, dramaturg and associate artistic director of Playwrights Horizons; playwright and professor Elaine Romero; performance artist and writer Gabrielle Civil; singer, songwriter, and musician Diana Oh; actor, playwright, and educator Nikkole Salter; and director and playwright Lavina Jadhwani.
A full list of the IGNITE emerging artists can be read here.
Founded in 2014 by artist and activist Jane Mantiri, Advance Gender Equity in the Arts is a nonprofit social justice organization created to advance the power and visibility of marginalized genders, leading with racial justice.
