NEW YORK CITY: Theatre Producers of Color (TPOC) has named 25 aspiring BIPOC producers who will participate in their third annual education program, Producing 101. The 2023 cohort will include Tẹmídayọ Amay, Gustavo Blaauw, Kahari Blue, Regina De Vera, José Hugo Hurtado, Averi Israel, Sukhjit Khalsa, Seonjae Kim, Zoë Kim, Nicole Kwan, Sierra Lancaster, Joshua Lee, Marla Louissaint, Esmé Maria Ng, CJ Ochoco, Michela Rodriguez, Lainie Sakakura, Simone Tetrault, Bibiana Torres, Michael Thanh Tran, Cindy Tsai, Natalie Tucker, Miho Ueno, Angelica Vicens, and Alexandria Wailes. Find out more about the cohort members here.
During the tuition-free 11-week program, aspiring producers will learn the fundamentals of commercial producing, including development paths, financing, budgeting, and more, with experienced BIPOC and white ally leaders as their guides.
Producer Sammy Lopez (A Christmas Carol, Be More Chill) will serve as the overall program mentor. This year, the selection committee received the most applications in the program’s history. Since the launch of the program in 2021, Producing 101 alumni have come from all over the world (New Zealand, Toronto, China, Japan, USA, and more), and 51 are currently working in the Broadway and off-Broadway business.
Guest speakers for the 2023 program will include Jill A. Anderson, Osh Ashruf, Rashad V. Chambers, Samuel Dallas, Ken Davenport, Ben Holtzman, Toni Isreal, Nicole Javanna Johnson, Dale Mott, Doug Nevin, Leslie Papa, Ilene Rosen, Matt Ross, Erica Rotstein, Heather Shields, Ron Simons, Rachel Sussman, Cynthia J. Tong, and Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt.
Using the new Broadway-aimed musical How to Dance in Ohio as a case study throughout the course, participants will gain experience from the team involved in bringing the show to the stage. Additionally, each cohort member will select one of their own projects, or choose a show currently on Broadway, to practice implementing some of the tools shared over the 11 weeks, such as creating project pitch materials for investors and co-producers, navigating the uncertain financial climate of the pandemic, and identifying the most viable development steps for their projects. The course meets on Monday evenings through June 19.
TPOC is incubated and supported by Broadway For All (BFA), an organization that provides young artists and stakeholders in entertainment with the programming, community, and vision to build a more inclusive and powerful arts industry.
Selection panelists included Salman Al-Rashid, Victor Cervantes, Anant Das, Cynthia Dorsey, Arysbells Figueredo, Leah Harris, Yesenia Garcia Herrington, Vanessa Immink, Celia Kaleialoha Kenney, Sergio Mexia, Afsheen Misaghi, Phoebe Moore, Irene Laziridis, Sujotta Pace, Carmen Quiñones, Alexander Robertson, Jacob Santos, Ariana Sarfarazi, Malkia Stampley, and Riza Takahashi.
Theatre Producers of Color (TPOC) is a multifaceted collective of theatremakers joined together in support of the next generation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) producers by providing access to education, training, and mentorship. TPOC was born out of the necessity to diversify the pool of commercial producers on and off Broadway. TPOC strives to break down barriers and make producing more accessible for a variety of voices.
