NEW YORK CITY: Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced the launch of the Legacy Leaders of Color Video Project (LLCVP). Working with MOPED, a video production company, and with support from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, TCG filmed a series of interviews chronicling the stories of founding leaders of theatres of color. An introductory launch video featuring nine leaders is now available online, and the full online roll-out of videos will begin in January 2017. A screening series of the videos will follow.

“Our theatre field and broader culture owe an enormous debt to the artistry and activism of these extraordinary leaders,” said executive director Teresa Eyring in a statement. “We hope these videos and screening events not only honor these nine leaders, but raise awareness more broadly of the essential role played by theatres of color in our field. As more and more theatres make equity, diversity, and inclusion central to their work, we must remember the theatres that have been working with artists and communities of color for generations.”

The nine leaders featured in the videos are: Lou Bellamy, Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, Minn.; Tisa Chang, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre in New York City; Frank Chin, Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco; Miriam Colón, Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in New York City; Woodie King, Jr., New Federal Theatre in New York City; Muriel Miguel, Spiderwoman Theater in New York City; Jackie Taylor, Black Ensemble Theater in Chicago; Luis Valdez, El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Baptista, Calif.; and Douglas Turner Ward, Negro Ensemble Company in New York City.

The Legacy Leaders of Color Video Project is one of the key elements of TCG’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative’s “Establishing a Baseline” programming, which was initially supported by a National Projects grant from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF). This next phase has received Phase II funding from DDCF’s 2016 Fund for National Projects.