Career Cheat Code
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Career Cheat Code
069 | The Power of Theatre with Mino Lora
Discover the power of theater to transform communities with our special guest, Mino Lora, the Executive Artistic Director of the People's Theater Project (PTP). Listen in as Mino shares the riveting story of how PTP was born from a master's thesis in peace studies and conflict transformation into a beacon of artistic expression for New York City's immigrant community. Learn about the diverse initiatives that PTP spearheads, from professional productions featuring immigrant artists to community-based shows that highlight local talent, and a robust playwrights unit fostering new works.
Get an inside look at the journey from volunteer-based beginnings to establishing the largest performing arts nonprofit in upper Manhattan. Mino discusses the vital role of comprehensive education programs aimed at empowering young immigrants through theater, and the strategic partnerships with schools and community centers that amplify their impact. We explore the multifaceted roles involved in running PTP, from fundraising and staff management to government relations and production, giving you a glimpse into the dynamic nature of nonprofit arts administration.
Celebrate the incredible impact PTP has had over the past 15 years as Mino reflects on the transformative power of theater and advocacy. Hear heartfelt stories of young participants who have grown into staff members, illustrating the deep roots and community bonds PTP has nurtured. Mino also opens up about the challenges of balancing professional responsibilities with personal life, particularly as a mother, and the importance of advocating for fair wages and equitable compensation in the nonprofit sector. This episode is a testament to the passion and dedication driving PTP's mission to uplift and support the immigrant community through the arts.
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Host - Radhy Miranda
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the funding will come, the partners will come, who'll want to be part of it? And I think I just knew back then, even though we were nowhere near able to do it, that it was the right, as you said, it was the right project for us and it was the right way to do it. We've been I mean, I've been wanting to open a theater in Washington Heights, like uptown for 15, I mean since I moved to the neighborhood 20 years ago like there isn't one. Why not? We're such creative, amazing. We're such a creative, vibrant community. We have so many stories to tell. Right, when PTB started, we went out to the streets, spoke to over 100 people. When was the last time you saw a play? We asked them two questions when was the last time you saw a play? Would you like to be in a play, tell your story with people's feet or brush? For the first one, over 95% of people said bueno, like the nativity play at church, or never. For the second one, 98% of people said claro, tell me when I'll be there. We're like.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Career Cheat Code. In this podcast, you'll hear how everyday people impact the world through their careers. Learn about their journey, career hacks and obstacles along the way. Whether you're already having the impact you want or are searching for it, this is the podcast for you. All right, mino, welcome to the show.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you for having me. Super happy to be here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm excited to have you. I know you are someone that has an illustrious career and I just want to dive right in and tell the world what it is you do for a living.
Speaker 1:Thank you. I am the Executive Artistic Director of People's Theater Project. People's Theater Project, ptp, is a theater and social justice organization. We create theater with and for the immigrant community of New York City. We are based uptown in Washington Heights, and what I do in my work is a lot of things. As executive artistic director right With my artistic director title I oversee all of our productions At PTP.
Speaker 1:We do professional productions with immigrant artists, we do ensemble-based work. I work with our creative producer. We hire a lot of artists and work with them to help cultivate new works of theater that tell our stories as Latinos, as immigrants. We also do community productions with everyday New Yorkers, and that's always a joy to do that. And then we cultivate new work with emerging playwrights as well with our playwrights unit. So I oversee all of that. I look at our partners. I find partners, co-producers, and we built that and that's super exciting. And sometimes I get to direct plays as well, which is great, because that was my original training and then I also.
Speaker 1:We do a lot of work with immigrants. When we say immigrants, we also really put emphasis on our young people. So we have a robust education program and I work closely with our education team as we build curriculum, as we create new programs, as we do our programs, our Academy for Theater Leadership and Activism, as well as our partnership with schools and community centers across Uptown, the Bronx and New York City. And then, finally, advocacy we do a lot of advocacy for immigrant rights in at People's Theater Project and I lead a lot of that effort in my role as executive artistic director. As part of I'm a member of New York State Council on the Arts and as well as the Latinx Arts Consortium of New York, advocating for a more equitable culture sector. And then other advisory boards where I sit as well New York Immigration Coalition, really helping to give input on policy at the city, state and federal level.
Speaker 2:Wow, and how big is this organization?
Speaker 1:So we started volunteer-based 16 years ago. This is our 16th season and right now we have full-time staff of nine, part-time staff of about 15 to 20. We're about, you know, $1.6 million budget. So we're the largest cultural performing, the largest performing art nonprofit in upper Manhattan, above Harlem, which is really exciting, and you know we're so grateful.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. You all have a great reputation. You put on just remarkable work for a long time now. You founded this organization on just remarkable work for a long time now.
Speaker 1:You founded this organization. Tell me about that process. I did, I did. Ptp was born as my thesis project. It was I was living as an actor. I was doing teaching artists work, teaching in schools in the Bronx I was like in three middle schools in the Bronx and I knew I wanted to kind of find a bridge between the work that I was doing as an activist in the streets and in the classrooms with young people and then my professional theater work as a theater director. That started as an actor and then transitioned to directing, and I did a master's in peace studies and conflict transformation.
Speaker 1:At that point I was already in New York City, uptown from DR and as part of my master's program, not only was I going to write a thesis but I was expected to kind of create an action research project, and for me that was People's Theater Project. You know how do we create a culture of peace through the arts, and I knew it was going to be with immigrants. I knew it was going to be in my community and you know, mind you, this is 2007, 2008, where a while ago, where there was a lot less, it's exciting to see the renaissance uptown Renaissance that's happened over the last decade or so, but back then there was very little when it came to theater. So we were very excited to be doing that work with members of our community, with professional artists, in Spanish, in English, and it's been a thrill to see it grow since then.
Speaker 2:Did you write your thesis knowing you wanted to actually bring it to life, or was it like a project that you just had to do and you had to submit something?
Speaker 1:I did not know. I did not know. I got into the program not knowing that that was the requirement. When I worked on the thesis, at that point I knew that that was what we had to do was a project, but the projects varied. In the cohort of students I was the only one who did arts-related stuff, so people did more research and policy work and but at that moment I knew that it had to be something that I would create that way.
Speaker 1:And it started as, like what happens if we bring a production, make it accessible so it was free and bring it uptown, and then it continued to, and you have four immigrants and and then from there, you know, I had a cousin. I have a cousin she's amazing Ileana Garcia, ileana Mila Garcia, who is a brilliant artist but also a graphic designer and created a logo for People's Theater Project. And then at the end of the thesis, I did great, but I graduated and they're like well, we have a logo, what if we just keep going? And that's really you know how it started and it was, and from there is what it is today.
Speaker 2:Wow, and from there to full-time staff and part-time staff and a new home for People's Theater Project. Yes, can you talk about that part as well, because I know you all are still in the process of fully moving in, right? But that new home is being completed.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I forgot to mention that. So thank you for saying that. So a big part of my job now is we are doing this large, huge for me right Capital projects in New York City. We are building People's Theater Project's first home, the People's Theater Centro Cultural Inmigrante. It is scheduled to open in 2026. We are in full construction. We have a whole team architects, construction managers, project managers, developers, owners, rep lawyers, like working very closely with the city, with the Economic Development Corporation as well as DCLA on this.
Speaker 1:But this will be a cultural space multidisciplinary, so not just theater really will be a place for music and dance and theater dedicated to the immigrant community and it'll be a home for immigrant artists, for local artists, for local groups to be creating, developing and presenting work that speaks to all of the cultures of New York City A home for many of them, not just for People's Theater Project and our own programming and producing. And it's you know, it's a gallery, art, gallery space as well. So all of that is happening. The core and shell, as we call it, kind of the white box, is, has been, is almost fully done and then a couple of months we start the fit out of the space to make it, you know, shiny and brand new cultural center in new york city. It'll be the largest latino managed theater in the state of new york, which is amazing yeah, that's awesome and that's you know.
Speaker 2:That's through that process is where you and I really connected, um, when I was working at the Economic Development Corporation.
Speaker 2:Since then, I've just been in awe of all of your work, right, like you've mentioned, basically like six different roles that you have right now within this one company. Right, like you're fundraising, you're managing a capital project, you're managing staff, you're producing plays, like you're actually like putting on productions and like all of this is, it seems to be like just part of the role. Right, but talk to me about what this looks like. When you walk in on a Monday, how do you figure out what the heck you're doing for the week?
Speaker 1:So that's a great question and it's so funny because I think in my position I love that question and it changes. That's the thing, right. Every week can look very different for me in my role. You know, if it's a week that is heavy on government, community relations, government relations, I am out a lot. I'm out a lot having meetings, going down to City Hall, going to Albany, really meeting with elected officials talking about the push that needs to happen around the arts sector, around PTP, the programming, so some weeks look like that. But Mondays are very important for me because I meet with most of our departments. I meet with our development team, I meet with our production team. On that, so I start building my weekly to-do list after I check in with our directors and our departments of, like, what's up to date, what needs my review, because we have such a you know, an amazing team and used to be that I was the education director or I was the development director. Yeah, I was all these things.
Speaker 1:So now they let me know what needs my approval. There's a grant that now needs my review, but I don't write the grant anymore. There's a curriculum that's been written and needs my review. So really, mondays are very important for me to settle in, see what's in the docket, get updates, and then on Tuesdays I also meet with our owners reps for the capital project. So I get a lot of updates there. But throughout the week it really.
Speaker 1:You know, this week, you know, like a couple of weeks ago, I had to read a hundred submissions. Or it took me like three weeks for our playwrights unit. We got tons of submissions. Or our creative producers, like here's your deadline, here you go, you have 50 plays to read, and I was like, oh my God, I need to create space for that. So, finding buckets of time to do all of these different things and then create space for, you know, on Tuesdays I approve payroll, I approve all of our invoices, I approve everything that needs to be paid out with our finance team. So it's a mix of things. And, of course, this capital project takes up not just Tuesdays. It's like every day. So many things come through working with the city, working with developers, and that's definitely takes precedent.
Speaker 2:So managing my time as much as I can, yeah, and even thinking about just that right, like all of the things that you're doing and I'm thinking back to a few years ago, having the foresight to respond to an RFP, thinking about the future of PTP, right, so you were not only doing all the things that you're saying now, but thinking about a future permanent home and finding an opportunity within an RFP, a request for a proposal, figuring out the partners to work with, and can you talk to me about that process, because I feel like that's something that, as an executive director, not everyone is thinking about potentially, like finding a new home or a permanent home and like that's.
Speaker 1:You know that's a lot of foresight that it takes, yeah, and I think even the process of applying was, you know, almost two years, because by the time it came out and there was also COVID in the mix.
Speaker 1:But even getting ready, like we met with the board first to be like, like we this is why we think we can do this, or we should do this, and really thinking, as you said, a foresight, because where we were then I knew was not where we needed to be in order to run it, but I knew there was going to be time. So even when we applied, our full-time staff was four or five. We're now nine. Next year we're hiring on four more. So we, by the because we will we need to now start building new positions that we don't need now, right, a technical director, an operations director, a rentals manager, right, things that we don't need because we don't have a space now we know we will need.
Speaker 1:So what we did was we did a five-year plan. We really planned ahead. I started having conversation with funders that were not funding us yet, but telling the story, telling the impact of where we were going, and some really joined on and really invested in the capacity building of us as an organization. We also worked with some consultants to do like a business plan. For once, we open the space, so we have a very clear plan of what the costs will be. So we invested in that and do it in that time to do that work. So we really have a clear idea, which has been effective in the fundraising, to say, look, we know, this is how much we're going to ramp up. We're going to be a $3 million organization. We're going to have these positions. A lot of that will be offset by the rentals that we will be doing. This is how we're going to sustain the company, the organization.
Speaker 1:The real estate PTP will own this.
Speaker 1:We've been working very closely with our lawyers for our condo docs and making sure that we have a very good deal we won't have a mortgage, thank condo docks and making sure that we have a very good, a good deal.
Speaker 1:We won't have a mortgage, thank goodness, thanks to New York City being able to do this and so it really has put us in a place of kind of slow and steady, although not that slow, because we really have almost doubled in size in the last like five years. We have doubled in size in the last five years and we'll double again in the next two, but we know that at that point we will be at a place of sustainability right Of now, growing just you know what we grow every year with inflations and things, but not really. My intention is not for us to continue to be this mammoth thing, but just to be what we need to be in order to serve the community, in order to do the work well and you know, that's how we've been able to raise $33 million, which has been amazing, and we have the last five to go now from the private sector.
Speaker 1:We've raised two already from the private sector and that'll be for our reserves. We know we need that in there. We know we need a bucket for space subsidies. So we are reaching out to partners and inviting them and I think part of it is saying hey, you want to be part of this. You know, go into part of saying that. So it's been very exciting for us to kind of do that work and, trusting that I know that the work is important, the project is exciting and the funding will come, the partners will come, who'll want to be part of it? And I think I just knew back then, even though we were nowhere near able to do it, that it was the right, as you said. It was the right, as you said, it was the right project for us and it was the right way to do it.
Speaker 1:We've been I mean, I've been wanting to open a theater in washington heights, like uptown, for 15, I mean, since I moved to the neighborhood 20 years ago like there isn't one. Why not? We're such creative, amazing, you know. We're such a creative, vibrant community. We have so many stories to tell. Right when ptb started, we went out to the streets, spoke to over 100 people when was the last time you saw a play? We asked them two questions when was the last time you saw a play? Would you like to be in a play? Tell your story with people's theater projects. For the first one, over 95% of people said bueno, like the nativity play at church, or never. For the second one, 98% of people said we have so much talent, not only those that actively work on Broadway. We have so many people uptown who do work in the commercial theater scene, in the, you know, for-profit theater scene, non-profit theater scene, off-broadway on Broadway, but also, just, you know, our abuelas and our tias and our deli workers and teachers and social workers. We also have stories. So I knew that I wanted theater, and teachers and social workers we also have stories. So I knew that I wanted theater.
Speaker 1:And over the years before this RFP came out, I mean we saw abandoned, we saw churches, we saw basements, like it was always like trying, could this be it? But it wasn't, it was never quite the right project. And then, when this came out, we're like this is it? You know this makes it. It came with $15 million that helped us kind of catapult it. So, being able to do that, new York City and the formal council member put that forward who's now Commissioner of Transportation, commissioner of Rodriguez, the fact that that was part of the neighborhood project and I think was just made it so that a small nonprofit would have the opportunity to apply and we did it in partnership with 21 nonprofits, groups in the community, who we met with and organized with, and they're like you have to do this. So we leaned into our power, into our value of bravery, because we were being brave, and then, after two years and a lot of interviews and more amendments and addendums, we got it and it's been a journey. It's been three years since that day. It's been amazing.
Speaker 2:In the last 15 years of leading this organization, what are you most proud of?
Speaker 1:I'm proud of so many things, but I think I'm most proud of the people that make up People's Theater Project, and that's not only the young people that we've worked with, who, many of them, I have now hired as full-time staff. Our board chair was my first student. She was 10 years old when I met her. She is now 26, working at a Fortune 500 firm in Hudson Yards. And so I think the people that we have impacted, and also the people who work and make this work happen every day I mean I'm very lucky to work with passionate individuals, to have been able to create space to build careers for individuals within the organization, where some this was their first kind of full-time job, you know, six years ago and have really grown into their own work and have expanded the work are so committed to our community, to the immigrant community, to young people, you know, those who work in education. So I mean that's the thing I'm most proud of both the participants and and our team.
Speaker 2:Of all the hats that you wear, what's your favorite part of your role? And then what's the most challenging part of the role?
Speaker 1:I think the favorite is when I get to do the artistic work and the advocacy work, for sure.
Speaker 1:But the artistic work getting to be in a rehearsal room directing I did it last year for the first time in quite a few years and I'm doing it this year again because there was so much joy that I got.
Speaker 1:Even though it takes up a lot of time and it means I'm working overtime, because I'm then still having to do all the admin work in the evenings or in the day, depending on the schedule, is it's worth it, like it fills me. So I realized last year, after not having done it for about four years, to create space within my year, right A month, where I can do that is important. So that definitely brings me so much joy. I remember once hearing Lin-Manuel Miranda and the amazing Miranda family who we love, say that when he was playing Hamilton, just being an actor in those whatever you know brilliant play, but like just being an artist in one form, there's such like. It's like not the easiest part of the day I think I forget how he said it, but for me being in the rehearsal was like not all the other million things I'm doing, just working with actors right here, right now, to tell one story is so beautiful, so that's definitely the one that brings me the most joy.
Speaker 1:I would say I can't just choose one, so the other one is being with our kids, being with the young people doing advocacy One of the things even though I'm not in the classroom anymore, I still engage with our young people doing advocacy work.
Speaker 1:So I work with Leticia Cortez, who's our youth and family advocate, and we take our young people to Albany and we take our young people to rallies and you know we have them do lobby days and speak with elected officials and I've built these relationships over 15 years with elected officials and it brings me so much joy to be able to, you know, say this is Brianna, brianna, talk to Senator Gustavo Rivera, talk to Senator Jackson, talk to Assemblyman Manny de los Santos, and they're able to speak so beautifully and powerfully because theater does that.
Speaker 1:We're able to communicate, we can speak, we know how to do that and I remember when we first did that many years ago, some of the elected officials would be like wow, but they're amazing, how much have they done? It's like they've never done it. But they are actors. Our work is about them telling their own stories and how to speak about themselves. And there's, you know, we always say theater and storytelling is the first thing we need to do to change hearts before we change policy. If you hear directly from those who are impacted, so that brings me a lot of joy too. The most challenging right you impacted so that brings me a lot of joy too.
Speaker 1:The most challenging, right? You asked me the most challenging Time management. Time management I can't, it's hard. That is the most challenging. How do I fit it all in? And then I'm also a mother, so a lot of my work happens outside of regular office hours, right. If there's a dinner, if there's a gala, if there's a coffee, if there are drinks there are a lot of weekend things. So it's also finding the balance with life and work, right. So I've been able over the last few years to create spaces for that and know that if I work late I can come in later the next day and I take Friday afternoons with my kids and I limit how many evening events a week I do. There are some busier times of the year, but I think the balance and I think any other executive director will tell you that too time management and balance is the most challenging that I struggle with, for sure.
Speaker 2:That makes a lot of sense and I think it's interesting, because I think you've been able to find this interesting way to channel your creativity and channel all of the things that fuel you about theater through this organization. So in a way that you're not necessarily in every play and you're not necessarily in every production, but you are able to see them come to life and provide the resources that they need to come to life and the support and the staffing and the everything, and I just am in awe, right, because what you're doing is you're really broadening your impact in ways that it's not inherent, that you're an artist and now going to run a nonprofit right, like those are not necessarily the same transferable skills, but you've been able to do it like really gracefully.
Speaker 1:Thank you and it's true, I mean it definitely, like in the years, as we've continued to like, build and grow like, okay, literary manager, you know, playwright, what do you want to do? And that definitely has been a thing. Like a producer, right, I'm a theater producer, which I'm not in the room all the time. I'm not, you know, we have other but, like, I know that we are creating a space for art to flourish and that is and we've, like every time an artist comes to me, people who know of me or know what people feel, like PTP means so much. I know it's a home for me as a Latino artist, as a Dominican artist, right, as a, as a Latino artist, as a Dominican artist, right, as an immigrant, right, we have immigrants from all over.
Speaker 1:We started Claro, pretty Latino uptown, and we'll always be core Dominican and Latinos, but have broadened. You know when, eight years ago, we're, like you know, we are immigrant serving, we're really building that into the mission and we have artists from Uganda and Korea and China, our creative producers from China, our development director, japanese and El Salvador, and you know. So it's really beautiful to see that diversity. And, like someone from Uganda would be like Nino, ptp existing means so much to me, you know, as an artist, and that means a lot to me to know that we are creating a space, as you said, where it's like so much bigger than I could have done just maybe in that if I would have stayed as just an individual. So I'm very grateful for that.
Speaker 2:You know I'm very big on people can do well and do good at the same time. As an executive director of nonprofit, which you founded right, Can people make a decent living doing this type of work, or are they bound to be super poor because it's nonprofit?
Speaker 1:and that's just the way that it is. We have to keep channeling I mean championing and pushing the sector a hundred percent and we can't do this alone. So one of the things that I'll say is I mean, we have actively been as a nonprofit and together with our board and our leadership team, pushing salaries. You're continuing to grow that and I think there is a movement to do that there. You know, the nonprofit industrial complex is a thing that's you know, is a term and is real right. There's this expectation that because you're doing good, you shouldn't be able to live good, and that is a fallacy. We all work really hard just because we're passionate about it. So I'm very proud of the work we've done to really do our wages and increase our wages, and where we are now. And I would say you don't have to, we don't have to buy into that. I think the sector will push you to say it's just nonprofit, but we need to continue to push it. And our team has been pushing us and I am grateful for that because I believe in that. And then we've been pushing our board and other, you know, other nonprofits are continuing to do that and I think if we all come to. I mean, I am an organizer, so if we advocate together we can elevate together, because the work we are a company, we don't have an owner right.
Speaker 1:So that's that should even be a thing that I think for other people who are looking to start nonprofits, work in nonprofits, especially for founders or executive directors, it's like you know, if I would have started a for-profit, you know I would get stuff. At the end of this I get nothing, I get a salary, that's it Right. And so that's why it's so important to make sure that these salaries are equitable and our compensation packages and our benefits are really wonderful and we give them tons of PTO time right, like Europe standards right Weeks and weeks and weeks right, because we know that it's a work-life balance and we believe we all deserve it. So even if at the beginning wages are not where they should have been, where they have to be, then there's other ways we can complement right. So our packages of what we do, you know we do six weeks right, a vacation, we do, you know, for all the other things that are more standard. But really creating space for employees to have that balance is a way to do it. So I think you can.
Speaker 1:I think the world needs nonprofits. Government can't do it alone. For-profit companies can't do it alone. They do good work too, but I think there is such an important place, especially in New York City, for nonprofit organizations to be pushing forward equitable living and justice for our communities, and so we need the sector to come on up to raise those salaries so that we can all continue to do this work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and you mentioned earlier, you started this without a salary right and now you've been able to grow it.
Speaker 1:I have three other jobs, yeah, at the beginning, but I think that's the thing for any startup right, you start and you're like figure it out, but if you're committed to your mission, you have your clear vision of where you're going. You have the right team right, a co-founder with my partner who's still in the organization managing director, and like having that core group whoever that is is so important as you're building something.
Speaker 2:Is this what you always wanted to do for a living? Like I know when you, when you were speaking earlier, it sounded like direct acting or production of plays was more of your driver. But like, when did that start for you?
Speaker 1:You know, I feel like my mom would say like of course this is what you were going to do. You know, like I definitely put up a theater camp for my cousins when I was 10 and organized curriculum and did all the things that we did shows. So at one point I do think that this was my purpose and what I was always going to do. And my mom has a company in DR and, like you know, like I think what I saw, she worked together with with, with my dad, and is a designer. So it's our in the art space. But there was a moment in my early twenties where I was like I want to act and I want to direct. But I'm glad that I did that, for because I learned so much in that space, right, but I do think that I never thought like I was going to be executive artistic director. You know, like I didn't know it was going to be what it is today, or that PTP exactly would be this.
Speaker 1:But I think, creating a space where artists can work, where young people can thrive and be centered, where advocacy, where working collaborative and and kind of running things, creating things I do kind of feel like that's where I was meant to be. And now, at 43, I can say yes, this, this was it. In hindsight, I was like I knew that when I was seven probably, I did a program in college. I built a whole program in college too. So it's like I think it was like part of me to be like okay, this is something that needs work, that needs fixing or needs happening. Let's build something. Work together.
Speaker 2:And you were born and raised in Dominican Republic.
Speaker 1:Born and raised in DR in Santo Domingo. I came here because I got a scholarship and went to college.
Speaker 2:And even at that age you knew like I'm going to go into theater and study. Was it theater that you actually studied, or what was your actual I?
Speaker 1:did. I did so. I was actually studying in college there to be education and philosophy I was doing in DR. And then I saw I didn't.
Speaker 1:At that point I did not know I was going to do theater at all because it wasn't something I grew up. I grew up doing some theater but, like in DR, back then in the 80s and 90s, there was not a big theater scene. That was not a thing that you're like I'm gonna be an actor, that's not a thing. Now it's changing and there's definitely Bella Sarpies has an amazing theater school, but back then in 1998, it wasn't it really. It was like wasn't a career, right? Um, so I was gonna be a teacher. And then there was the first international theater festival in DR in 1998 and 1999. And it changed my life and there were companies from Chile, from Spain, from Cuba, from Colombia, from Mexico and I was like, wait, you all live and tour the world doing theater. Like what is this? This is a thing. I never met that or seen that.
Speaker 1:So at that point I dropped out of college. I was still working during the day as a theater, as a teacher, not theater as a teacher, first grade teacher assistant. I was doing college, which is very common there in the evenings. But I instead started doing theater and street theater while I applied for schools. So I applied too, and this is before online applications. There was no such thing.
Speaker 1:The internet existed I'm not that old, but it was not online applications. It was all like printing out packets and da, da, da da, and at the end I didn't think I was going to come to the US. I really didn't. But it ended up being where I was able to get the most support financially and it was closer than South America and my parents were freaking out for me to go too far. So it ended up being you know, there are daily flights to New York from DR. That New York was the place where I ended up, and it was. You know, life works in ways that you sometimes don't know. I never thought I would come to the U? S and it's definitely is the home where I should have been and where I was able to build, you know, people's theater projects, so very grateful.
Speaker 2:Wow, and this is, you know, just the exposure of attending a festival and like how that can change your entire trajectory. Like I love that.
Speaker 1:My entire trajectory. It was literally I never thought theater was a career. And then suddenly it was like boom, study theater and all that.
Speaker 2:And now you're providing that exposure to others.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I love it. That's great. Are there any forms of media that could be books, podcasts, anything that you've consumed or read or anything that has shaped you personally or professionally?
Speaker 1:I'm sorry that I didn't think of this. It's so funny because, as you say, this one of the things that I've been devouring many books recently and it has been like the nourishing and many plays, but it hasn't really been around my career because part of it is letting go of that, because part of it is letting go of that, like creating space to just nurture my art has been very good for me, creating that kind of that balance.
Speaker 1:So there's a couple of authors that I love Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of them, esmeralda Santiago and there's another author there. Of course it's terrible that I'm not remembering, since I've read four of her books this year. First name Rachel I will get back to you so you can put it when this podcast is posted but it's an author who writes about love, all kinds of love, love between friends and sisters. I recently lost my father and there was love between an ancestor and self and it's just been very nourishing to just see all the different spaces where love can exist and nurture and relationship building. And I think, in a way, kind of this work is about relationship building.
Speaker 1:No nonprofit, no individual, no artist can exist without building relationships and the relationships that I have today with you know elected officials started when they were interns 15 years ago, you know, or staffers, so it's been, you know, in a way not directly, I'm not reading about careers, but I'm really about the importance of relationships and love and centering love and joy, and it just Rebecca Searle, that's her name, rebecca Searle, and I've read four of her books this year and it's just been like and I cry and I laugh and that kind of gives me that, okay, let's go and cry and laugh together about the world, about the work you know.
Speaker 1:So those three authors and not I love fiction, I mean, I'm an artist. What can I say?
Speaker 2:that's great. Are there any plays that you've watched that you think folks should go check out?
Speaker 1:I've seen so many shows recently. I'm so I love theater. People should definitely go see live theater. I think it's closing, but just last week I saw Stereophonic on Broadway and it's still on. I don't know when it closes, but it was so good. It was such a wonderful play. It started in the off-Broadway scene and you get a glimpse into a recording, like a band making music in the 70s, and it really feels like a glimpse into something that you don't, we wouldn't as regular people who are not a band from the 70s and I love Fleetwood Mac and that was part of the inspiration.
Speaker 1:But it was so well done, the acting was so beautiful, and then you get to see the bits and pieces of them recording and the actors who are actors some of them used to be musicians. I mean, some of them kind of played an instrument. Most of them didn't have to learn how to play an instrument. All they know is how to play those songs, but they actually record in an album. So, like in the play, you're not going to hear the whole song, you're going to see the bits of how you build music and the disasters that come. And it was just so cool. It was like I didn't know. You layer things, you just do vocals and then you do the, but then actually after you can download and hear the whole album.
Speaker 1:It's like oh my god, that was the moment in that scene when she was having a mental breakdown, or that was that. So it's like so beautiful that the play even continues beyond. And the piece is also about when you are you ready to give up on your career and this is too hard, right? That's what it deals about. So I loved it, Highly recommend it, and that's the one that's front and center for me now. But anything at Perigones, definitely come see People's Theater Project. We have a reading coming up, Domino Effect at New York Theater Workshop and then at Art New York next spring. But yeah, check out what Off-Broadway is doing, Check out what your local community groups are doing. That's where the real work you know is happening.
Speaker 2:National Black Theater I'm a big fan of their work in Harlem, so yeah, how can people work with, participate in support, partner all the things with People Theaters Project?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So there's a few ways to do that. We have so many kind of entry points, of collaboration. We are in a place of growth and expansion. We want to meet new people, we want to meet new companies, we want to have people join our team. So the first way is, like, go to our website and sign up for our mailing list. Get to know what we're doing. Come see a show. A lot of our work is free, because that's the point, right. That initial thesis of making theater accessible is still holds true, right? So we have a free stage reading of a brand new work that will be a world premiere of Broadway production in the spring. That's happening in a couple of weeks. Tickets just went out, they're free.
Speaker 1:We have a festival of new works uptown happening in December. Like, come to that. We have a community fundraiser. That is a party, a big party uptown that's happening in November. Come to that, get a drink and support a nonprofit. So I think, attending, coming to be an audience member and also, if you want to volunteer we are always looking for ushers or people to come and volunteer with our young people as well.
Speaker 1:We have our Palante workshop. So you're someone who is a professional in the field and you're a person of color, you're a Latino. We want our young people to know, to hear you talk, to tell them about all the different career paths we do that in October. Tell them about financial management, whatever it is. We have so many different pockets so we can connect you to our education team there. And, of course, if you want to donate, if you want to support our scholarships, all of our programs are free to students. We don't charge tuition. We fundraise for it so that they don't have to pay.
Speaker 1:So we're definitely looking for partners, both for our capital project this is. You know someone who works at a company and they want their name somewhere. Contact me, meino, at People's Theater Project, and we'll make that happen. So, yeah, there's so many different ways to get involved, both as an audience, as an artist. If you want to act with us, like and the best way is go to our website, find us, follow us on social People's Theater Project on Instagram and Facebook, and we'll reach out and find a way. It's all about collaboration. I love it. I rarely say no, which my team doesn't love, because then I create more work, but it's really about building and creating spaces, and that can continue forever and in so many ways.
Speaker 2:Is there anything we haven't discussed today that the world should know about Meno?
Speaker 1:I don't think so. I think we did pretty good.
Speaker 2:I think so. I think we covered a lot Um and definitely about the Genesis and the growth of people's theaters, project Um, and even what sparked the idea to get to this point. So you know, I appreciate you taking the time to come on today and to and to speak with us.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. This was great and I really appreciate the invitation. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did and believe on the mission we're on, please like, rate and subscribe to this podcast on whatever platform you're using, and share this podcast with your friends and your networks. Make sure you follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn at Career Cheat Code and tell us people or careers you would like to see highlighted. See you next week with some more cheat codes. Peace.
