LOS ANGELES: <\/strong>After 16 years as inventive director of Cornerstone Theater Company<\/a>, Michael John Garc\u00e9s<\/a> has introduced his resolution to depart the put up, efficient June 30, 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe value and love Michael so much,\u201d mentioned board chair Mark Valdez<\/a> in a press release. \u201cHe\u2019s been a great leader for Cornerstone, pushing our work to more directly address the social and political issues confronting our communities. We\u2019ll miss Michael, but we\u2019re excited for his new adventures and for the opportunity this presents for Cornerstone\u2019s evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy time at Cornerstone has been an incredible, beautiful, always challenging but also deeply joyous journey,\u201d mentioned Garc\u00e9s in a press release. \u201cI have learned so much from my fellow company members and from the many communities with which we\u2019ve worked. Life lessons about collaboration, about relevance, about humility, about listening, and about how to be a better artist and a better human. While I am very excited about what the future will bring, I know that this company and this work will always remain central to who I am and what I make, for which I am deeply grateful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Garc\u00e9s started his tenure with Cornerstone in early 2006, succeeding founding inventive director Bill Rauch<\/a>. Upon arrival he helped to outline a brand new six-production collection, the Justice Cycle, which explored how legal guidelines form and disrupt communities. He wrote Los<\/em> Illegals<\/em>, the primary play in that cycle, interviewing day laborers and home employees, studying from group associate organizations just like the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the South Asian Network. The Justice Cycle was adopted by an anniversary yr of revisiting three communities from Cornerstone\u2019s earlier work, in addition to the Hunger Cycle, which included 9 full-scale community-collaborative productions and codified \u201cCreative Seeds,\u201d a brand new engagement apply. Cornerstone\u2019s latest thematic exploration, the Change Series,<\/em> started in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n Garc\u00e9s\u2019 directing credit for Cornerstone embrace Someday<\/em> by Julie Marie Myatt, atTraction<\/em> by Page Leong, 3 Truths and What Happens Next<\/em> by Naomi Iizuka, Making Paradise\u2014The West Hollywood Musical<\/em> (co-directed with Mark Valdez) by Tom Jacobson, Caf\u00e9 Vida <\/em>by Lisa Loomer, Plumas Negras <\/em>by Juliette Carrillo, California: The Tempest <\/em>by Alison Carey, Urban Rez <\/em>and Native Nation <\/em>by Larissa FastHorse, Highland Park Is Here <\/em>by Mark Valdez (a digital manufacturing), in addition to Jim McManus\u2019 The Rivers Don\u2019t Know<\/em>, <\/em>produced by City Theatre Company on the Pittsburgh Playhouse, and others. His playwriting credit for Cornerstone embrace Los Illegals<\/em>, Consequence <\/em>(exploring faculty expulsion insurance policies with college students, dad and mom, and directors), Where I\u2019m From<\/em>, The Forked Path<\/em> (as a part of a Cornerstone residency with a forensic psychological well being establishment within the Netherlands), Magic Fruit<\/em> (an adaptation of The Magic Flute <\/em>which bridged the communities of the Hunger Cycle), 36 Yesses<\/em>, and others.<\/p>\n The final venture that Michael will direct for Cornerstone as inventive director is Wicoun, <\/em>written by Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota Nation). Wicoun <\/em>will probably be co-created in May\/June 2023 with the interconnected South Dakota residents of the Sicangu Lakota Nation (Rosebud), Oglala Lakota Nation (Pine Ridge), and Ihanktonwan Dakota Oyate (Yankton and Rapid City).\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are lucky to have had Michael\u2019s partnership and his leadership,\u201d mentioned Paula Donnelly, a longstanding member of Cornerstone\u2019s ensemble. \u201cHe\u2019s modeled adaptability, generous mentorship, and encouraged us to always step a little farther into discomfort for artistic and personal rewards. Michael\u2019s voice and artistry will be dearly missed at Cornerstone.\u201d<\/p>\n Cornerstone\u2019s board has engaged Tom O\u2019Connor Consulting Group to help within the seek for our subsequent inventive director. Information concerning the place and software course of could be discovered right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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