2019 Latinx Theatre Commons Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) Sin Fronteras Festival & Convening

The 2019 LTC Convening at the 2019 TYA Sin Fronteras Festival gathered artists, scholars, and educators from across the Americas to experience theatre with young people and consider the needs and incredible capacities of Latinx audiences of the future on 24-26 January 2019. The Festival featured productions of five TYA plays from the USA and Latin America. The Convening brought 150 adult participants from across the Americas to experience these five shows with young people in the audience, and learn more about TYA through workshops, panels, discussions, and artmaking events. 

The 2019 LTC TYA Sin Fronteras Festival and Convening was made possible by the The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Further support was provided by HowlRound Theatre Commons, Emerson College, Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS), Texas Performing Arts (TPA), Children’s Theatre Foundation of America, the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS), and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, ZACH Theatre, City of Austin Cultural Arts Division, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Sin Fronteras was produced in association with Teatro Vivo and the University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre & Dance.

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See convening program here

The Latinx Theatre Commons presented the 2019 Theatre for Young Audiences Sin Fronteras Festival & Convening livestreaming from Austin, Texas on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 24 January to Saturday 26 January 2019.

Thursday 24 January 2019

Opening Ceremonies & Blessing (Livestreaming)

7:20 a.m. - 8 a.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 9:20 a.m. - 10 a.m. CST (Austin) / 10:20 a.m. - 11 a.m. EST (New York)

Welcome to the Sin Fronteras Festival and Convening! For this special opening ceremony, we congregate in a circle outside of the Winship Drama Building where members of the Maikan/Garza tribe, Dr. Mario Garza and Maria Rocha, will lead us in honoring their Coahuiltecan ancestors through an opening blessing, followed by Aztec danza from Miltotiliztli Yaoyollohtli of Dallas, TX. We will then enter the space as a community to hear the goals and inspiration behind this festival and convening, including voices of Latinx youth around whom this event is centered, as well as from festival and convening planners. 

Please note: Out of respect and per the request of our indigenous community, we will not be livestreaming the blessing or the danza outside. During this time, we will be receiving a sacred blessing and acknowledging and honoring the land on which the convening and festival will take place, but we welcome you to join us for the rest of the ceremonies inside the building!

Breakout Session: Face to Face with Rising Youth Theatre and Teatro Bravo (Livestreaming)

1 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 3 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. CST (Austin) / 4 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. EST (New York)

What happens at the intersections of race, class, and age? Face to Face is a new project from Phoenix, AZ based Rising Youth Theatre and Teatro Bravo that brings an intergenerational group of artists together for an inclusive, intensive process of artmaking and critical dialogue. This bilingual workshop will introduce participants to Rising Youth Theatre’s strategies for creating art with young people, not just for young people through a model of intersectional solidarity.

Plenary #1: Exploring the Roots of TYA in Latin America and the United States (Livestreaming)

2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. CST (Austin) / 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. EST (New York)

Join us for an engaging plenary dialogue as we explore questions such as: What is the historical landscape of Latinx TYA in the USA and TYA in Latin America? What is the current state of the field? How do we define this work? Who is writing, producing, publishing, promoting the work? How is the work funded differently in represented countries? Panelists include Marco Novelo, Miriam Gonzales, José Cruz Gonzalez, CC Casas, and Diana Guizado. Moderated by Roxanne Schroeder-Arce. 

Friday 25 January 2019

Plenary #2: Producing Latinx TYA in our Theatres and Communities (Livestreaming)

1 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 3 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. CST (Austin) / 4 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. EST (New York)

How can theatre companies support one another in producing Latinx TYA? What kinds of stories are resonating with our young people? Where do we still have to go, and how can we get there? This dialogue will explore present challenges, successes, and strategies from producers, artistic directors, directors, playwrights, and advocates of Latinx TYA. Participants will be invited to share strategies that have worked in their own theatres and communities. Panelists include Rupert Reyes, Ramón Esquivel, Crystal Mercado, and Nat Miller. Moderated by Emily Aguilar.

Breakout Session: Palabras Del Cielo: An Exploration of Latina/o Theatre for Young Audiences Book Session (Livestreaming)

2:45 p.m. - 4 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 4:45 p.m. - 6 p.m. CST (Austin) / 5:45 p.m. - 7 p.m. EST (New York)

Led by author Jose Casas, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan, this community dialogue will engage scholarship, productions, access, and issues of diversity in the field of Theatre for Young Audiences.

Saturday 26 January 2019

Breakout Session: Festival Interprepas Tijuana Hace Teatro (THT): Experiencias del teatro en la frontera que han empoderado la voz de los jóvenes (Recording will be available)

11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. CST (Austin) / 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. EST (New York)

Presentado por Jesús Quintero y Ramón Verdugo, esta sesión discute cómo el Festival Interprepas THT y las producciones de “Tijuana Hace Teatro” han buscado durante nueve años un acercamiento con los jóvenes de la región. Esta sesión será presentada en español.

Festival Interprepas Tijuana Hace Teatro (THT): Theatre on the border empowering the voices of young people:

Led by Jesús Quintero and Ramón Verdugo, this session discusses how the Festival Interprepas Tijuana and the productions of Tijuana Hace Teatro have worked for nine years to establish a relationship with the young people of the border region. This session is presented in Spanish.

Closing Ceremonies (Recording will be available)

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. CST (Austin) / 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. EST (New York)

To conclude our convening, we will meet in a circle outside on the grounds of the Mexican American Cultural Center. The full group of dancers from Miltotiliztli Yaoyollohtli will offer Aztec danza concluding our three-day celebration. Conveners will have a moment for reflections and words of gratitude with a final closing by our Coahuiltecan elders.

Please note: Out of respect and per the request of our indigenous community, we will not be livestreaming the blessing or the danza outside. We welcome you to join us for the rest of the ceremonies inside the building!