UCI students put diversity center stage in a summer series for young theatre professionals

Pictured above: The K.B. Theatre Company team.

UCI graduate students and their colleagues present Re-Creating the Stage: a round table for our new reality, a six-week digital summer program produced and organized by K.B. Theatre Company and collaborators. The program consists of panel conversations and workshops with industry professionals that represent diversity in the industry. The program aims to help those students and young industry professionals who have lost their internships, apprenticeships and summer work opportunities due to COVID-19. 

The program takes place on six Saturdays beginning on July 11, with the final event on August 15, 2020. The 60- to 90-minute panels and workshops focus on collaboration and art devising. The team has also created affinity spaces for emerging professionals to speak about the hardships they face in the industry in a closed and safe arena. 

The free programs are open to undergraduate and graduate students and entry-level professionals in the theatre and performance industries. 

For a full schedule and list of panelists and workshop guests, including several UCI alumni, please visit the website for registration.

Schedule of events:

  • July 11, Panel #1 | Actors & Performers
  • July 11, Panel #2 | Actors & Performers
  • July 18, Panel #3 | Theatrical Directors
  • July 25, Panel #4 | Producers, Managers & Technicians
  • August 1, Panel #5 | Producers & Leaders
  • August 1, Panel #6 | Producers & Leaders
  • August 8, Panel #7 | Lighting, Sound & Projections Designers
  • August 8, Panel #8 | Scenic & Costume Designers
  • ​August 15, Workshop #1 | Creative Collaboration & Devising New Stories
  • August 15, Workshop #2 | The Art of Storytelling

K.B. Theater Company is led by artistic director Stephanie Carrillo, managing director Jesús E. López Vargas, and general manager Merle DeWitt III. Both López Vargas and DeWitt are M.F.A. candidates in UCI's Department of Drama. The program was funded in part through a UCI Inclusivity Excellence Fellowship López Vargas received in May 2020. The team aims to collect qualitative and quantitative research in the areas of inclusivity and accessibility in educational and professional theatre institutions by hosting various affinity spaces that will take place throughout the summer of 2020. These affinity spaces will be closed to the public and open to only 30 applicants who seek to be part of these difficult, yet paramount conversations.