El Teatro Campesino
For General Operating Support
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Amount$120,000
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Program
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Date Awarded6/22/2021
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Term36 Months
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Type of SupportGeneral Support/Organization
Strategies
Overview
El Teatro Campesino creates and presents new and historic works of theater based in the Latino experience. As an ensemble company committed to generating social change through the arts, El Teatro Campesino offers mainstage productions, school-based performances, arts education, and performances in public settings that are often free of charge. In a typical year, the organization serves more than 10,000 audience members. This grant aligns with the Performing Arts Program’s Communities strategy.
About the Grantee
Grantee Website
www.elteatrocampesino.com
Address
Post Office Box 1240, San Juan Bautista, CA, 95045, United States
Grants to this Grantee
for general operating support
El Teatro Campesino grew out of the Delano Grape Strike picket lines of Cesar Chavez’s United Farmworkers Union in 1965, when founder and artistic director Luis Valdez created and performed short skits on flatbed trucks and in union halls. Since then, the organization has been recognized nationally and internationally for setting the standard for Latino/Chicano theater. An ensemble company committed to generating social change through the arts, the organization reaches more than 10,000 audience members each year through school programs, theatrical productions at its renovated warehouse theater, and free performances in public venues. A new grant to El Teatro Campesino would help it implement its new strategic plan to reach deeper into Northern California communities.
for organizational adaptation
El Teatro Campesino develops and presents new works of Latino theater. El Teatro Campesino was born out of farm worker strikes in the 1960s, and remains committed to generating social change through the arts. The organization serves predominately, but not exclusively, Latino audiences and students, and offers professional mainstage productions, low-cost or free community arts presentations, and arts education. In a typical year, it serves 6,000 people with more than 30 performances in schools and theaters, as well as public or outdoor venues. This grant will support El Teatro Campesino in making organizational adaptations and advance the Performing Arts Program’s Communities strategy.
for general operating support
Founded in 1965 with social justice at its core, El Teatro Campesino dramatizes the plights and causes of farmworkers and Latinos, and has since expanded its repertory to include an array of productions embracing worldwide struggles. Known primarily as an ensemble theater, the troupe draws upon local talent reflective of the communities whose narratives it brings to life for more than 10,000 audience members each year. A grant to the San Juan Bautista-based company will support its efforts to strategically extend its reach to San Jose, as the company seeks to broaden its base of support and expands its audiences. Likewise, El Teatro Campesino seeks to develop multiple ensembles and expand its training programs.
