STAGE TUBE: I AM THEATRE Project - Elisa Marina Alvarado

BroadwayWorld.com is excited to share a weekly series developed by the Theatre Communications Group! This week Teatro Vision's Elisa Marina Elvarado shares pivotal moments in her theatre career and why the arts matter to her!

Elisa Marina Alvarado is a founding member and Artistic Director of Teatro Visión which this year celebrates twenty-seven years of creating and performing theater of self-determination and hope. For over thirty years she has worked for social justice as an actress, director, social worker and community organizer. Elisa has taught theater for Teatro Visión, San José State University, and San Francisco State University and many community organizations. She developed the new works program, Codices, through which Teatro Visión has produced many world premieres including CONJUNTO (Oliver Mayer), BOXCAR (Silvia González S.), VISITORS GUIDE TO ARIVACA (Evangeline Ordaz) and PERLA (Leonard Madrid). She has directed many premieres and many Teatro Visión including productions of PERLA, THE WOMAN WHO FELL FROM THE SKY, HERO, the 2006 & 1996 productions of LA VÍCTIMA, BOXCAR, THE LADY FROM HAVANA, WHEN EL CUCUI WALKS, SPIRIT DANCING, and BLESS ME ULTIMA: THE PLAY. She established Teatro Visión's theater training program, the Instituto de Teatro, which offers comprehensive training in culture based theater. She is also currently a member of the Native Family Outreach and Education project and the City of San José Independent Police Auditor Community Advisory Committee. In 2010 she was selected as one of the Silicon Valley's Business Journal "Women of Achievement" and was awarded the Human Relations Commission James McKentee Lifetime Achievement award. Elisa is originally from San Jose, California.

I AM THEATRE spotlights the stories of theatre practitioners, in their own words. With 50 videos over the next 50 weeks, TCG is celebrating its 50th anniversary by sharing stories from a diverse group of people who are creating, supporting, and engaging with theatre. YOU ARE THEATRE: We want to hear your stories! TCG will release a new video each week of individuals sharing pivotal moments in theatre - and hope they will inspire you to tell your stories too. Join us as we seek to raise the international awareness of the depth, diversity and impact of the theatre field. WE ARE THEATRE! Today, not-for-profit professional theatres in the U.S. employ 130,000 people annually, inspire more than 30 million attendees and contribute $2 billion directly to the U.S. economy. What if thousands of theatre artists across the world posted their own video testimonies of why they do what they do and why theatre matters? How might that transform communities' awareness of our work? Please share the stories we've recorded, and we'll share the videos you make, and together we'll testify in a voIce That everyone will hear...I AM THEATRE. YOU ARE THEATRE. WE ARE THEATRE!

For 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 13,000 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research and communications; awards grants, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and serves as the US Center of the International Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is North America's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 11 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning AMERICAN THEATRE magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. www.tcg.org