Diane Rodriguez Teatrista Award

Alexandra Meda is a cultural strategist, artistic director, and transformation architect whose work sits at the intersection of ensemble-based practice, systemic change, and collective restoration. As artistic director of Studio Luna, a Latinx and Women of Color ensemble formerly known as Teatro Luna, she develops immersive new work that centers marginalized stories and invites collective transformation.

She is the founder of Culture Change Lab, a co-producing director for the Network of Ensemble Theaters, and has partnered with institutions including Sundance Institute, Harvard’s American Repertory Theater, Yale University, Center Theater Group, and the Walt Disney Company to help organizations restructure leadership and embed equity into their work. A founding-year artEquity facilitation training alum, Alexandra brings rigor, joy, and integrity to everything she touches.

Miranda Gonzalez is a writer, director, producer, facilitator, and organizational strategist born and raised in Chicago. As producing artistic director of UrbanTheater Company in Humboldt Park, she creates interdisciplinary work that blends theatre, music, dance, and oral history to tell the stories of Chicago’s communities. A collective member of Culture Change Lab, a founding member of Teatro Luna, and a steering committee member of the National Latinx Theater Initiative, Miranda has spent decades building community through her art including a 2020 TEDx talk, The Fear of Decolonization, and her recent world premiere Back In The Day: an 80’s House Music Dancesical.

Adriana Gaviria is an actress, voice-over artist, writer, director, advocate, and creative producer whose theatre work spans stages across the country from Yale Repertory Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theater to Dallas Theater Center and Miami New Drama. She is a Founding Member and Co-Artistic Director of The Sol Project, Founder of North Star Projects, and serves on the executive team of Parent Artist Advocacy League. She holds a BFA from Florida International University and an MFA from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University.

Patricia is a weaver and connector who, for over twenty years, has produced local and national projects centering our collective liberation. Currently, Patricia serves as the Senior Director of Artistic and Production at Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA providing curatorial oversight of the public offerings and leading the production team. Most recently, Patricia served the City of Santa Monica as a Cultural Affairs Supervisor focused on space activation strategy. Previously, Patricia was the Producer and Director of Programs at Los Angeles Performance Practice and the Director of Programs and Engagement at the Network of Ensemble Theaters. A former member of the artistic staff at Center Theatre Group (CTG) for over a decade, Patricia filled roles spanning artistic, education and community partnerships, and management. Patricia had the honor of working alongside CTG Associate Artistic Director Diane Rodriguez for six years. Together they engaged world-renowned international and local companies on multi-year projects focused on collective and ensemble creation.

Patricia frequently speaks at public events, facilitates group conversations, consults, and has served as a grant panelist for the NEA, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, among others.  Over the course of several years, they have worked as a producer and facilitator with artEquity advancing equity nationally in the arts sector. They currently serve on the Board of Directors for the André Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice, which is creating and actualizing a shared vision of reclamation, revitalization, and economic independence for Black makers in New Orleans.

Patricia has an MFA/MBA in Theater Management from California State University, Long Beach, and a BA in English with a minor in Theater Studies from UC Berkeley. They reside on Tongva/Kizh land known as East Los Angeles with their beloved wife.