No Latino Theatre Company, No Problem. Make Your Own!
*What do you think? Is it that easy? I know there are many theater-Taquistas, what do you say? VL
By Diep Tran, American Theater (6.5 minute read) 
In 2013, Cleveland Public Theatre artistic director Raymond Bobgan was onstage doing what he does often: a pre-show speech. In addition to the usual “please silence your cell phones,” Bobgan asked the audience: “How many of you have been to the theatre before?” Five hands rose in the air. In a house of about 150 people. This was not your typical audience.
For one, it was a mostly Latinx house. They were there to see the inaugural performance of a new Latinx performance ensemble created by CPT, called Teatro Publico de Cleveland. The show was a devised work called Cuando Cierras Your Eyes, and as soon as the curtain rose, it didn’t matter that most of that audience had never been to the theatre before. “Within one minute, the audience was just roaring with laughter,” recalled Letitia Lopez, a founding member of Teatro Publico and a Cleveland native. “It was just an awesome feeling to know that we did this. We were all backstage going, ‘Oh my gosh! They’re here, they’re laughing, they’re reacting!’ It was the best feeling.”
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Lopez had never acted onstage until Bobgan approached her one day with an idea: What did she think of collaborating with CPT to create a Latinx theatre ensemble—one for which theatre experience wasn’t necessary and in which anyone could participate?
“I thought it was a great idea, I thought it was something that was very much needed,” she said. Lopez was no stranger to CPT; she is the director of the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center, located a mile away from the theatre. The two institutions have collaborated on various community events, including the theatre’s annual Dias de Los Muertos celebration. out.” Instead, a Teatro Publico performance is a community event.
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