Breath of Fire Latina Theater

Ensemble Wins Best Play at

International Latino Book Awards

Santa Ana’s Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble has won Best Play for its “COVID Monologues" by the International Latino Book Awards (ILBA). The ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on October 21. Created by Empowering Latino Futures, the ILBA has grown over the past 25 years to become the largest Latino literary and cultural awards in the United States. 

To learn more about the ILBA, visit https://www.latinobookawards.org/

Theatre Companies Finally Start

to See AB5 Relief Ahead 

While companies such as Uber and Lyft escaped AB5, small non-profit theatre companies did not. The legislation, which originally targeted the way some for-profit businesses classified independent contractors, had unintended consequences for the performing arts. Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill activating the Equitable Payroll Fund, which will help theatres comply with AB5.

Read more here.

Newport Beach Teen Makes

Directorial Film Debut 

Lucy Hunter, a 15 year-old director and writer from Newport Beach, right, stands with cast and crew from her show, “You Should Be Dead” in Serrano Creek Park where the show is produced.

Orange County School of the Arts freshman Lucy Hunter has gone from writing, directing and editing a film for a class final to having the first episode of her film series “You Should Be Dead” screened at the Newport Theatre. The 15 year-old Newport Beach native had been working on the project for three years before assembling her cast and crew to begin filming.

Read more here.

San Clemente City Officials Considering Construction of Amphitheater 

The City of San Clemente is looking at options for the design and construction of an amphitheater, the idea for which has come from residents who want more space for performance. An Amphitheater Committee has been discussing the proposal since 2022, although it remains unclear how the venue would be financed. 

Read more here.

Opportunities

Arts Midwest is partnering with the other United States Regional Arts Organizations on the 2023–24 National Leaders of Color Fellowship. This transformative leadership development experience is curated by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) to establish multicultural leadership in the creative and cultural sector. Applications are due on October 16, 2023.

Read more here.

Laura Bleiberg, Noted OC Dance Writer, Dies

Laura Bleiberg, as painted by Monica Edwards. Edwards was a friend and colleague at The Orange County Register. Image courtesy of Monica Edwards.

Laura Bleiberg, a nationally recognized dance critic and arts journalist with longstanding ties to Orange County, died earlier this month after a long illness. Bleiberg, who lived in Long Beach, was 65. Bleiberg worked for The Orange County Register as a dance critic and arts reporter from 1989 to 2008. She was also a senior editor at Orange Coast Magazine from 2012 to 2017. More recently, Bleiberg provided incisive writing on dance and other art forms for Voice of OC’s Arts & Culture section for several years after its inception in 2018. Bleiberg was an experienced fundraiser for the arts as well, working in that capacity at South Coast Repertory and the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

Read more here.

Last Chance for Tickets:

Annual OC Arts Awards on October 17th

Join friends in the arts for this uplifting benefit evening that recognizes and celebrates the arts organizations, artists and arts patrons in the OC community whose significant contributions during the past year, or over the course of a lifetime, have notably impacted the arts in Orange County. For tickets and more information, visit https://artsoc.org/events-and-programs/orange-county-arts-awards/

We acknowledge with respect our presence on the ancestral lands of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians - Acjachemen Nation and the Tongva People.