Attention Latino/a/e/x writers from the greater Chicagoland area: submissions are now open for Inicios 2024, the 2nd Chicago Latine Playwright Festival, a new play incubator fostering works for the live stage about the Latine experience, produced by CLATA, the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance.
CLATA is seeking original, full-length plays that have not been produced before. All submitted scripts will be reviewed and selected by a panel of renowned Latine theater artists. Three plays, each with a $1,000 award, will be selected and presented at free staged readings May 15-17 at Inicios 2024 at locations including the National Museum of Mexican Art and the Chicago Cultural Center.
The submission portal is now online at clata.org. Deadline to submit is Sunday, March 10 at 11:59 p.m. CST.
Winning writers will be notified in mid-April and encouraged to participate in professional workshops of their plays with Chicago Latine directors and casts, leading into their staged readings.
Now in its second year, Inicios builds on CLATA’s commitment to amplify Latine voices on stage, continuing its role as a nurturing ground for emerging Latine voices often overlooked in theatrical storytelling.
Last year’s inaugural Inicios festival saw three diverse new plays by local Latine writers receive their first workshops and public readings:
New Personalidad by Nelson A. Rodriguez, a play in Spanglish about a family of devout Jehovah’s Witnesses accepting the loss of their youngest son, directed by Xavier M. Custodio, artistic director, Visíon Latino Theatre Company.
Dulcci by Raul Dorantes and Emily Masó, about a young high school student from Chicago who decides to give her legal identity to her undocumented best friend, directed by Marcela Muñoz, co-artistic director and managing director, Aguijón Theater.
Gasping: A Nicaraguan Fever Dream by Claribel Gross, a surreal tale of a brazen, barefooted little girl in Nicaragua, directed by Karla Lopez-Galvan, founder and artistic director, Teatro Tariakuri.
Audiences enjoyed being the first to experience (left) new plays Dulcci by Raul Dorantes and Emily Masó, and New Personalidad by Nelson A. Rodriguez, at the inaugural Inicios, the 1st Chicago Latine Playwright Festival in May 2023. Photos courtesy CLATA.
“As we embark on the second edition of this incredible journey, we embrace new beginnings and the profound narratives waiting to be shared with the world,” said Jorge Valdivia, Executive Director, CLATA.
“Every fall, our signature program, Destinos, the Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, presents fully-realized plays and musicals from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America. And now, every spring, Inicios offers Chicago audiences a a ground-floor opportunity to witness the magic that happens when Chicago Latine theater artists get in the same room to collaborate on new works.”
Stay tuned for details about the selected plays, directors, casts for Inicios 2024, the 2nd Chicago Latine Playwright Festival, as well as performance dates, times and locations.
Inicios 2024, the 2nd Chicago Latine Playwright Festival is supported by the Driehaus Foundation.
About the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA)
The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) is a leading advocate organization for Latine theater in Chicago. Supporting the development of emerging and established Latine playwrights, actors, directors and theater professionals is central to its mission. CLATA’s goal is to cultivate a vibrant and inclusive theater community, by presenting and producing Latine theater that celebrates and promotes the richness and diversity of our Latinidad. CLATA believes together we can build a stronger and more sustainable Latine theater industry.
CLATA has three signature programs: 1) Destinos, the Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, an annual, citywide festival showcasing Chicago's Latine theater artists and companies alongside top Latine artists from the U.S. and Latin America, 2) Destinos Al Aire, a free outdoor family festival that brings performing arts to Chicago Latine communities with the goal of making the arts accessible to everyone, and 3) Inicios, the Chicago Latine Playwright Festival, an annual festival dedicated to elevating and promoting Chicagoland area Latine playwrights.
CLATA is supported by the Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Arts Work Fund, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Driehaus Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, Excellerator Fund, Shubert Foundation, National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Arts Alliance Illinois.
For more information, visit clata.org, or follow CLATA on Facebook, Instagram and Threads at @latinotheater.