Michelle Cruz | Director of community engagement, Trinity Repertory Company
1. What is your role? I will … build relationships throughout our community with events [such as] … America Too: [a continuing] initiative which really speaks to the times we live in. Through community-based content, we develop works around those voices. I’ll be producing show-specific events, salons and conversations, including post-show discussions, lobby displays and Trinity Rep’s pre-show discussion series as well.
2. Who does Trinity Rep need to reach out to more effectively? Many of us didn’t grow up with the privilege of making theater part of our family traditions, nor did we feel our voices in the spaces were welcome. Our population is changing but that doesn’t always reflect itself in our audiences. I’ve done community work in Burnside Park in front of Kennedy Plaza. … The diversity and [different] ages you see there enjoying the arts through programming … is inspiring.
3. What has inspired you professionally? Recently, I have been moved by works [such as] “Black Odyssey” and the “Barber Shop Chronicles.” It has been nice to see stories surfacing that were not part of the larger audience. … Also, quite honestly … “A Christmas Carol,” because it was the first piece of theater I ever saw, and I thank Trinity Rep’s Project Discovery for that. How many people were exposed to the theater because of that program? … The arts were not something that we could … take part in … because of a lack of disposable income.
4. What would you like to see Trinity Rep take on in the coming years? It feels good to know that, as the director of community engagement, I have a seat at the table. What will our audiences look like in the future? Are they going to reflect our streets? I most certainly want to seek ways to bring communities of color into the theater but also aspire to give access to those who feel, through class disparity, that theater is not for them. … We are doing plays [such as] “Radio Golf” by August Wilson this season. … Why not talk about it, and why not express these issues through theater?
5. How can Trinity Rep partner with Providence schools? We do some programming within the schools and our Project Discovery program opens the doors to so many. I am very open to working with our community to build a partnership, not just with Providence schools but other communities surrounding us that are also in need of more exposure and participation in the arts.
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
