February 3, 2022 (Indianapolis, IN) - The New Harmony Project (NHP) is proud to announce the appointment of six new members to its board of directors. Founded in 1986, NHP is a national arts organization that supports writers and artists who strive to make the world a better place through the power of positive storytelling.
“It will be a groundbreaking year ahead,” states David Hudson, NHP Executive Director. “The addition of our six new board members will enhance the implementation of our newly-approved strategic plan that focuses on antiracism, equity and diversity in every aspect of our work.”
“The synergy from the new strategic plan, coupled with our new and current board members will create a deep, transformative experience for our writers, donors and audiences.”
Each new board member is appointed to a three year term, beginning January 2022, and includes the following individuals:
José Cruz González’s (he/him) plays include Pia’s Wondrous Adventures in Tlaxlandia (in development), If by Chance, (South Coast Repertory commission), The Extraordinary ZLuna Captures the World (Denver Center Theatre Company commission), Under a Baseball Sky (The Old Globe commission), American Mariachi (Arizona Theatre Company, Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, The Goodman Theatre, The Old Globe), Sunsets & Margaritas (Denver Center Theatre Company, Theatre Works), September Shoes (Geva Theatre), The San Patricios (PCPA), Among the Darkest Shadows (Wharton Center for Performing Arts), The Long Road Today (South Coast Repertory), The Magic Kite (Children’s Theatre of Charlotte), The Sun Serpent (Childsplay), Super Cow Girl and Mighty Miracle (Metro Theater Company).
Mr. González was selected as one of the inaugural 2022 Kennedy Center’s Next 50, a new initiative celebrating cultural leadership with 50 trailblazing leaders and organizations. Mr. González was also a grantee of the 2021 ReImagine: New Plays in TYA, a joint effort of the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America, The Kennedy Center, TYA/USA and Write Now to support in part the development of Pia’s Wondrous Adventures in Tlaxlandia in partnership with In Other People’s Shoes.
He is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Professor Emeritus at California State University Los Angeles, The Dramatists Guild of America and TYA/USA, and a board member of The New Harmony Project, dedicated to a desire to support stories of hope, optimism, and the resiliency of the human spirit.
Donnetta Lavinia Grays (she/her) is a Brooklyn based playwright-actor from Columbia, SC. Plays include Where We Stand, Last Night and the Night Before, Laid to Rest, and The Review or How to Eat Your Opposition among others. She’s received The Whiting Award for Drama, The Helen Merrill Playwright Award, NTC’s Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award, Lilly Award, Todd McNerney National Playwriting Award, and the Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award. She is also a Lucille Lortel, Drama League, and AUDELCO Award Nominee. Commissions include Steppenwolf, Denver Center, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, WP Theater, and True Love Productions.
Lily Houghton (she/her) is a playwright born and raised in New York City. Her plays have been produced/developed at theaters such as MCC Theater Company, Atlantic Theater Company, The Flea Theater, EST/Youngblood, NYU, Seattle Repertory Theater, Normal Ave, Contemporary American Theater Festival/Shepherd University, The 52nd Street Project and the Jermyn Street Theatre in London. She is currently developing a pilot with Amazon Studios.
Eric Kilbride (he/him) has been working with non-profit leaders, youth workers, young people and their communities across the US and around the world to improve the opportunities and support young people and their families need to thrive for more than 20 years. He developed Community YouthMapping as an international community and youth engagement strategy to collect, analyze and disseminate information in a myriad of subject areas. He also established Youth MakerSpaces as co-design, collaboration spaces within communities, and provided training and technical assistance in Youth Employment and Livelihood, Social Justice, Workforce Development, STEM, Leadership and Civil Society. Eric is a passionate advocate for the Arts, especially locally with involvement in The New Harmony Project, the Indianapolis Arts Center, First Fridays and several theaters.
Daria Miyeko Marinelli (they/she) is a Japanese-Italian playwright who writes about the nearly impossible long-con, outcasts and underdogs trying to honor the wildness of their hearts, and the things we take for fact that are really just cultural mythology. Their plays include Ravenous, A Departure, Beautiful Blessed Child, and This is Not What I Expected When I Imagined a Republic. Mx. Marinelli has developed work with SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Playwright’s Realm, The New Harmony Project, Fault Line Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, and Roundabout Theatre. Based in LA, Daria has helped develop work with Cirque du Soleil and is currently developing a pilot about eco-defenders.
Tlaloc Rivas (he/him) is a writer, director, dramaturg, and producer based in Connecticut (ancestral lands of the Mohegan, Nipmuc, and Pequot people) and has worked extensively as a stage director, teaching artist, and facilitator all over the country. He recently joined the department of Theatre Studies at the University of Connecticut as Associate Professor in Residence. Before UConn, he held a residency with the Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama as the inaugural Presidential Postdoctoral Presidential Fellow.
Tlaloc has more than 25 years of working professionally at various organizations, schools, and institutions. He has extensively trained in the performing arts, EDI, and Antiracist practices with a passion for inclusion, justice, and the arts.
As a playwright, Tlaloc has written Johanna: Facing Forward (premiered at Cleveland Public Theatre); Divisadero (developed at The New Harmony Project); Maypearl (premiered at St. Edward’s University), Kaliban: Waterloo, IA (a New Now commission from Lauren Gunderson); Take What You Can Carry (developed at La MaMa Umbria International Playwriting Retreat); Byzantine (10-min play); and Purslane (a commissioned monologue from City Theatre Company).