Established in 1992 by Los Angeles's Center Theatre Group, the Latino
Theatre Initiative sought to diversify audiences by diversifying
theatrical programming. Until 2005, when it was suspended, the program
resulted in the production of eleven new main-stage plays at the Mark
Taper Forum. It was also key in the development of new and emerging
Latino artists, the production of second-stage works, and the
incorporation of community-based events into theater programming.
Chantal Rodriguez draws on the extensive Latino Theatre
Initiative/Center Theatre Group Papers, 1980-2005, housed at the UCLA
Chicano Studies Research Center, in this first extended historical
account of the program. Rodriguez evaluates the initiative's successes
and shortcomings and examines the roles played by its leaders and its
significant roster of artists. A finding aid for the collection and a
selected bibliography round out the volume.