Tori and Mabelle talk with Sara Guerrero, founding Artistic Director of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, about her play, “Have to Believe We Are Magic.” Other topics include the art of archiving, finding your writer identity, and Sara’s multiple roles in theater and community-building.
Listen on Spotify.
Writing prompt (courtesy of Sara Guerrero)
What is the story that brings you here today? What is your personal moment or story that brings you to the thing that you are doing today? Is that, in a way, a homecoming?
Connect with Sara: http://www.teatroguerrero.com/
Sara’s bio:
Sara Guerrero (she/hers) A Chicana native of Mexican and Mestizo ancestry, is a versatile theatre artist and educator whose mission is to model, share, and create theater-making opportunities for and with their community.
In her versatility she has worked with many performing arts institutes within the greater Orange County and beyond.
A CalArts alum, she’s been recognized as a “People to Watch” by American Theatre Magazine, and “Best [Artistic] Director” and “Person of Interest” by OC Weekly, a 2022 Congressional Woman of the Year (46th district), 2021 and 2020 Woman of Distinction (Senate District 34), 2020 Hispanic Lifestyle Latina of Influence Honoree, and Community Engagement “COVID-19 ArtistGrant” Awardee.
As the founding artistic director of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, the only Latina theater company in Orange County, she and the ensemble are artists-in-residence of California State University of Fullerton’s Grand Central Arts Center in downtown Santa Ana. Under Guerrero’s leadership, the organization serves as an incubator for voices that have been historically excluded in theater by providing free programming in the guidance in the art of storytelling. No one is ever turned away for lack of experience.
As a playwright, her recent Latinx/Latine coming-of-age, roller skating abortion play “Have to Believe We Are Magic” was a winner of Panndora Box’s Sweet Sixteen News Plays Festival, the Women’s Theatre Festival Occupy 2022, Teatro Vivo’s Latinx New Plays Festival 2021, a finalist for OC Centric Festival, and a partnership reading of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble and Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties. The play is available through the newplayexchange.org along with her other works.
As a freelance director, she works all over the country for the professional stage and higher education; including CSU Long Beach, Chapman University, CSU Fullerton, and will be joining UC Irvine’s Claire School of the Arts in the spring of 2022.
Guerrero supports herself as a director, theatre artist, and educator.
Member of The BIPOC Artistic Directors of Greater Los Angeles, Network of Ensemble Theatre, Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), Theatre Communications Group (TCG)
Board member of Arts Orange County, Fringe Benefits, and Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble
Check out Breath of Fire: https://www.breathoffire.org/
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Check out Sara’s play “Have to Believe We Are Magic” on NPX:https://newplayexchange.org/plays/1178913/have-believe-we-are-magic