Michael John Garcés (born 1967) is a Cuban-American playwright and
director. He is the artistic director of Cornerstone Theater Company
in Los Angeles. He has received several awards and grants, including
the Alan Schneider Director Award and the Princess Grace
Fellowship.[1]Garcés was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sergio,
an accountant, and Lee, but grew up in Colombia. His family soon moved
to Colombia following his birth due to a job opportunity for Sergio.
His family lived in Medellìn, Colombia until Garcés was 13 and it
was in Medellìn where Garcés was first exposed to political issues,
like the wealth gap between the rich and poor, that would later be
integrated into his work. It was also during his time living in
Medellìn when Garcés first started doing theater, around the 5th or
6th grade.[2] After living in Medellìn, his family moved to Bogotà ,
Colombia where he got a role as one of Jesus's apostles in a touring
production of the musical Godspell, which received national attention
because Godspell was one of the few American musicals to come to
Colombia. His family eventually moved back to Miami and around the
time Garcés was preparing to go to college, he and has father
disagreed about the direction of his life. His father believed working
a company job was valuable, but Garcés did not want to pursue this
type of career.[2] This led him to the University of Miami where he
received his BFA in theater.[1]After graduating from the University of
Miami, Garcés moved to New York City in 1989 to pursue a career in
theater. He quickly found an internship at INTAR, a Hispanic theater
company, as a production assistant. This internship launched a career
in theater in New York as an actor, director, and playwright that
lasted for 16 years. Of his time in New York, Garcés says that much
of his work was spent "focusing on my desire to learn about why one
does this form, rather than why one does one's show."[2] Garcés
initially traveled to New York to work as an actor, but soon began
writing his own pieces and directing the works of his peers after
becoming frustrated with acting.[3] Garcés worked for Max Ferrá at
INTAR who not only encouraged Garcés to create an actors group, which
became the NewWorks Lab, but also advised Garcés to pursue
directing.[1][4] After his time in New York, Garcés worked in a
number of regional theaters across the country, including the
Kentucky's Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Company in Washington, D.C.[2] During this time, he was honored with
the Princess Grace Statue Award for distinguished accomplishment in
the theater and the Alan Schneider Director Award and received a New
Generations Grant from the Theater Communications Group.[2] He also
moved briefly to Chiapas, Mexico for an 8-week residency in a Mayan
writers' collective where he directed one of the plays that was being
performed. His time in Mexico greatly affected Garcés. He claims that
"the impact, the quality of the aesthetic experience people were
having watching the play, was so profound, so electric" and it was
this experience which he believes led him to his current place of
work, Cornerstone Theater Company.[2]Cornerstone Theater Company is a
community-focused theater group in Los Angeles. Garcés describes it
as "professional community theater," as professional playwrights,
directors, and designers who are hired to work on specific shows go
into and engage with the communities that the plays are about. Most of
the plays written are fictitious, but are based on the stories told by
the community members who are engaged by Cornerstone. Once a play is
written, playwrights like Garcés will go back into the communities
and do readings of the piece to hear feedback from community
members.[3] Garcés claims that Cornerstone is a theater that produces
plays "about communities that are trying to define themselves" which
is why community engagement is so necessary for the theater.[5]
Cornerstone is also a space that produces multiethnic pieces of
theater, which allows Garcés to discuss issues relevant to the Latino
population like Latino immigration and the status of undocumented
immigrants in the United States.[6]
director. He is the artistic director of Cornerstone Theater Company
in Los Angeles. He has received several awards and grants, including
the Alan Schneider Director Award and the Princess Grace
Fellowship.[1]Garcés was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sergio,
an accountant, and Lee, but grew up in Colombia. His family soon moved
to Colombia following his birth due to a job opportunity for Sergio.
His family lived in Medellìn, Colombia until Garcés was 13 and it
was in Medellìn where Garcés was first exposed to political issues,
like the wealth gap between the rich and poor, that would later be
integrated into his work. It was also during his time living in
Medellìn when Garcés first started doing theater, around the 5th or
6th grade.[2] After living in Medellìn, his family moved to Bogotà ,
Colombia where he got a role as one of Jesus's apostles in a touring
production of the musical Godspell, which received national attention
because Godspell was one of the few American musicals to come to
Colombia. His family eventually moved back to Miami and around the
time Garcés was preparing to go to college, he and has father
disagreed about the direction of his life. His father believed working
a company job was valuable, but Garcés did not want to pursue this
type of career.[2] This led him to the University of Miami where he
received his BFA in theater.[1]After graduating from the University of
Miami, Garcés moved to New York City in 1989 to pursue a career in
theater. He quickly found an internship at INTAR, a Hispanic theater
company, as a production assistant. This internship launched a career
in theater in New York as an actor, director, and playwright that
lasted for 16 years. Of his time in New York, Garcés says that much
of his work was spent "focusing on my desire to learn about why one
does this form, rather than why one does one's show."[2] Garcés
initially traveled to New York to work as an actor, but soon began
writing his own pieces and directing the works of his peers after
becoming frustrated with acting.[3] Garcés worked for Max Ferrá at
INTAR who not only encouraged Garcés to create an actors group, which
became the NewWorks Lab, but also advised Garcés to pursue
directing.[1][4] After his time in New York, Garcés worked in a
number of regional theaters across the country, including the
Kentucky's Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Company in Washington, D.C.[2] During this time, he was honored with
the Princess Grace Statue Award for distinguished accomplishment in
the theater and the Alan Schneider Director Award and received a New
Generations Grant from the Theater Communications Group.[2] He also
moved briefly to Chiapas, Mexico for an 8-week residency in a Mayan
writers' collective where he directed one of the plays that was being
performed. His time in Mexico greatly affected Garcés. He claims that
"the impact, the quality of the aesthetic experience people were
having watching the play, was so profound, so electric" and it was
this experience which he believes led him to his current place of
work, Cornerstone Theater Company.[2]Cornerstone Theater Company is a
community-focused theater group in Los Angeles. Garcés describes it
as "professional community theater," as professional playwrights,
directors, and designers who are hired to work on specific shows go
into and engage with the communities that the plays are about. Most of
the plays written are fictitious, but are based on the stories told by
the community members who are engaged by Cornerstone. Once a play is
written, playwrights like Garcés will go back into the communities
and do readings of the piece to hear feedback from community
members.[3] Garcés claims that Cornerstone is a theater that produces
plays "about communities that are trying to define themselves" which
is why community engagement is so necessary for the theater.[5]
Cornerstone is also a space that produces multiethnic pieces of
theater, which allows Garcés to discuss issues relevant to the Latino
population like Latino immigration and the status of undocumented
immigrants in the United States.[6]
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