Rising Leaders & theater’s future
Portland-connected artists Rebecca Martinez and Zi Alikhan talk about life, theater, and becoming national Rising Leaders of Color
Interview by TJ Acena
Theatre Communications Group recently announced its latest cohort of Rising Leaders of Color (RLC), two with connections to Portland:
- Zi Alikhan is the inaugural Artistic Directing Fellow at Artists Repertory Theatre, where he serves as the first director of DNA: Oxygen, an affinity space and creative hub dedicated to the development and production of new work generated by, led by, and featuring artists of color. He will also be working on the co-production of “The Great Leap” by Artists Rep and Portland Center Stage.
- Though she now lives in New York, Rebecca Martinez is an ensemble member of Sojourn Theatre, which is based in Portland and performs nationally and internationally. During her time in Portland, she won two Drammy Awards and also worked with Milagro Theatre. Currently, she is the BOLD associate artistic director of Off-Broadway’s WP Theater.
The RLC Program selects early-career Black, Indigenous, and People of Color theater practitioners across many disciplines and works to develop their individual leadership skills, provide training and career development opportunities, and create a cohort of artists who can support each other over the next year. I was selected for the 2017 cohort and it seemed fitting that they are interviewed by a previous grantee. I sat down with the two over Zoom to have them in conversation.
Read the full interview below!