Latino Theater Company and LA City College Theatre Academy Make an ‘IMPACT’ With ‘August 29’
5 min read
Ramiro Segovia Directs
Latino Theater Company, continues its collaboration with local community colleges as part of its “IMPACT” community engagement initiative, joining forces with Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy to present August 29, named for the date in 1970 when Los Angeles Times columnist Ruben Salazar was killed while covering a large Chicano-led anti-war demonstration in East L.A. Ramiro Segovia directs students from the academy in six Pay-What-You-Choose performances at The Los Angeles Theatre Center, August 15 through August 24.
August 29 will receive six performances, August 15 through August 24, at The Los Angeles Theatre Center. Performances take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.and Sundays at 4 p.m. All tickets are Pay-What-You-Choose.
On Aug. 29, 1970, 25,000 Chicanos
marched against the Vietnam War
The 55th anniversary of the Death of Ruben Salazar
A showing of the short film Requiem 29, presenting footage of the Chicano Moratorium Against the War in Vietnam including the brutal police response and the funeral and inquest into the death of Salazar, will screen prior to each performance. Following performances at The LATC, the production will travel to East Los Angeles College for a free 55th anniversary performance on Friday, August 29, presented in collaboration with the 50th Anniversary Chicano Moratorium Committee; and to Mt. San Antonio College for two free performances on September 18 and 19.
Los Angeles Times Aug. 30, 1970
In August 29, originally created in 1990 by members of the Latino Theater Company (then known as the Latino Theater Lab), a university professor relives those late 1960s, early 1970s movement days while writing a book on the life of Salazar, who comes to life to help her recall the past and to challenge her to renew her activism.
The large cast, made up of students from the LACC Theatre Academy, includes Jayson Abrego, Andy Balcazar, Lawrence Bonilla, Alex Bravo, Donny Dahlman, Michelle Fernandez, Sebastian Garcia, Anthony “Tony” Gonzalez, Arturo Hernández, Juan Herrera, Felipe Iglecias, Rhyan Kirsch, Manuel Marin, Melody Martinez, Javier “Javi”Matos, Sergio Mota, Massimo Ortolano, Nicole Perez, Ciclady Rodriguez and Melody Zamora.
The creative team
The creative team includes music director Israel Bravo; scenic and projection designer Maureen E. Weiss and associate scenic and projection designer Veronica Avalos; lighting designer John A. Garofalo; sound designer Ramiro Hermosillo, mentored by Rebecca Kessin; costume designers Madeline Campbell, Sophia Clark and Emily Volz, mentored by costume supervisors Gene Barnhart and Claire Fraser Walsh, working alongside wardrobe supervisor Esmeralda Juarez and costume shop manager Kim Gomez; prop master Jasmin Orta; and scenic charge artist Lou Hartmann. The assistant director is Manuel Marin, and the production stage manager is Tim Christian.
Requiem 29 was shot by UCLA students in the Ethno-Communications Program including David Garcia and Moctesuma Esparza. It began as a class project, but what emerged was a striking document of injustice and resistance. Now preserved in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, the documentary blends footage from the march and Salazar’s wake with interviews and powerful courtroom testimony.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025, Latino Theater Company was named to the Los Angeles Times “Best of Latino L.A.” list. Artistic director José Luis Valenzuela was named the 2024 recipient of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation’s Gordon Davidson Award for lifetime achievement and distinguished service in the national not-for-profit theater, and he was honored in May with the 2025 Stage Raw Lifetime Achievement Award. The Latino Theater Company is dedicated to providing a world-class arts center for those pursuing artistic excellence; a laboratory where both tradition and innovation are honored and honed; and a place where the convergence of people, cultures and ideas contribute to the future. The company has operated The Los Angeles Theatre Center since 2006, producing hundreds of plays, creating over 4000 jobs and helping hundreds of nonprofit organizations by providing space and resources. The City, recognizing the Latino Theater Company for its “effective first-class theater center operations,” recently extended the company’s initial 20-year lease for an additional 30 years, through 2056.
The Latino Theater Company’s IMPACT Initiative
The Latino Theater Company’s IMPACT Initiative is an arts engagement program for students currently enrolled at 19 community colleges across Los Angeles County. The program provides free access to live performances, master classes and post-show discussions with artists at The Los Angeles Theatre Center. IMPACT is designed to connect community college students with powerful theatrical works that reflect their experiences, amplify their voices, and to invite them into the city’s broader artistic and social conversations. Through this initiative, the Latino Theater Company fosters a culturally connected and civically engaged generation of students. August 29 marks the fourth production presented through the IMPACT Initiative. Participating students receive a full subscription to all Latino Theater Company productions throughout the season.
Next up after August 29, Latino Theater Company’s 2025 40th Anniversary Season continues with the world premiere of The Little King of Norwalk, a potent satire by Circle of Imaginistas playwright Israel López Reyes (October 4 through November 2); the world premiere of Mascogos by Circle of Imaginistas playwright Miranda González, a historical sci-fi exploring the untold stories of the Underground Railroad to Mexico (October 11 through November 9); the world premiere of नेहा & Neel by Ankita Ratu in a co-production with Asian American theater collective Artists at Play (October 18 through November 16); and La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin, Latino Theater Company’s signature, annual holiday pageant at Downtown’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (December 5 and December 6).
Six performances, August 15 through August 24.
August 29 will receive six performances, August 15 through August 24, at The Los Angeles Theatre Center. Performances take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.and Sundays at 4 p.m. All tickets are Pay-What-You-Choose.
For more information or to make a reservation, call (213) 489-0994 or go to latinotheaterco.org.
The Los Angeles Theatre Center is located at 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013. Parking is available for $8 with box office validation at Los Angeles Garage Associate Parking structure, 545 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 (between 5th and 6th Streets, just behind the theater).
