"The Teatro V!da performance was electric, and what is more, the achievement went well beyond the realm of provocative entertainment. Teatro V!da presents a new model for community education and development. The result was a dynamic, fluid, multi-voiced performance in which the audience was challenged to see themselves as empowered agents of change. It is a rare performance that brings together educators, artists, business people, families, and activists from eastern and western Massachusetts, reaching into NYC and as far north as Maine. It is a unique brand of theater that can inspire and charge that diverse audience with the task of moving forward together."
~Dr. Stephanie Athey, Lasell College, Newton, MA.
" I have learned the true meaning of giving." G. Cifuentes, youth ensemble member
You can also visit us at: www.ignitethemic.org
Now Booking: A Bullying Prevention Performance and Workshop
by youth for youth!
Teatro V!da youth plan, organize, host and produce peer focused events. Photos below: Open Mic at the Springfield City Library, April, 2011. Flyer by one of our youngest members, Delmarina López.
In rehearsal on the steps of City Hall on a beautiful day....
"Rumors of a New Day" Teatro V!da challenged stereotypes of our city, in this multigenerational, multimedia production that took place at
CityStage, downtown Springfield.
Photos by Kayla Creamer, one of our partners from Amherst Media.
We work hard, play hard-we don't separate work from play. Sometimes it's just about spontaneous joy! Ensemble members rock out at the Springfield Youth Empowerment Network with one of our great city librarians, Doris Madsen.
Rehearsal improvisation: Diego and Ivette
Walking meditation.
Eilish performing at a benefit for Haiti.
Emmy and Caro representing the Dominican Republic at the Sci-Tech International Fair. Below, a music and text performance at the fair by ensemble members working with the Sci-Tech band.
"I've learned more in one cycle of Teatro V!da
than I learned from years of training with other theater programs.
I've learned to be present, not presentational."
-E. Thompson, ensemble member
"It was easy for me to get good grades in school, but what I've learned from Teatro V!da in a few months is more than I learned in the last five years of living and anything else I've done. I am learning what it means to be a professional artist and a thinking person. I am dedicating myself to this work. " E. Cepeda, Ensemble Member
Our stage manager, Diego Angarita-Horowitz edited the two videos below; productions of Amherst Community Television. Below you can see some clips of ensemble rehearsals. Our rehearsal spaces are provided through the generosity the Greater Springfield YMCA and Samuel D. Plotkin Associates, also of Springfield.
Teatro V!da is honored to collaborate with Mr. Gary Bernice and the
High School of Science and Technology Concert Band
HSST International Fair and Benefit for Haiti at the Alumni Club
Below is our first anti-bullying PSA, a tribute to the memory and teachings of Howard Zinn.
"Teatro V!da is the best thing that will ever happen to you."
-C. Rosario, founding ensemble member
"Teatro V!da helps you find your voice. It is the safest place I've ever been." Yolanda S.
“Think Springfield youth are lost? Think again.” ~El Pueblo Latino
"Once again, I left the Springfield Museums transported by the beauty of your creations- the videos, the music, the dancing, and most of all the raw, fierce honesty of the performance pieces and how much it liberates us all to hear them." ~Jennifer Fasulo, NYC Activist and Filmmaker
"I don’t have the words to express how wonderful and how beautiful the performance from Teatro V!da was. My wife and I went away very impressed with the performance. It was a pleasure been part of that day. Thank you for the wonderful work that you do in our community. I am very proud of you."
~Bobby Visael Rodriguez, Chief Diversity Officer, Baystate Health
Lorena Garay, Teatro V!da Artistic Associate
