WATTS VILLAGE THEATER COMPANY FEATURED ALONG WITH REV. AL SHARPTON DURING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY EMPOWERMENT CONGRESS SUMMIT AT USC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) January 17, 2012 -- LOS ANGELES, CA – On Saturday, January 14 in the ballroom of the
Ronald Tutor Campus Center at the University of Southern California
(USC), Watts Village Theater Company (WVTC) partnered with LA County
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ Empowerment Congress Arts & Culture
Committee to present “The Empowerment of Art,” moderated by WVTC’s
Artistic Director, Guillermo Avilés-Rodríguez, during the 20th
Anniversary Empowerment Congress Summit. Earlier in the morning in
Bovard Auditorium, the summit featured as one of its keynote speakers

1 2 3

WATTS VILLAGE THEATER COMPANY FEATURED ALONG WITH REV. AL SHARPTON DURING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY EMPOWERMENT CONGRESS SUMMIT AT USC

Welcome visit Our WebSite:

http://wattsvillagetheatercompany.org

Rev. Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network and host of
MSNBC’s PoliticsNation. The phrase widely viewed as one of the most
memorable of the day was Sharpton’s declaration that, “this election
is not about Obama, it’s about your Mamma!”

“The Empowerment of Art” included interactive performances by WVTC,
the Los Angeles Poverty Department and the Performing Arts for Life
and Education Foundation, as well as screenings by the Wende Museum
and Streetlamp Studio. In addition, panels were conducted featuring
representatives from over a dozen arts organizations across LA’s 2nd

supervisorial district, including Make Music Los Angeles, LA Commons,
Outfest and the World Stage. The performances and panels focused on
how the arts educate and empower the district’s underserved
communities. WVTC’s interactive workshop, co-moderated by WVTC’s
Educational Coordinator Raul Cardona and Associate Artistic Director
David Guerra, included a call-and-response of a series of Mayan myths
with the summit participants. Participants also made colorful
drawings and performed reenactments of the ancient tales. As WVTC’s
Managing Director and Empowerment Congress Arts & Culture Committee

Chair, David Mack, noted, “participatory workshops are a unique way
for LA’s residents to connect to the crucial and transformative effect
the arts has on our communities.”

Over 200 participants attended “The Empowerment of Art,” the first
summit workshop produced by Arts & Culture, the Empowerment Congress’
newest committee, and attendees included artists, community activists,
government officials and civic leaders. During March, the committee,
now the fastest growing in the Empowerment Congress with over 20 arts
organizations represented, will launch a series of performances

throughout the 2nd district commemorating World Theatre Day and
honoring the spirit of the Congress’ celebration of “The Year of
Empowerment.”


Watts Village Theater Company
Founded in 1996 by actor and Watts community activist Quentin Drew and
actor/playwright Lynn Manning as an outgrowth of Cornerstone Theater
Company’s residency in Watts, Watts Village Theater Company is a
multicultural urban company that seeks to inspire its community with
an appreciation of all cultures through new works about contemporary
social issues. WVTC has been a leader in providing acting and

theatrical performance workshops for at-risk youth in Watts and South
Los Angeles.

Watts Village Theater Company, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, is
proud to have collaborated with Metro, the Watts Towers Arts Center,
LATC,[Inside] the Ford and the Matrix Theatre. WVTC's 2003 production
of Manning's “Private Battle” won a NAACP Theatre Award. “Up From the
Downs” (2005), and “Ochre & Onyx” (2009) received critical acclaim for
examining cross-cultural relations between Latinos and
African-Americans in Watts.

# # #

More information can be found online at http://wattsvillagetheatercompany.org

Al Sharpton     art     Empowerment Congress     theater     theatre     USC     Village     watts