The Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression plays host to a number of organizations that actively serve the Cleveland community. One of the most colorful tenants is the LatinUS Theater Company, a 501(c)(3), which was formed to address the need for a Hispanic/Latino artistic space.
Monica Torres is the founder and executive artistic director of LatinUS. She has had a love for the arts since she was young.
A little girl with a dream
“I was born in Puerto Rico and came to Cleveland in 2005,” Torres said. “I always loved theater and the arts. I performed in my first show when I was in kindergarten, when I was about 4 or 5 years old.”
As she grew older, Torres continued to perform in plays and musicals across Puerto Rico. She had dreams of becoming a professional actress, but her father encouraged her to have a back up plan as well.
“I really wanted to be an actress and do theater, but my father would say to me, ‘You need a more secure profession.’ The only other thing I liked was medicine, so I decided to do that.”
While Torres took her father’s advice and earned her medical degree from the Juan Bautista School of Medicine, the passion for theater never left her. While pursuing her medical degree, she also studied dramatic arts at the University of Puerto Rico.
Credit: Rodney Lewallen
When she moved to Cleveland, she cut back on performing due to her not speaking English very well at the time. But the fire inside her to perform still burned. She decided to take matters into her own hands.
“I wanted to start performing again, but it was difficult for me when I came to Cleveland, since my English wasn’t very strong,” Torres said. “I met other Spanish speakers in my community who were interested in the arts, and we talked about what we can do. We decided it was best to start our own company.”
Finding a place to call home
In 2018 the LatinUS Theater Company was officially established. The productions are almost entirely in Spanish, with English subtitles available for those who do not speak the language.
In their first year, they were a traveling company. They performed in grade schools, colleges and performing arts auditoriums. They didn’t have their own space, but that changed after a 2019 interview with NPR.
“During the interview, I was asked what LatinUS needed to continue growing,” Torres said. “I said that we needed our own space because it’s very hard to move our props and set around every time we perform.”
It just so happened that Rick Foran, owner of the Pivot Center for Arts, Dance and Expression, heard the interview. He immediately reached out to Torres and, before she knew it, they found a space to call home.
“The next day he reached out to me and offered me the space on the first floor in the black box theater.”
It turned out to be the ideal location for the company, as West 25th Street is in the heart of a predominantly Latino community. Torres credits the support of Foran and other organizations in Cleveland that believed in the vision of the LatinUS Theater Company.
“There have been a lot of people and organizations supporting us since we started the company,” Torres said. “The Cleveland Foundation, the Gund Foundation and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture are just some of the organizations that gave us money and believed in and supported our dream.”
Getting back on stage
Since settling into the Pivot Center, LatinUS Theater has performed three shows a year. Their most recent production was “Tropico Macbeth,” a modern-day Latin-inspired twist on the classic Shakespeare play “Macbeth.”
Rodney “Rodrigo” Lewallen was one of the actors in “Tropico Macbeth.” He was asked to join the company by John Rivera, co-founder of LatinUS Theater.
“I actually didn’t audition for a particular role. I was asked to be a part of it by John Rivera, who I’ve known for about 15 years,” Lewallen said. “He invited about 10 of us to his home for dinner and said he was putting together this play and explained what his mission was.”
Lewallen acted in some plays when he was younger. He wasn’t nervous stepping back onto the stage.
“I’ve done acting in high school, public speaking and occupational movies for work,” Lewallen said. “Since I’ve had that experience and have known John for so long, I wasn’t nervous.”
He sees the value in the theater, citing the cultural difference in how theater is received in the United States as opposed to other Latin countries.
“I’ve been to Mexico and Puerto Rico and theater is big in those places because they are usually in areas where there aren’t a lot of options for things to do,” Lewallen said. WiFi is limited. Resources are limited. The only place you can really see anything is at the theater.”
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Never too late
Paul Christopher Abood also performed in “Tropico Macbeth.” Similar to Lewallen, he was recruited for the performance.
“I had a retail jewelry store in Playhouse Square for 37 years. Most of my adult life, I’ve been surrounded by actors and theater,” Abood said. “Some people, their pastime is sports. Mine is theater.”
While visiting the Pivot Center, Abood ran into Lewallen in the hallway. Lewallen asked Abood about his acting skills.
“He said, ‘Excuse me, sir, you wouldn’t happen to be an actor would you?’” Abood said. “I told him I wasn’t, and he told me that he thought I would be perfect to play the role of an American ambassador in the play.”
Abood was a bit apprehensive at first. He had been in the audience for productions at LatinUS Theater, and he knew the talent that was required to participate.
“I always wondered what it was like to be in a play. I was intimidated because I see so many incredible actors here in Cleveland and I thought to myself, how could I do that?” Abood said.
He mustered up the courage to try something new. He attended the next scheduled rehearsal and never looked back.
“Seeing the other actors perform and watching John direct was just incredible,” Abood said. “Watching them made me want to work harder and be better. We did 15 performances and everything went great. I’m 60, and it was one of the happiest times of my life.”
Latino International Film Festival
LatinUS Theater Company will be hosting the Latino International Film Festival from Oct. 11 to 13. The festival aims to showcase diverse voices, stories and perspectives through a curated selection of films that highlight the Latino community’s cultural, social and artistic contributions.
“The film festival will run for three days. It’s a free event,” Torres said. “We start Friday at 7 p.m. and will have a reception with appetizers and drinks. We are going to be talking about our mission and services.”
Torres hopes the festival will help encourage the community to give theater a chance.
“Everybody loves movies, no? Not everybody loves theater,” Torres said. “I don’t know why people are a little bit afraid to go to the theater. They think it’s something mysterious. We thought that doing the film festival and bringing a lot of people that like films, and showing them what we have and what we do with the theater, will encourage them to check us out.”
For more information on the LatinUS Theater Company or to reserve tickets for the Latino International Film Festival , click here.
