The Cultural Arts and Diversity Resource Center and Chester Gregory Kick Start the New Year with Motown Classics
The drums kick us off. Enter the piano, along with a funky bass line. Bringing in the guitar lick, the soulful vocals uplift the song to where it needed to go. Welcome to Hitsville, USA. UC Santa Cruz’s Mainstage Theater will transform into a time…
Your Guide to the Cultural Arts and Diversity Resource Center
What is CAD? The Cultural Arts and Diversity Resource Center (CAD) is a creative space for multicultural theater at UC Santa Cruz. In addition to housing both the African American Theater Arts Troupe (AATAT) and Rainbow Theater, CAD hosts lectures, workshops, and classes introducing students…
Rainbow Theatre Brings Underrepresented Perspectives to Light in Spring Productions
At first it seemed impracticable: to direct, memorize lines, and perform digitally would take away the essence of theater. Despite the obstacles, UC Santa Cruz’s Rainbow Theatre successfully created a new stage for four underrepresented stories over the course of two weekends. Rainbow Theatre presented…
Your Guide to Rainbow Theatre 2021
Rainbow Theatre held auditions on Mar. 30 and 31 for its four multicultural spring productions, welcoming artists from UC Santa Cruz, Cabrillo College, and the greater Santa Cruz community. One of the productions is a collaboration between Rainbow Theatre, the American Indian Resource Center (AIRC),…
An Illustrated History of the African American Theater Arts Troupe
1987: Don Williams was hired by UC Santa Cruz for a technical position within the Theater Arts department. At the same time, he mentored THEA 50: Fundamentals of Theater Production, which introduces students to lighting and sound. 1991: AATAT was officially founded under the leadership…
“School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” Preview
In student actor Odeosa Eguavoen’s bedroom is an entire dressing room and stage. With ring lights, mics, webcams, and green screens, Eguavoen and the cast are bringing “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” into audience’s homes. Written by Ghanaian-American writer and actor Jocelyn…
Rainbow Theatre: Telling Multicultural Stories Since 1993
When she was 15 years old, Kayla Ybarra sat down at the Pasadena Playhouse to watch Real Women Have Curves, which follows a Latinx young woman torn between staying home to help her family or going away to college. When Ybarra left her own family…
African American Theater Arts Troupe Presents 30th Anniversary Gala
African American Theater Arts Troupe (AATAT) founder and director Don Williams wore a proud smile on Feb. 20 as one of his students, August Stevens, softly strummed her guitar singing “A Change Is Gonna Come,” written by Sam Cook in 1964 in support of the…
THEA 151A Brings AATAT from the Stage to the Classroom
Without compensation, credit, or attention from the university, the future of the African American Theater Arts Troupe (AATAT) was uncertain when it was founded in 1991. Now, 30 years later, AATAT is at the forefront of theater arts at UC Santa Cruz, as both an…
AATAT Explores the Importance of Black Theatre in Upcoming Workshop: ‘Does Black Theater Matter?’
“Does Black theater matter?” For decades the African American Theater Arts Troupe (AATAT) at UC Santa Cruz has elevated and centered Black roles in the arts. It serves as a springboard for generations of Black alum and students who vie for the opportunity to answer…