End of an Era: Curtain Closes on TeatroStageFest

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Javier E. Gómez
High Pitch Public Relations


Susana Tubert, Co-Founder and former Executive Director of TeatroStageFest, Appointed Creative Director, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Creative Entertainment; TeatroStageFest To End

New York, NY - August 9, 2013 – TeatroStageFest, a production of the Latino International Theater Festival of New York (LITF/NY), announced today that its co-founder and Executive Director Susana Tubert, has been appointed Creative Director with the Creative Entertainment team at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

In her new role, Tubert will provide creative leadership to the Disneyland Resort show director and writer teams on a variety of projects, including stage shows, parades, spectaculars, atmosphere entertainment and special events. She will direct and oversee the development of treatments, scripts, storyboards, scenic and costume design, music  development, and all other creative elements required for site-initiated projects.

"We are thrilled to have Susana join our Creative Entertainment team. In addition to bringing a fresh and innovative approach to the collaborative artistic process, she embodies a global perspective that is relevant and exciting," said Chris Ambrose, Director, Creative Entertainment at Disneyland Resort.

Carmen DiRienzo, Chairperson of the Latino International Theater Festival of New York's Board of Directors, remarked, "We thank Susana for her outstanding work and legacy. Under her artistic leadership, TeatroStageFest has made a vital contribution to the artistic and cultural landscape of New York City by introducing thousands of multicultural theater lovers to imaginative stage productions from Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain, while also providing families in underserved communities with access to live performances."

Tubert launched her career in the theater in 1980 when she settled in New York City to initially pursue acting. After 18 years of continuous work as a stage, film and TV director followed by eight years as Executive Director of LITF/NY, Tubert acknowledges that "I am most proud of giving shape to, and implementing the mission of TeatroStageFest. As I look ahead to the start of this new chapter with Disneyland Resort, I could not be more excited to embark on a journey where I will have the opportunity to collaborate with some of the most talented artists in the country."

DiRienzo also announced that with Tubert's transition, the final curtain will come down on TeatroStageFest, an official event of the NYC Latin Media and Entertainment Commission. LITF/NY was co-founded in 2005 by Tubert and Jose W. Fernández, currently, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, to empower and give a voice to New York's diverse community of artists and audiences, while providing a portal to the best Iberian-American/Caribbean Theater from around the world.

Jimmy Smits, spokesperson of TeatroStageFest 2010 and a featured festival artist in 2012, summarized a perspective shared by many participating artists and audience members who attended TeatroStageFest over the last several years, "I witnessed first-hand the outstanding programs and services-to-the-field that the Latino International Theater Festival of New York provided audiences of all back grounds. While New York City will greatly miss TeatroStageFest, I am confident that Susana Tubert's unique theatrical vision will thrive at Disneyland."

Tubert was Executive Producer of LITF/NY's signature program TeatroStageFest. Since the inaugural festival in 2007, she curated this landmark performance and educational series that brought together more than 1,000 local and international artists showcased in performance, panel discussions, staged readings, master classes, TalkBacks, conferences, TeatroStageFamily shows and a celebrated playwriting contest for high school students.

Tubert's ties to a widespread community of international artists was cemented in 2011 with the launch of the International Cultural Engagement Partnership (ICEP) with SESC in São Paulo, Brazil, that led to TeatroStageFest's tour of 27 NY dance, theater and Jazz performers. In 2012, LITF/NY co-produced a second tour to Colombia, Argentina and Brazil, as well as a national four-city tour. TeatroStageFest blossomed from a two-week festival into a year-round performance series.

Susana Tubert will begin her new role at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Creative Entertainment on August 26, 2013.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Creative Entertainment is responsible for creating and producing live entertainment for Disney's theme parks and resorts in Anaheim and Orlando, for Disney Cruise Line, and for Disney parks around the world including Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and soon to be Shanghai.

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