“I want LATC to become a cultural center for all cultures.”
The venerable Latino Theatre Company (LTC), based within the thirty-two-year-old Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) has had a steady professional growth and has now jumped the shark by hiring a veteran managing director, Argentinean-born Jorge Sciupac.
The personable Mr. Sciupac (pronounced cee-ee-u-pak, or “six-pack,” as he would prefer), whose ancestors came from Romania, is an “architect of engagement,” taking artistic groups which have existed for some time and leading both the for-profit and not-for-profit companies to their next level, helping them to increase their impact in their respective markets. Based in Los Angeles since 1979, he has turned himself into an international author, speaker, story-teller and business-facilitator, using innovative ways of making collaborations and association with world-class organizations such as The J.P. Getty Trust, Callison, VTBS, Timberlake, among others, adding up to millions of dollars in total.
LATC, under the supervision of Artistic Director Jose Luis Valenzuela, has since 2006 produced dozens of Latino and other multi-cultural plays, bringing in audiences who hadn’t been courted much. In his new position, Mr. Sciupac will oversee the development and execution of their strategic plans, as well as managing day-to-day theater operations, sales and marketing, fund- development, financial reporting and compliance, employee relations, and the ongoing achievement of LATC’s mission.
His business acumen is well-established, but as a son of immigrants and as one himself (to Los Estados Unidos), he learned to overcome language and cultural barriers, giving him important understandings of outside-the-box thinking and newer ways of communication, especially in multi-cultural interactions.
With massive experiences in business, neuropsychology, and design, supported by advanced degrees from UCLA, University of Buenos Aires, and Pepperdine, Sciupac founded PARTNERGIES, a unique facilitation, coaching, and training agency dedicated to bridging cultural gaps, and improving communications between customers, employees, suppliers, partners, donors, friends, and supporters.
Married, with three grown children, some grandkids and a second wife, Lisa born in Pomona, California, he is now considered a native of L.A. As someone who have been in the creative fields for a while, he is able to bring a statelier business-approach to taking LTC to the higher level it so richly deserves. “I want to help this home become everyone’s home. The level of quality has been high, but we can take it to a much higher level. To do that, we want to invite the community to participate and to keep their issues in front of us.”
So how does one improve a thriving theatre which already pulls from Latino, African-American and European-American communities? “Considering how quick my learning curve is now, [he’s only been on the job since this past March] what I already know is how the creative side can be married to the business side, allowing us to increase our work in both quality and quantity.”
One of those tricks-of-the-trade was to leverage the strength of LTC’s Board of Directors and to help everyone there understand how his marketing experience would help achieve these new goals. “I believe that we will succeed by listening more to the marginalized in our society: to marshal our forces to become a world-class model for emerging multicultural groups.” And what is needed? “First make sure the mindset is in places where the possible becomes the probable. Artists need to prosper financially and the business side needs to think outside traditional models. We need to make sure the latter world knows how important theatre is to a strong cultural life. I want LATC to become a cultural center for all cultures.”
Sciupac knows that Los Angeles is, and has been for some decades now, a multi-cultural magnet and LATC is take a leading role in that continued growth. But one of the hurdles is attracting audiences to the Los Angeles downtown area; how to make it attractive to all audiences. “To do that, we need to spread the information about the quality of the work done here.” More problematic is how to make the complex further accessible, taking a stronger strategic approach to reducing the perceived risks of crime near their theatre. How do they deal with the problem of the homeless? Much of this is outside their purview of course, but they can perhaps influence the city’s political leadership on these important factors, all the while encouraging positive word-of-mouth experiences which would allow outsiders to travel down there to see new, appealing productions.
To that end, this fall they will host Encuentro, a three-week festival of plays from groups all over the Americas, exposing their audiences to different theatrical experiences. “It will be an all Americas-theatre, with works from Canada, Cuba, Peru, and USA,” Sciupac says. Well, all the world’s a stage, y’know.
Sciupac continued laying out the plans for the future of LATC. “The level of excellence has to be at the top; world class. Generally, people know what’s good and what’s not, so they will talk to each other. We intend to engage all groups in the cause – social, political, religious, and the press – to make sure we increase the levels of excellence that reflect the exactness of the people of our city. New. Moving. Quality.”
Sciupac expects new approaches, but having just begun, has no specifics yet. “Much will depend on the artistic direction that Jose-Luis and the Board will bring to the table. A larger operating budget? Agreed-upon aspirations? Sure. Double the budget, you’ll double the quality. My business experience will contribute to the creation of a cultural center known all over the world — creating a center that reflects all our communities.”
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