East West Players Announces New Hires in a Period of Exciting Growth

East West Players (EWP), the nation's longest-running professional theatre of color in the country and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, announces the hiring of three new staff members for the positions of Arts Education Director, Public Relations and Marketing Manager, and General Manager. The new hires arrive at a significant time for the organization as EWP's fourth Artistic Director Snehal Desai, who assumed his role on July 1, 2016 following an extensive nationwide search conducted by the Arts Consulting Group, paves the way for EWP's future growth.

Desai says, "Since 1965, much has changed in Los Angeles and this country, but one thing that has sustained and thrived is East West Players as the premier home for Asian American artists and works. I am thrilled to be EWP's new Artistic Director and am very excited to introduce Carolina, Patricia, and Nora to the EWP community as we build a team that leads EWP forward. The outpouring of support from the community through this transition process has been overwhelming and humbling. Together, with this new team in place, EWP is primed to continue its growth as one of the leading theaters of color in the country. Carolina, Patricia, and Nora bring with them an extensive degree of experience, knowledge, and expertise in their respective fields as we build on East West Players' incredible 50-year legacy and look towards the future."

Carolina San Juan, PhD (Arts Education Director) is responsible for managing EWP's educational outreach and professional enrichment programs, which include the Actors Conservatory, Theater for Youth, Partners in Education and Arts Collaboration (PEAC), the Alliance of Creative Talent Services, and Literary Programs. She brings over 15 years of Arts Education teaching, organizing, and partnerships to EWP, including developing and implementing programs for the CSUDH Division of World Cultural & Gender Studies, and mentoring young teaching artists as a founding faculty member for the UCLA Visual and Performing Arts Education Minor. San Juan she received her PhD in Culture and Performance from the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, and her research focuses on the influence of American Vaudeville in Philippine and Filipino American performance.

Patricia Tumang (PR/Marketing Manager) is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the execution of EWP's marketing and public relations plans. Prior to relocating to Los Angeles, she had lived in Manila, Philippines, where worked as a PR/media consultant and managing editor for diverse international organizations and arts publications. After being awarded an Arts Writers Grant from the Creative Capital | Andy Warhol Foundation in 2012, she traveled across Asia to conduct research and write about Filipino artists and Southeast Asian contemporary art. She is a contributing editor at Asian Art News and World Sculpture News, and was an editor at Hyphen, an Asian American news and culture magazine. Tumang received her MFA in English and Creative Writing from Mills College.

Nora DeVeau-Rosen (General Manager) is responsible for managing EWP's day-to-day operations and supervising staff in non-artistic aspects of the organization. She was The Managing Director of Clubbed Thumb in New York City for three seasons, including when it won the Ross Wetzsteon Award for sustained artistic excellence. She has worked with Manhattan Theater Club, The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theater Workshop, Ontological Hysterical Theater, PearlD'Amour, and the Bushwick Starr, and also served on the Sherwood Award panel, Nancy Quinn panel, Voice&Vision panel, and the Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission panel. Currently a producer with Wild Art Group, DeVeau-Rosen received her BA in Theatre from Bard College under the mentorship of JoAnne Akalaitis.

As the nation's premier Asian American theatre organization, East West Players produces artistic work and educational programs that foster dialogue exploring Asian Pacific Islander (API) experiences. Founded in 1965, at a time when APIs faced limited or no opportunities to see their experiences reflected outside of stereotypical and demeaning caricatures in the American landscape, EWP not only ensures that API stories are told, but works to increase access, inclusion, and representation in the economy.

For more information about East West Players, please visit www.eastwestplayers.org.