Playwrights Horizons Names Hector Rivera Director of Equity and Inclusion

Playwrights Horizons has appointed Hector Rivera as the pioneering Off Broadway theater's Director of Equity and Inclusion, effective immediately.

As Director of Equity and Inclusion, Rivera will lead anti-racism, equity, and inclusion work across all facets of the organization. Working closely with Staff Leadership and Human Resources, he will help create change and nurture progress in all departments of the organization, and, crucially, expand access to all audiences. This ongoing work to build a more equitable community from within includes overseeing a wide range of programs and responsibilities: working with the staff, board and the artists Playwrights' serves to make the organization more inclusive and equitable, organizing annual trainings, enhancing relationships with other arts and community-based organizations, creating new audience development initiatives inside and outside the theater, building upon Playwrights' commitment to make its spaces and performances more accessible for people with disabilities, strengthening organizational policies and best practices, and overseeing the theater's EDIA affinity groups, among other efforts.

The scope of Rivera's work will encompass Playwrights Horizons' theater and offices on West 42nd Street, as well as working and strategizing with Playwrights Horizons Theater School staff, students and faculty to ensure the organization's values of equity and anti-racism are integrated in the management and delivery of its pre-professional training program, conducted in association with NYU's Tisch School Undergraduate Drama Department.

Rivera said, "Joining Playwrights Horizons is an invitation I have accepted as a guest and new chosen family member. I hope to bring tools, subject matter expertise and lived experience that will drive culture, foster a learning community, and move forward the organization's commitment to change. My approach will bring love, grace, and understanding, with the hopes that we can build a brave container to embark in true anti-racist work. I am here to listen, to support, and to lead in community with others. I also hope to celebrate who we are, learn new things about one another, and, most importantly, inquire deeper by always asking questions, beginning with: How can my role support each staff member, playwright, and audience member etc? There is already great work that has been done, and I plan on living true to my values of community engagement, reciprocity, and emergence in my approach."

Rivera is a Queer, Puerto Rican Bronx native, a product of NYC public schools, a non-profit cultural institutions professional, and a theater artist. For the last five years, he has worked at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts building their community engagement and family programs and, most recently, managing their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Rivera is a Trainer with the Center for Racial Justice in Education, where he facilitates conversations on race and racism, and joins Playwrights Horizons with over a decade of experience in arts education and administration. His leadership development comes from The National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, where he was trained through their National Leadership Institute; The National Association for the Education of Young Children, as a founding member of their Young Professionals Advisory Council; the CreateNYC: Leadership Accelerator program; and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. He holds a B.A in Theater and Political Studies from Bard College at Simon's Rock.

Leslie Marcus, Managing Director of Playwrights Horizons, said, "Playwrights Horizons is very fortunate to welcome Hector Rivera as our new Director of Equity and Inclusion. An artist himself, he brings deep passion and expertise to the urgent work of making the American theater a field that is open to all. In order to create real, lasting change, the pursuit of greater equity and inclusion must be woven into all aspects of Playwrights Horizons' operations. We're proud to expand our efforts to create change within the organization and make our institution more just, inclusive, anti-racist and accessible by establishing a Director-level position dedicated to these priorities. Hector is the perfect person for the role."

About Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons is a writer's theater dedicated to the development of contemporary American Playwrights, and to the production of innovative new work. In a city rich with cultural offerings, Playwrights Horizons' 51-year-old mission is unique among theaters of its size; the organization has distinguished itself by a steadfast commitment to centering and advancing the voice of the playwright. It's a mission that is always timely, and one that's necessary in the ongoing evolution of theater in this country.

Playwrights Horizons believes that playwrights are the great storytellers of our time, offering essential contributions to civic discourse and illuminating life's greatest paradoxes. And they believe in the singularity of a writer's voice, valuing the broad, eclectic spectrum and diversity of American writers. At Playwrights Horizons, writers are supported in every stage of their growth through commissions (engaging several of today's most imaginative playwrights each year), New Works Lab, POP Master Class series, Soundstage audio program, the Lighthouse Project, and Almanac, the organization's digital magazine.

Playwrights Horizons presents a season of productions annually on their two stages, each of which is a world, American, or New York premiere. Much like Playwrights Horizons' work, their audience is risk-taking and adventurous; and the organization is committed to strengthening their engagement and feeding their curiosity through all of its programming, onsite and online.

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