HERO Theatre to Present a New Play Commission for Nuestro Planeta

HERO Theatre will present a new play commission for Nuestro Planeta, this time returning to California with writer and environmentalist Joie Mitchell. Nuestro Planeta: CALIFORNIA marks the first U.S.-based narrative in Nuestro Planeta, a new works commissioning initiative rooted in research around global environmental justice issues and families in America who are directly affected. Other commissions currently in the works with Nuestro Planeta include Brian Quijada (El Salvador), Emanuel Loarca (Guatemala), Phanésia Pharel (Haiti), and Elisa Bocanegra & Thalía Colón García (Puerto Rico). Previous Nuestro Planeta productions include last fall's Nuestro Planeta: COLOMBIA, Luzmi by Diana Burbano, and Nuestro Planeta: BAHÍA DE KINO, a co-production with the Kino Bay Center in Bahía de Kino, Mexico, which inspired HERO's upcoming co-production with Inner-City Arts, The Young Dolphins.

Nuestro Planeta: CALIFORNIA is a co-production with HERO Theatre and Inner-City Arts. It will be written by Mitchell and directed by Bocanegra. Bocanegra and Mitchell's artistic collaboration began when they met through Supervisor Hilda L. Solis's office of the First supervisorial district of Los Angeles County. Mitchell serves as the District 1 representative in the Youth Climate Commission, informing Los Angeles County's Board of Supervisors and departments on programs related to climate change and collaborating with local community members to amplify their voices.

Nuestro Planeta: CALIFORNIA will explore food justice for kids and their families, and the impact of California farming communities, which alone account for over 10% of the U.S.'s agricultural value. Bocanegra and Mitchell will be collaborating and working with local farmers to create the piece.

"Now more than ever, we need to focus on the intersection between environmentalism and food justice, especially for our young people in California. They go hand in hand," says Bocanegra. "This is an initiative to educate our children and future generations."

HERO Theatre is a Company-in-Residence at Inner-City Arts, which provides quality arts instruction for students from underserved communities, integrated arts workshops for educators, and programming designed for the community through the Rosenthal Theater.

Joie Mitchell (they/them) is an actor, writer, and farmer. Their motivation stems from an artistic and lifestyle emphasis on renewing their relationship to ancestral farming and aiding in collective liberation. Recent credits include writing "Delicacies" in Chain Theatre's Festival and "Solarpunks" in the Hantext Writing Festival, and performing in "A Third Space: The Trans Conversation Project" at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Joie is currently serving their second term in the California Climate Action Corps after completing their first year with CultivaLA, a five-acre farm focusing on urban greening and community engagement in the San Gabriel Valley. They also represent District 1 in the Youth Climate Commission, informing LA County's Board of Supervisors and departments on programs related to climate change and collaborating with local community members to amplify their voices.

Elisa Bocanegra is a Puerto Rican artist and the founder of HERO Theatre. Her work with HERO Theatre has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and American Theatre magazine and is a favorite amongst local theatre critics. Elisa is a 2022-2023 Fulbright Award recipient. She also won the TCG Leadership U Grant, the nation's largest grant of its kind, for her work with HERO Theatre. This provided her the opportunity to be part of the Leadership Team at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for two seasons. Her stage directing credits include Nuestro Planeta: COLOMBIA, Luzmi; NOTHING, NOTHING; and TROY, which is a modern retelling of THE TROJAN WOMEN about women and houselessness in Los Angeles. She worked alongside Kilroy List playwright Amina Henry in the development of NOTHING, NOTHING and TROY. Other directing credits include Festival Irene: A Tribute to Cuban Playwright María Irene Fornés, The Floating Island Plays by Eduardo Machado, and a new screen and stage project called Nuestro Planeta, which focuses on educating audiences about environmental justice within the Americas. Elisa is mentored by Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter. She graduated with an MFA from Cullors's Social & Environmental Arts Practice program and with a PhD in Sustainability Education, both at Prescott College. Elisa was part of the inaugural NEXUS Cohort at New York Stage and Film and later received the Pfaelzer Award. As an actor, her first film, GIRLFIGHT, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at The Sundance Film Festival. She recurs on Season 2 of Peacock TV's Based On A True Story. Other credits include Apple TV's Physical starring Rose Byrne, and Netflix's Christmas With You. She has extensive experience performing at major theaters around the country in addition to The Roundabout Theatre Company in New York.

HERO Theatre is a community-based company that uses art to model and bring forth social progress. We invite audiences to envision America as we do by presenting theatre that uplifts communities that have been harmed. Our core audience members leave our theater feeling seen and represented authentically. We champion work that we feel is relevant and support artists at all stages in their careers.

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