L.A. Children's Theatre Imagine Project Expands Board

Imagine Project - LA's new and only Equity theatre dedicated entirely to programming for children - welcomes Anne-Marie Osgood and Monica Mitrani to its Board of Directors.

"We are delighted to bring Anne-Marie and Monica into the IP family. Their passion, talents, strength and compassion are invaluable additions to our team. We are getting ready to put our inaugural season on its feet and are very proud of exemplary individuals on our board championing our mission," said IP Artistic Director Armina LaManna.

Anne-Marie Osgood is an Entrepreneur and Performing Artist with broad experience in multiple industries. She has been involved in theater for over forty years with an extensive career as a Dancer, Singer, Actor and Choreographer in New York, Los Angeles, regionally and abroad. She has performed on Broadway, in National Tours, appeared with several dance companies, and has choreographed over 50 corporate industrials. After moving to the West Coast, she reinvented herself and found success as a Host & Spokesmodel for such companies as Toyota, Nissan, Sprint, Leader Instruments, Kangen Water, Mattel and many others. Osgood is an advocate for the arts in education, and currently teaches Musical Theatre for the ArTES Magnet High School where she gets to live her passion everyday through her students. When she is not teaching, she is focused on her entrepreneurship and is busy building a successful home business as an independent distributor with Direct Cellars. She is also dedicated to mentoring business owners helping them grow their own companies. Anne-Marie Osgood holds a BFA in Dance & Composition from University of Arts in Philadelphia, and received her teaching credential from Cal State LA.

Ms. Osgood is very excited to join the IP family and believes that "in our very uncertain and complex world, theatre has the ability to unite children more than any other artistic medium. It can truly change the quality of their lives."

Also joining the the IP Board of Directors is Monica Mitrani. "I decided to join Imagine Project because of its potential to impact, inspire and empower our youth to create a more empathetic and just future for all. Armina is a dedicated and fearless leader who believes in the power of her craft to educate and engage our youth in the important and pressing conversations that need to happen in our world today. She believes, and I agree, that for those conversations to be fruitful, they must begin with empathy toward others at a very early age," explained Mitrani. She has wide-ranging experience in consulting, business development and research that spans over twenty years. Mitrani has occupied senior roles as a strategy and research consultant, research director, moderator and coach at firms, such as TNS (now Kantar) and Culturati - focusing heavily on the U.S. Hispanic market. Earlier in her career, she was a consultant at Booz-Allen & Hamilton. Mitrani is currently looking to apply her years of experience to empower disenfranchised youth and women, and advance social justice causes worldwide. As part of this effort, she is currently attending the Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania and is a Board Member for Amigos de Los Rios, a non-profit dedicated to the creation of a green infrastructure network of culturally meaningful parks and trails in Los Angeles to counteract effects of climate change. Born and raised in Colombia, she is fully bilingual and bicultural. Mitrani holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and a B.S. in Business Administration from Babson College.

Imagine Project tells relevant stories about gender equity & inclusion, spotlighting female heroes. They strive to dynamically engage with youth of all cultural and economic backgrounds, inspiring them to face life with creativity, insight, empathy and courage. They proudly seek to empower girls to make their own choices in life, to know they are worthy of the best opportunities, worthy of having a voice and speaking their minds, worthy of fulfilling their dreams. They commit to championing girls and enabling them with the confidence to succeed; and to teaching boys to understand why gender equality is good for everyone, recognizing their role in promoting these values. Derived from the experiences of many different ethnic groups that make up LA's diverse cultural diaspora, Imagine Project invites children and parents to come together in the vast and nurturing space of theatre to make a difference in the lives of girls and boys everywhere.

IP leadership includes Armina LaManna, Artistic Director, and Alex Zonin, Chairman of the Board. Imagine Project is a California non-profit corporation and a member of TYA/USA.