Ep #23: Storytelling about the underserved voices in culture inspires the most joy for this longtime theater producer/director
You are in for a treat. My dear longtime friend, Jon Lawrence Rivera, has been in the live theater world as an Artistic Director for over 30 years. What sustains him that long? I’ll give you a hint: the endless possibilities of creating something magical, which theater is known for.
He’s always been interested in theater, but didn’t think it was a sustainable path when he was younger. Getting connected and traveling with the entertainment group Up with People in 1981, Jon realized that he could, in fact, do whatever he wanted as he set his mind on it. Be fearless is his motto.
His passionate plea for storytelling about the underserved voices in culture soon had a stage when he created Playwrights’ Arena in 1992 to focus on LA-based playwrights and uplift BIPOC stories. Jon finds his ultimate joy in connecting humanity through his artistic vision of diversity. Visit www.playwrightsarena.org – IG: @directorrivera – FB: Jon Lawrence Rivera
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hi, i’m your host
Marla Diann!
I’ve been transforming creative entrepreneurs’ lives for over 26 years through two businesses. As a success coach and business strategist, I am passionate about helping entrepreneurs collapse the time frame of achieving their desires and goals.
It’s time to make joy your inner GPS for life and business decisions rather than lean on your logic and reason, first.
You’ll not only be following what is most authentic to you and for you, but you will live the beautiful life meant just for you.
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I enjoyed your conversation with Jon Lawrence Rivera a lot. I’ve worked with him for many years but did not know the specifics of what has motivated him as a theatre artist. I cannot imagine paying $5K for the privilege of working with UP WITH PEOPLE and he did it. The lessons I learned are 1 – passion and hard work can help you live as an artist 2 – be fearless in your choices 3 – travel. Intuition – Jon is a self-employed artist – all he has is his intuition and he has built a theatre company with a board of directors, actors, playwrights. Playwrights Arena is constantly in production. It reflects the intuition of its artistic director. Thank you for bringing Jon on and talking about his art. Very insightful.