Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jonathan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I came to LA to be an actor. I studied acting, I got an agent, I went on auditions, but I wasn’t happy. I wanted to be the person initiating projects – I wanted to be the person assembling teams of artists and building community. I eventually found my identity as a theatre director. Unfortunately, it turns out that it’s pretty hard to get directing work in Los Angeles unless you already have an impressive resume. While I wasn’t getting much work as an artist at first, I was getting a lot of invitations to produce. Everyone seemed to need an administrator to make the shows “happen.” At the same time, I became more involved in the Latinx Theatre Commons National Steering Committee, allowing me to engage more deeply with the Latinx community and with my own Latinx identity.
This work turned into even more producing invitations, and I “accidentally” developed an identity as a consensus organizer, community activator and theatre activist. On top of that, I’ve always had a very passionate point of view about equity, diversity and inclusion in the performing arts. I gained experience producing and consulting on productions surrounding Latinx and diverse experiences. That’s how I got into the rooms. That’s how I got to exercise my leadership, and now I’m able to really fuse the activism, the leadership, and the artistic all in one.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road wasn’t necessarily smooth. The hardest part was not knowing how long the road would be! For nearly a decade I wondered daily, “Will I have a career in the arts?” I applied to hundreds of artistic leadership positions nationally, but the field is just so competitive. It wasn’t until October 2018, after seven years at my for-profit day job, that I was able to transition to work full time in arts leadership.
Please tell us about A Noise Within.
At A Noise Within, I serve as Director of Cultural Programming. This is a completely new position for our theatre, so I have the great privilege of inventing it as I go! At its core, I practice the methodology of Consensus Organizing to build relationships with local organizations and communities. Sometimes, by naming the process, it can sound overly-clinical, but it’s not at all. It’s an incredibly informal process of meeting with local leaders one at a time, being curious about their goals, mission and vision, and then looking for overlap between our mission and theirs. In an ideal scenario, two or more organizations can cultivate shared stake in a collaboration, share resources, and merge our respective audiences by doing something a little bit new for all everyone involved. At its spine, this thoughtful community engagement is rooted in social justice – which is illuminating of another principal of mine: I believe Theatre is a tool for Justice.
Theatres, like libraries, are community-owned. A Noise Within is LITERALLY your theatre. I believe theatres have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to be the voice of their communities. Theatre is the oldest technology: Using storytelling, theatre is capable of building empathy and understanding towards new or challenging ideas. I believe the health of a community can be measured by the health of its stages, as well as by the level of openness and dissent that is encouraged within the community forum of live performance. My job is to cultivate stake – to cultivate an allegory of responsibility – throughout our neighborhood so that we can all share in this theatre’s successes and activate this community-owned space as a tool for social change.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I owe credit to my artistic hero, Gordon Davidson, the founding artistic director of Center Theatre Group. I was fortunate to know Gordon as a mentor. When I told Gordon about my first paid directing gig at the Los Angeles High School of the Arts, he actually came to the performance! He sat in the very last row, and he watched my high school students perform Dracula in the historic Cocoanut Grove Theatre. In addition to championing diversity in the theatre with Angels in America, Zoot Suit and Children of a Lesser God, Gordon was a champion of asking what a theatre’s role is in its community.
Before I met Gordon, I was encouraged by some people in very prestigious positions to change my name if I wanted to “make it” in the arts. They said they couldn’t pronounce my name, “Muñoz,” and that it was “too Mexican.” I told Gordon this and he said to me, “I learn something new every day. Don’t change your name.”
Contact Info:
- Address: A Noise Within
3352 E. Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107 - Website: https://www.anoisewithin.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anoisewithintheatre/
- Other: Noise Now – the program I oversee at A Noise Within: https://www.anoisewithin.org/noise-now
Image Credit:
Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx photo: Nicole Muñoz-Proulx, A Noise Within, Brown Fist Productions, Viver Brasil, MKM Bollystars Dance Company
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
