Meet Armando Molina | Artistic Director of Company of Angels Theater in Los Angeles

We had the good fortune of connecting with Armando Molina and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Armando, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The determining motivation to start my own business was informed by the challenges that are faced by artists of color in America.  The business in this case is theater, and as such folks of color often are confronted with obstacles both artistic and financial.  As a young latine actor in NYC I found that the roles in TV and film were limited to the stereotypical roles of gang member, drug addict and the like. In NYC I co-founded a comedy group called Legal Action in residence at the Westbank Downstairs Comedy Club, headlined by Luis Black. It was a multi-cultural ensemble of actors and actresses who challenged notions of what it means to be American.  Afterwards I took this idea a step further by co-founding the Latine comedy group Latins Anonymous in Los Angeles.  This group was composed of two men and two women, who further explored and exploded the stereotypes that limited the perception of Latine’s in America. In the last eighteen years I have been the artistic director of the LA based theater Company of Angels (CoA).  CoA produces theater that reflects and responds to the richness, diversity, and complexity that is Los Angeles. The vision that informs CoA and all the prior endeavors was the drive to infuse the American theater canon with specific stories of the underrepresented communities who will soon make-up a majority of the nation’s population.  In addition to creating a theater that more accurately depicts the City and nation where we live, new voices from these under-represented communities provide yet another prism through which to explore the human experience.  If we provide a space for these voices we have an opportunity to animate and excite American theater, enrich its aesthetic and thereby expand our reach to a more diverse audience.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The journey that culminates in being named artistic director of Company of Angels was filled with challenges. I am currently a member of an alliance of artistic directors of color ADCA https://www.adcalliance.org, 14-member coalition of theater leaders that seeks to create an equitable funding landscape for theaters, artists and administrators of color by addressing systemic imbalances that exist in public and private sector funding. Company of Angels is dedicated to creating theater that is deeply connected to its community. We aim to share and help give voice to the many stories that exist in our community. With a collective of Actors, Directors, Playwrights, Designers, and Administrators, our company forges ongoing and meaningful relationships with the residents of Los Angeles. Through this connection we aim to disrupt and counter those systemic imbalances in the field.
We are dedicated to producing compelling new works, we are committed to championing the stories from new and established artists alike, amplifying the voices of emerging playwrights through our deeply collaborative programs and initiatives. We cultivate multiple plays each year through developmental programs such as our Playwrights Group, to Read and Stage in L.A. reading series, and heading into its 15th year, the L.A. Short Play Festival. The challenge to sustain this pursuit lies in the long standing inequities in both government and philanthropic funding. Yet in the face of all the obstacles Company of Angels is an incubator of new work by underrepresented artists who are telling the stories of America in this century.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Los Angeles is a world class city with a multiplicity of events and people from all over the world represented in each community.  I would focus on the Eastside, starting with Boyle Heights. Boyle Heights was the community that welcomed folks from all parts of the world. It was the Ellis Island of LA.  Besides Company of Angels whose home is in Boyle Heights, I would visit Casa 0101 Theater for amazing art and theater. Before you go to the theater, start the day with L.A.’s OG green juice at Velarde’s Fruits, then get a matcha de olla boost at Picaresca Barra de Cafe, then grab lunch at Milpa Grille with a delicious longaniza burrito from Macheen. And before the play you’ll get dinner by traveling back in time with Otomisan, the oldest Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles. After the play drinks with a cheladito at Eastside Luv.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shout out to those who have contributed to this journey included artists like Evangeline Ordaz, Robert McCaskill, Lisa Loomer, Diane Rodriquez, Luisa Leschin, Cris Franco who were collaborators who shaped my aesthetic and world view.

Website: www.companyofangels.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coangels/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/companyofangels

Image Credits
All images from plays produced at Company of Angels.