Our Mission Empowering local Latin@ artists to create, produce and promote professional theater in English, Spanish, bilingual and Spanglish. Providing a voice for Latino and Latina artists as well as communities by sharing culturally and socially relevant stories through our innovative programming, workshops, and initiatives.
Our Philosophy Founded in 2010, eSe Teatro honors self-definition and inclusion, striving to represent everyone within our Latinidad and beyond. Our affiliated artists range from immigrants to U.S. born, Spanish-speaking and non Spanish-speaking, representing cultures and heritages from all over The Americas and Caribbean.
Our Work Exploring language, shared history, and cultural roots, through adaptations of classics as well as new works and script development. Our Name The name "eSe Teatro" is significant, as "ese" means "that" in Spanish, as well as being the popular Chicano expression of familiarity in peer groups (wus up ese?). "Ese" is also the name of the letter “S,” as in Spanish and Seattle.
eSe teatro has actively participated in the Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC)events and endorses its mission. LTC is a national movement that uses a commons-based approach to transform the narrative of the American theatre, to amplify the visibility of Latinx performance making, and to champion equity through advocacy, art making, convening, and scholarship. The LTC is a flagship program of HowlRound.
The eSe Team
Meg Savlov Julieta Vitullo, PhD
Founding Member, Ensemble & Resident Musical Director Meg comes from a theatrical family and started training in music and theater arts at an early age. She has worked as actress, writer, and co-producer in various bilingual ensembles and flamenco groups in Santa Fe, San Francisco, and Seattle. Locally, Meg has worked with the Group Theater, ACT, Puget Sound Revels, eSe Teatro, and Miracle Theater in Portland.
Resident Playwright, Director & Dramaturge Julieta is a bilingual writer born and raised in Argentina. She joined eSe in 2017, and has since done dramaturgy, play writing and a directing with the company. She holds an MA in English and a PhD in Spanish from Rutgers. She’s the protagonist and co-script writer of the award-winning documentary La forma exacta de las islas. Her literary work was twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in Into the Void, The Normal School, The Fabulist, Hawaii Pacific Review and The Massachusetts Review. Her plays have been presented in Seattle, including the most recent productions with eSe Teatro Fermín’s Great Book of Dreams and Two Big Black Bags, the last of which she directed. More at www.julietavitullo.com
Monica Cortés Viharo, PhD
Company Member & Ensemble Monica Cortés Viharo is an actor (SAG/AFTRA), teacher, scholar, dramaturge, and public speaking consultant, who earned her PhD in Drama at the University of Washington (UW). She holds a BA in Theater & Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, trained at American Conservatory Theater and California Shakespeare Theatre, and was a working actor in the San Francisco Bay Area for 20+ years. She made her Seattle debut in eSe's 2016 production of Mud/Barro and has been a company member ever since. In addition to being the performance coach for TEDx Youth Seattle, she is an Associate Dean at Seattle Central College and has taught at UW, the University of Puget Sound, Cascadia College, and New College of Florida, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. More at www.mcvphd.com
Marissa Sandoval
Company Member & Artistic Administrator Marissa's work as an artistic administrator for eSe Teatro began in 2017 during eSe's mainstage production of Mud/Barro. A Colorado Native, Marissa has a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration & Management from Colorado State University. She currently works as a Director of Clinic Operations for Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Marissa is a theater enthusiast who has worked in Healthcare over 20 years and believes the way to better health and healing is through the arts. She comes to the group with experience in operations, administrative organization, and budgetary planning. Small theatre organizations give so much to the community and can always use the support in administrative areas!
Rose Cano, Co-Founder and Artistic Director Emerita
The cast and playwright of Fermín's Great Book of Dreams, UHeights, 2021.
The Journey of the Saint, ACT Theatre, 2018. Opening night.