Alberto Justiniano is the founder and Artistic Director of Teatro del Pueblo. He curates Teatro's Political Theater series and the Latino/Asian Fusion series with Pangea World Theater. He has been active as a director, playwright, screenwriter and independent producer for both film and theater. As a playwright, he has written three plays for children, which have been produced at Stepping Stone Theatre and six full-length stage plays for adults, four of which have been produced. He has produced and directed a number of short films and a television films for ITVs that has aired in PBS nationally. His artistic focus has always been on educating the public concerning multi-cultural themes. Some of his projects include working with Hazelwood, one of the first schools in the north side of Belfast, Northern Ireland to be integrated, and developing collaborative programming to foster understanding between Hmong and Latino communities. His community-based work has integrated the creation of art by community members in ways that engages community in social justice issues. His many honors include the 1993 Many Voices Residency Award from the Playwrights’ Center of Minneapolis, St Paul Companies’1994 Leadership and Arts Award, 2009 Fransico Rosales community award, the 2012 Target Community Award and the 2013 Pro Lingua award. He is a proud member of the Twin Cities Theaters of Color Coalition and the National Latina/o commons.
A performer and composer, Gary Rue has been playing music for audiences throughout the western hemisphere since the mid-’60s, beginning with various town halls in the upper Midwest and graduating to East Coast “tent” tours that included the Big Apple (Carnegie Hall as music director and duet partner for Gene Pitney) and on to far-flung points in Canada and the Caribbean. Early along the way, Rue began writing music of his own and was rewarded with some of his songs being recorded by (among others) Nick Lowe and Helen Reddy, as well as many prominent regional artists. He is the author of nearly 80 scores for music theatre, including The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fair(l)y (Stoopid) Tales, which toured the U.S. and China with Dallas Children’s Theater. Rue is also a 2010 Minnesota Music Hall of Fame inductee and an active touring musician and educator.
