The Green Room Theater brings the stories of Section 14 to the Valley

Sandie Newton
| Special for the desert sun

Imagine watching a live show for the very first time. Shakespeare’s poetry. The beauty of folklórico ballet.

If you’re a young student in the East Valley, you’ve probably had the gift of experiencing the magic of live performance thanks to the Green Room Theater Co. And without a doubt, it was very moving.

Sixteen years ago, Karen Lin and David Catanzarite dreamed of bringing the power of theater specifically to the cities of Indio, Coachella, Mecca and Thermal. It was a resounding success.

“Providing professional theater and dance performances and education directly to under-resourced communities improves literacy, job skills and community connections,” said Catanzarite, artistic director of Green Room. “The impact has been profound not only for the young students, but also for us.”

In addition to their classic productions, they also create original content. This month they will launch “Displacement: Stories from Section 14.”

“This story is about the entire Coachella Valley,” Catanzarite says. “A series of removals have occurred here since the 1800s. We wanted to educate our community about how this very complicated historical event occurred. We received a generous grant from the Inland SoCal Creative Corps with a focus on employing artists from the Inland Empire, and we decided to design a new piece about Section 14 and began researching public records last June.

The show will take place over two weekends in two different locations in our valley. The first weekend begins June 22 with shows at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and June 23 with a show at 2 p.m. These performances will take place at the Palm Springs United Methodist Church. The second weekend will see shows on June 28 at 6:30 p.m., June 29 at 6:30 p.m., and June 30 at 2 p.m. at the Coachella Library Community Room.

And the cost? Pay what you can. There is no fixed price for tickets and you can also attend for free, but you must book in advance.

Catanzarite believes that this very special production deserves and should be seen throughout the valley.

“It was important for us to tell this story and its impact on individuals and families,” he says. “Taking the abstract ideas and reports from the public record and being able to share them in a very human and relevant way with our community was the main goal. Our play is a fictional account of events from 1923 to 1973 based on public records. is a combination of humorous and tragic stories to tell. We believe that the arts, especially theater, are an important part of the healing process.

Very well said. It is for this exceptional community action that we are awarding the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Power of Community a $1,000 grant this week to continue this important service of sharing important and educational productions with our community.

“We are the only company in the area touring professional theater and folk ballet to underprivileged communities,” says Catanzarite. “We are working hard to remove the barriers that communities often face when engaging in the arts, both geographic and financial. We perform in community spaces, libraries, churches, parks, art galleries, senior centers, and even at the Coachella Valley Cemetery. “

Bravo to the Green Room Theater! For this commitment to the community, we applaud you.

Learn more at grtccv.org.

Sandie Newton is an award-winning broadcast journalist who began her career in Los Angeles as co-host of the nationally syndicated show “PM Magazine.” She went on to host numerous local and national shows like “Hollywood Insider” before becoming one of the first hosts of E! and a regular on the Hallmark Channel show “Home & Family.” In 2017, she moved to the desert, creating and hosting NBCares for six years. She is currently the host of “Desert Chat”, a half-hour lifestyle show highlighting all the good people, events and news in the Coachella Valley. Watch it Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on KESQ, 10:30 p.m. on FOX 11 and Mondays at noon on CW5.