<body><div>Lilea Alvarez, Bryttney-Mischele Salvant, and Miki ValeCarlsbad, CA—In honor of the late Dea Hurston, New Village Arts (NVA) is proud to announce the selection of Lilea Alvarez, Bryttney-Mischele Salvant, and Miki Vale as the 2024-2025 Dea Hurston Professional Fellows. The prestigious Dea Hurston Fellowship (DHF) was created to address the lack of paid opportunities for women, BIPOC, and other underrepresented theatre professionals in San Diego, supporting emerging talent in their artistic and professional development.Lilea Alvarez, Bryttney-Mischele Salvant, and Miki Vale were selected for their remarkable artistic vision and dedication to community-building within the arts. As a Hurston Fellow, they will receive financial support, mentorship, and access to resources that will help them continue to create impactful, inclusive theatre in San Diego County. Each of the Hurston Fellows will be working on our upcoming production of LA HAVANA MADRID happening April 2025. Miki Vale will sound design the production while Lilea Alvarez is the co-choreographer. Bryttney-Mischele will be the Visual Arts Fellow holding special space in the New Village Arts Gallery and creating new pieces for LA HAVANA MADRID.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4Qm2XD_0wBpNt4700" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4Qm2XD_0wBpNt4700" width="1920" height="1080" ></figure>About Lilea AlvarezLilea is a recent graduate from UC Berkeley where she received a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Theater and Performance Studies with highest distinction in general scholarship. Lilea devised and choreographed a contemporary dance piece in 2024 called “Let There Be Light”. The project also served as an advocacy platform by raising funds for GenerateHope, a nonprofit organization that provides long-term restorative care to female survivors of human trafficking. She also served as Assistant Director on the UC Berkeley production of Eurydice. Further previous credits include: Jacqueline in Wintertime at UC Berkeley, CAP club short film Momentum, Guest artist for H2O Dance Company, and member of Catalyst Dance Ensemble.“I am thrilled to be a Hurston Fellow for New Village Arts! I am excited to collaborate and learn from creative individuals in creating beautiful meaningful art.” says Lilea Alvarez, Hurston FellowAbout Bryttney-Mischele SalvantBryttney-Mischele is a surreal expressionist artist whose work blends visual art, spoken word, and community collaboration to explore Black Excellence and challenge social injustices. In 2020, she founded Poetic Artistry to redefine fine art, amplifying underrepresented voices, especially within the BIPOC community. Bryttney’s art is deeply rooted in symbolism and emotion and the core of their work is to provoke thought, foster connection, and inspire collective empowerment. Bryttney is a self-taught artist who uses personal experience as a lens to tap into broader narratives of community and change. Through their creations, they aim to transform not just fine art, but how we see ourselves and each other.“I’m excited to start my fellowship with New Village Arts, where I hope to learn new techniques, gain insights into art production, and connect with other artists to enhance my practice as a visual artist.” says Bryttney-Mischele Salvant, Hurston FellowAbout Miki ValeMiki Vale is an international performing artist and U.S. cultural ambassador of Hip Hop, teaching artist, Old Globe-commissioned playwright, and founder of SoulKiss Theater, an arts education organization centering and celebrating the voices of Black queer womxn. Her work serves to amplify community consciousness around relationships, wellness, and justice. Miki has performed, spoken, and taught at landmark venues and festivals in the US and internationally, from Hollywood and D.C. to Egypt, Chile, and India. Theatre credits include Sound Designer – Globe for All tour: Measure for Measure (2016), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2018), Shakespeare Call and Response (2021), Notes on Killing (Moxie Theatre 2024); Original music and cast: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Old Globe (2022). For her contributions to Hip Hop culture, Miki has earned a San Diego Hip Hop Honors Award, a Female Perspective Award, and the 2021 San Diego Music Award for Song of the Year for “Bad Wolves”, a song condemning anti-Black racism. For her work within the LGBTQ community, Miki was awarded the 2017 Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Honor.“I am over the moon to have been selected for the Dea Hurston Fellowship and I’m excited to get started working with New Village Arts. As a multidisciplinary artist, it’s been increasingly important to me to work in capacities that speak to my interests and values, and this fellowship feels like a natural alignment with the parts of my artistic practice that I desire to lean into. I highly admired Dea Hurston and her commitment to the arts and I’m grateful to be part of this cohort of artists sharing in honoring the legacy of her indelible impact on our community.” says Miki Vale, Hurston FellowThis year’s selection of Hurston Fellows holds special significance following the passing of Dea Hurston in July of this year, a beloved community leader, patron of the arts, and driving force behind NVA’s vision for true diversity and inclusivity in the San Diego theatre community. Dea’s legacy lives on through the Fellowship, which reflects her deep belief that a diverse theatre environment produces better, richer, and more impactful stories.Fellowship Advisory Committee &amp; Mentors include Joy Yvonne Jones, Kevane La’Marr Coleman, Desiree Clarke Miller, Ahmed Kenyatta Dents, Jo-Ann Hoye, and Marquita Hefflin-Tullis. Previous mentors have included Jacole Kitchen, Nathan Waits, and Janet Pitcher.The Dea Hurston Fellowship is sponsored by the San Diego Foundation, US Bank, and the California Arts Council. Sponsorship opportunities are available.About New Village ArtsNew Village Arts (NVA) creates adventurous artistic experiences to awaken the human spirit.We provide:<ul><li>A collaborative and inspiring home for performing and visual arts;</li><li>A forum for laughter, discussion, and deeper thinking within our community;</li><li>A training ground for future generations of art-makers and art-lovers.</li></ul>NVA is now celebrating 23 years of award-winning professional theatre, thrilling and unique visual arts, and thriving education and outreach programs. NVA attracts over 30,000 patrons to the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center in Carlsbad Village to experience professional theatre in its intimate, 100 seat house and has been recognized as one of the finest theatres in San Diego County and a regional leader in equity, diversity, and inclusion.For more information about the Dea Hurston Fellowship, please contact the Dea Hurston Fellowship Manager, Kiara Hudlin by email at dhfellowship@newvillagearts.org.New Village Arts is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization listed under section 501(c)(3) of the IRSNew Village Arts, Inc. 2787 State Street, Carlsbad, CA 92008. Phone: 760-433-3245 www.newvillagearts.org</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

New Village Arts Announces The Next Dea Thurston Fellows

Lilea Alvarez, Bryttney-Mischele Salvant, and Miki Vale. Carlsbad, CA—In honor of the late Dea Hurston, New Village Arts (NVA) is proud to announce the selection of Lilea Alvarez, Bryttney-Mischele Salvant, and Miki Vale as the 2024-2025 Dea Hurston Professional Fellows. The prestigious Dea Hurston Fellowship (DHF) was created to address the lack of paid opportunities for women, BIPOC, and other underrepresented theatre professionals in San Diego, supporting emerging talent in their artistic and professional development.