ABOUT ECAS
HISTORY
In 1997, a Providence public high school teacher named Nancy Patiño convened a group of Latino artists in Providence to offer youth afterschool programming where they could explore their own cultures. This was the beginning of the Educational Center of Arts and Science (ECAS). Francis Parra led the theater program, which became Teatro ECAS, an independent 501c3 arts nonprofit. Since then, Teatro ECAS has been the leading Latino theater in New England, presenting classical and contemporary plays in Spanish, training a generation of actors, and offering educational programming for all ages. Teatro ECAS has also staged plays in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Cuba. Today, Teatro ECAS is the only Latino repertory theater in New England.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Carolina Grullón, President
Jacinta Peña, Vice President
Sandra Cano, Treasurer
Carolina Briones, Secretary
Dantes Carrasco
Xiomara Paulino
Gonzalo Cuervo
Andy Andujar
Mercedes Betty Bernal
Margaret Brassard
STAFF
Francis Parra, Executive Artistic Director
Francis Parra is a lifelong educator and arts champion. She was born in the Dominican Republic, where she studied advertising and communications at the APEC University in Santo Domingo and was actively involved in the local theater scene. After moving to Rhode Island, Francis launched a community theater program in 1997 that has grown into the region's leading Latino theater company, Teatro ECAS. Francis has written, directed, and produced dozens of plays, and has taught acting for more than two decades. In 2014, Francis received recognition for twenty years of arts leadership from the RI State Council on the Arts in 2014. In 2017, Francis was named Grand Marshall for PVD Fest along with Trinity Rep's Joe Wilson, Jr. She is the 2018 recipient of the RI State Council for the Humanities' Tom Roberts Prize for Creative Achievement and has received numerous awards throughout her artistic career. Francis is a graduate of the NALAC Leadership Institute, teaches at the grade school level in the Pawtucket Public Schools, and lives in Providence.
Yvonne Beauregard, General Manager
Yvonne Beauregard is an experienced theater and arts administrator with a long history in the Rhode Island theater scene. Yvonne's past experience includes having served as Executive Director of the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theater, Director of Sales and Marketing at Trinity Repertory Company, and Director of Development for Waterfire.
Connie Pereira, Accountant
Dr. Laura Espinel, Educational Program
Jessica Smith Educational Program
Luis Gilberto Martinez Garcia, Educational Program
Carlos Parra Guerra, Production Manager
Delia Rodriguez Masjoan, Development and Special Projects
Marcia Marte, Marketing
Estefania Parra, Graphic Design
Pablo Rodriguez Masjoan, Graphic Design
