Alison De La Cruz
Executive & Artistic Director
Alison De La Cruz (she/he/they/siya/DeLa) is a senior artivist leader, facilitator, cultural organizer, multi-disciplinary theatre artist, educator, contemporary ritualist and elder. They have collaborated with local artists and produced community events of all sizes, developing Los Angeles’ world class cultural ecosystem for over 25 years.
De La Cruz has over thirty years of experience facilitating circles and spaces for youth, strangers, neighbors, friends, colleagues, and collaborators to explore diverse communities and break down bias and systemic inequity. De La Cruz has devised trainings and national convenings and also been a featured speaker at national convenings for Art Change US: Arts Equity Summit, Grantmakers in the Arts, and the Weingart Foundation.
De La Cruz served as Executive Producer of the LA premiere of the Broadway musical ALLEGIANCE (2018, EWP & JACCC) at the historic Aratani Theatre followed by the world premiere of TALES OF CLAMOR (2019, JACCC & NCRR) in the Aratani Theatre Black Box. De La Cruz was previously the Vice President of Programs at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center where they oversaw programming in Performing Arts, Culinary Arts, Visual & Cultural Arts, Community Engagement, and Neighborhood Placekeeping work with Sustainable Little Tokyo.
De La Cruz’s directing credits include the world premiere of Nathan Ramos’ AS WE BABBLE ON (2018, East West Players), Claudia Rodriguez’s MIDNIGHT STEEL (2016, Grand Performances / DCA); and Post Natyam Collective’s SUPER RUWAXI (2014, Fury Factory), among others. In 2024 DeLa served as Adjunct Lecturer for the University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts where they directed the world premiere of the Marilyn Schotland’s SOMEWHERE SOMEONE IS TRAVELING FURIOUSLY TOWARDS YOU.
De La Cruz has led at the intersections of dramaturgy, adaptation, youth development, generative processes, community organizing, dialogue, workforce investment and playwrighting on over 10 Youth Arts productions by Shakespeare Center Los Angeles, About Productions and East West Players.
De La Cruz is part of the shared leadership cohort for the Network of Ensemble Theaters.
Dan Kwong
Associate Artistic Director
Manzanar Baseball Project Director
Dan Kwong is an award-winning multifaceted artist (and lifelong athlete) whose work spans across various mediums including theater, performance art, writing, and film. With a career spanning several decades, Dan Kwong has established himself as a prominent figure in the Asian American arts scene and is celebrated for his innovative approach to storytelling.
Dan’s work is known for deeply personal narratives that explore themes of identity, culture, and belonging. Through his performances, Kwong has challenged stereotypes and shed light on the complexity of the Asian American experience.
Dan's mother and her family were incarcerated at the so-called “Manzanar Relocation Center” from 1942 to 1945. His mother's wartime experiences instilled in him a sense of social justice at an early age. As a result, the subject of Japanese American WWII internment has been featured in several of his theatrical works, bringing attention to a chapter of civil rights history still unknown to many Americans.
Dan has volunteered on restoration projects at Manzanar since 2007, including Merritt Park garden, the apple orchard, and beginning in May 2023, the baseball field. His late-mother was also deeply involved with Manzanar, being interviewed for their oral history library, volunteering to correspond with visiting students, and donating one of her weavings.
In addition to his career as an artist and activist, Dan has played baseball in the Nisei Athletic Union (N.A.U.) Japanese American baseball leagues of California since 1971. His 52-years-and-counting with the Li'l Tokio Giants is considered the longest career in N.A.U. baseball history.
The Manzanar Baseball Project uniquely combines Dan's lifelong interests and passions as artist, athlete, and community activist. His goal is for the Project to become an annual tradition that combines sport and art to elevate Japanese American history and culture, honor social justice, and celebrate the beauty of baseball.
"In this place of sadness and pain, we will do something beautiful and inspiring." ~ the spirit of Japanese Americans in camp, and the spirit of The Manzanar Baseball Project.
Nobuko Miyamoto
Founder, Legacy Artist in Residence
“I grew up never hearing a song that sang me.” -Nobuko Miyamoto
A veteran of both Broadway and the protest line, Nobuko Miyamoto is an icon of Asian American music and activism. Growing up in the 1940s as a third-generation Japanese American "without a song of my own," she found her voice in the 1960s revolutionary movements. In 1973, she co-created the seminal album A Grain of Sand (Paredon), regarded as the first album of Asian American songs. With neither guideposts nor role models, Nobuko improvised her artistic path as a songwriter, dancer, and theater artist. Across five decades, she forged a creative practice that thrives on community and collaboration, continuing today with a fire for justice.
Filmmakers Tadashi Nakamura and Quyên Nguyen-Le deftly explore Nobuko Miyamoto’s life and career in the new documentary NOBUKO MIYAMOTO: A SONG IN MOVEMENT. The film has been screening at Festivals around the country and will premiere on PBS SoCal’s ARTBOUND on November 1, 2024 through the PBS Passport. Find a screening near you HERE
Her 2021 Smithsonian Folkways album, 120,000 Stories compiles Nobuko's past and present work. Produced by Quetzal Flores and Derek Nakamoto, the double album features artists from diverse musical traditions who share her commitment to the social power of music. Among those who contributed are taiko master taiko Kenny Endo, harmonica player Tex Nakamura, multi-instrumentalist Abe Lagrimas Jr., saxophonist Gerald Albright, and members of the GRAMMY-winning band Quetzal. Now entering her eighth decade, Nobuko Miyamoto is unstoppable. Her memoir Not Yo' Butterfly: My Long Song of Relocation, Race, Love, and Revolution was published by the University of California Press in June 2021.
Great Leap
Board of Directors
Clara Chiu-Torres, Chair
Meryl Marshall-Daniels, Vice Chair
Kenneth Hayashi, Treasurer
Angela Moreira, Secretary
Eugen Ahn
Quetzal Flores
Dr. Deborah Wong
