BIPOC Critics Lab selects ten writers for its first two-coast cohort
The Public Theater and the Old Globe have named ten writers for Jose Solís’s BIPOC Critics Lab in the 2026–27 season. Five participants on each US coast will share a programme combining virtual instruction with in-person opportunities. The new San Diego group extends an initiative previously based at the New York theatre.
Arts··Morning
A shared programme reaches San Diego
The Public Theater in New York and the Old Globe in San Diego have selected ten writers for the 2026–27 BIPOC Critics Lab. Founded by cultural critic Jose Solís, the programme supports entry into arts journalism and criticism. BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous and people of colour. Five participants will be based on each US coast.[1], [2]
Solís established the initiative in 2020. After three years at the Public Theater, the partnership creates its first West Coast cohort at the Old Globe. Sessions will extend across the theatre season. Most teaching takes place online, alongside opportunities for participants to attend in person at the two theatres in New York and San Diego.[1]
The five West Coast writers
The West Coast group comprises content strategist Katana Dumont, playwright and dramaturg Juliette Lin, short-story writer and journalist Kasper Owen, bilingual journalist and producer Lucía Serrano, and playwright and actor Katelin Shum. Their experience includes theatre administration, reporting, public relations and cultural commentary. The new cohort brings those different working backgrounds into the criticism programme.[1]
Lin studies playwriting and dramaturgy at the University of California, San Diego. Serrano has worked as an editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune en Español and received a regional Emmy in 2023. Shum’s work includes acting, playwriting and arts administration. Dumont has written about culture and public policy, while Owen’s writing spans journalism, poetry and short fiction.[1]
The East Coast group and alumni
The East Coast members are Dina AbdulHadi, Pamela Fordham, nancy jie huang, Geboli Long and LOUR. AbdulHadi writes poetry; Fordham has worked in education and theatre. Long founded SoCiviC Theatre, which works with communities, and LOUR is a performer, composer-lyricist and critic. The group also brings experience in literary publication and community-based theatre.[1]
The two theatres connect the partnership to their cultural-participation and social-justice programmes. Former lab participants have gone on to freelance and editorial work at newspapers and arts outlets, including American Theatre. This season’s ten selected writers enter the same initiative through two regional theatre communities, with instruction shared across the East and West Coast groups.[1]
