Teatro SEA is both honored and disheartened to share two significant developments this month. On one hand, our Founder and Artistic Director, Dr. Manuel A. Morán, was awarded the prestigious Harold Oaks Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatre for Young Audiences by TYA/USA, recognizing nearly 40 years of groundbreaking work in bilingual and Latiné theater. On the other hand, we received deeply disappointing news: the National Endowment for the Arts has moved to terminate one of our Musical Theater grants, a project that was fully approved by a national panel of experts and designed to serve Hispanic/Latino families in New York and beyond.
In his award acceptance speech, Dr. Morán addressed this unjust decision and highlighted the ongoing inequities in public arts funding, especially for Latiné-led organizations. His speech has quickly become a call to action for equity and support in the arts sector.
TYA/USA’s Harold Oaks Award – Acceptance Speech – Dr. Manuel A. Morán
TYA/USA National Festival & Conference
Imagination Stage, Bethesda, MD/Washington D.C.
Thank you. I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this award. To be recognized by my peers—fellow artists, educators, and changemakers in this field—is profoundly meaningful.
I want to thank TYA/USA and the selection committee for this acknowledgment.
I also want to share this award with my son, Manuel Gabriel, with my family, Richard, my current and past staff, and the countless artists—actors, musicians, dancers, puppeteers, teaching artists, designers, and technicians—who have worked alongside me throughout these four decades to build Teatro SEA. You have all helped sustain this dream. This is your award too.
Receiving an award from my colleagues is not just an honor; it is a healing affirmation. I must confess that for many years, I often felt that my work—and Teatro SEA, New York’s Latino TYA—went unseen.
Decades ago, establishing a culturally specific organization and opening a theater in New York City was not easy—far from it. When we finally created a space for ourselves, it was a major step forward: a chance to present our stories—Latiné stories—in our own voices, without apology or the need for justification. It felt revolutionary. And yet, just when we think we’ve made it, moments like what we’re experiencing now in this country remind us how far we still have to go.
Just this past Friday, I received notice that our current NEA grant was being
terminated—because our work did not align with a new interpretation of what is considered
“American.” This kind of exclusion is unacceptable, and it is painful.
And that’s not to mention the unfair prejudice we often face from funders—foundations and corporations—that continue to undermine our art and our field. Many still consider what we do “lesser art” simply because it is made for children. It’s unbelievable what we’ve had to endure. And yet—we are still here. Still committed.
But moments like this—standing here with all of you—remind me that the work has not been in vain. That we are not invisible. That we do belong.
I still remember the moment that changed my life: I was in third grade in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, when a TYA troupe came to my school. That show planted a seed. It gave me purpose. It offered me a glimpse of who I could become. And it lit a path that I have walked ever since.
I hope that, through my work, I have lit that same spark in others. That our shows, stories, and songs have helped young people—especially those from underrepresented communities—see themselves, dream bigger, and know they matter.
After nearly 40 years, I still have the same passion, the same commitment—and above all, the same love—for what I do. And I will continue, no matter how dark the times may feel, to make space for our voices, for our children, and for our stories.
Thank you again for this beautiful recognition. It means more than I can say.