Our Vision
The Fonseca Theatre Company (FTC) exists to amplify the voices of and celebrate the underrepresented communities of Indianapolis through the prism of purposeful theater and civic engagement. FTC provides an open, safe, and respectful space for artists, students, and audiences to collaborate. We are committed to creating responsive programs that serve to inspire conversation, inform our community, and illuminate the beauty and the challenges of the world around us.
Our Mission
The Fonseca Theatre Company (FTC) brings together artists, students, and audiences to collaborate in an inspiring and supportive environment. We believe the sharing of culture is essential to our nation’s health, and our leadership reflects the diversity of our community. We invite the entire community to the table by producing plays, programs, and events by and/or about the global majority, including AAPI, Black, Disabled, Latino, and LGBTQ+ individuals. We are committed to creating an accessible and radically inclusive space where artists of all races, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities can participate fully and be the authority on their own story.
Our History
In 2016, Bryan Fonseca received a Transformational Impact Fellowship from Indy Arts Council and The Lilly Endowment to begin creative work on Indy’s Near Westside. Following numerous community meetings with the neighborhood, other artists, and grantors, he founded FTC in 2018.
Bryan had been creating theatre in Indianapolis for 40 years, including founding and running the Phoenix Theatre for 35 years, so he was well-prepared for this monumental task.
In 2020, Jordan Flores Swartz took over the position of Producing Director after Bryan’s untimely passing due to COVID. She had already been working alongside Bryan since FTC’s founding and had created the company’s education program, so she was a natural fit.
Jordan continues to move the heart and operations of the company forward in new and exciting ways. She has created the Keith O. Norwalk and Steve Hamilton Gallery Wall in order to feature local visual artists, produced and directed topical shows, saw construction of the Basile Collaboration Center completed, and continues to develop FTC’s theatre classes for Near Westside kids. There are several more projects in development that she has been passionate about.
