The Society of the Educational Arts, is a bilingual not-profit Art Education Organization is a theatre company founded in 1985 in Puerto Rico that produces socially conscious and educational productions for children and young adults.
SEA established operations in New York City in 1993, and has been producing plays since. SEA’s unique integration of the performing arts and Arts-in-Education programs introduces and enriches cultural awareness and a sense of identity, especially in children.
SEA has offices in San Juan and Florida, but its home base theater is located at Teatro SEA, at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center on the Lower East Side in New York City. At the Center, Teatro Sea offers a year-round season of professional Puppet and Children’s Theater, as well as Art & Puppetry Workshops. The organization also provides a Technical Training Program, sponsored by The Theatre Subdistrict Council, which aims to elevate the skill level of minority theatre technicians by giving them on the job training and real world working experience.
The Society of Educational Arts was founded by Dr. Manuel A. Morán, who currently is the CEO and Artistic Director.
Teatro SEA has a vast repertoire of theatre and puppetry, for both children and adults. Every season (beginning in September until the end of May) Teatro SEA introduces new theatre and puppetry works, often based on Latin stories. Some of their most famous shows include A Tango-Dancing Cinderella, The Colors of Frida, Martina the Little Cockroach, My Superhero Roberto Clemente, and Sueño.
Teatro SEA hosts several festivals in the Lower East Side, in which they celebrate Latino Heritage in their community and citywide.
Arte pa' mi Gente / Arts For All Festival [2] is an initiative of Teatro SEA in collaboration with the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (The Clemente). This yearly festival is a free Outdoor Theater Series at La Plaza at The Clemente.
Micro Theater New York,[3] a weekend-long festival that provides an opportunity of alternative theatrical exchange for Hispanic groups and theater-makers in New York City. Each production is performed 5 times (5 shows) per night. Celebrated twice a year, each season with a new theme in collaboration with the festival's Co-Artistic Director George Riverón.
The International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC[4](also stylised as IPFFNYC or Puppet Fringe NYC) is a biannual puppet theater fringe festival hosted by Teatro SEA in the Lower East Side of New York City. The festival had its first edition in 2018,[5] at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center, and featured puppet shows, short films and artist talks with international puppet theater companies. The Puppet Fringe Festival is the first ever international fringe festival dedicated to puppetry.
The Technical Training Program, sponsored by The Theatre Subdistrict Council, offers free theater technical education to emerging theater artists and minorities. The trainees meet once a month with experienced industry professionals, where they learn Costume Design, Light Design, Scenic Design, Sound Design and other disciplines. They also have the opportunity to work on theater performances and festivals during their training at Teatro SEA.