Exal Iraheta

Exal Iraheta (he/his) is a Salvi-American playwright & screenwriter from Houston, TX, based in Chicago, IL. Sometimes humorous and often uncomfortable, his writing explores the intersections of belonging, family, queerness, Latinidad, violence, and sex.

His full-length play They Could Give No Name was part of Victory Gardens' 2019 Ignition Festival of New Plays, a 2019 honorable mention for the Relentless Award, a 2020 National Playwrights Conference finalist, and a 2020 Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting finalist. His short play Open Venas was produced in Theater Masters’ 2019 Take Ten New York Short Play Festival and The Untold Collectiv’s 2019 Latinx Scratch festival in London, England. His full-length play Rules of a Closed Door was a semi-finalist for the 2019 Activate: Midwest...

Exal Iraheta (he/his) is a Salvi-American playwright & screenwriter from Houston, TX, based in Chicago, IL. Sometimes humorous and often uncomfortable, his writing explores the intersections of belonging, family, queerness, Latinidad, violence, and sex.

His full-length play They Could Give No Name was part of Victory Gardens' 2019 Ignition Festival of New Plays, a 2019 honorable mention for the Relentless Award, a 2020 National Playwrights Conference finalist, and a 2020 Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting finalist. His short play Open Venas was produced in Theater Masters’ 2019 Take Ten New York Short Play Festival and The Untold Collectiv’s 2019 Latinx Scratch festival in London, England. His full-length play Rules of a Closed Door was a semi-finalist for the 2019 Activate: Midwest New Play Fest, with an excerpt reading at The Goodman Theater as part of the Fornés Playwriting Workshop. Exal has also collaborated with Chicago theatre companies Nothing Without a Company and Random Acts Chicago.

Recently, Exal was featured in the May/June 2020 issue of American Theatre Magazine as part of its “People to Watch” list.

Exal earned an MFA from Northwestern University’s Writing for the Screen and Stage program, and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Film & Video Production.

read more

Scripts

They Could Give No Name

by Exal Iraheta

5
Cast Size
6
Genre
drama,
fable/folktale,
fantasy,
horror,
political,
tragedy

Somewhere in the southern end of Arizona, medical examiner Nellie Ramirez descends into near-madness when her fiancé, a border patrol agent, accidentally kills a young immigrant girl. In order to save her future family, Nellie must make a decision that threatens to tear her life apart. Little does she know that soon the desert will come to collect what is due to it. This macabre, magical play takes an unsettling...

Somewhere in the southern end of Arizona, medical examiner Nellie Ramirez descends into near-madness when her fiancé, a border patrol agent, accidentally kills a young immigrant girl. In order to save her future family, Nellie must make a decision that threatens to tear her life apart. Little does she know that soon the desert will come to collect what is due to it. This macabre, magical play takes an unsettling look at the complexities of identity, cruelty of immigration, and the power behind a name.

read more

Open Venas

by Exal Iraheta

Cast Size
3
Genre
comedy

Amelia’s Mama and Abuelita return from the dead to make sure Amelia conceives a child on her wedding night.

Amelia’s Mama and Abuelita return from the dead to make sure Amelia conceives a child on her wedding night.

Rules of a Closed Door

by Exal Iraheta

3
Cast Size
4—5
Genre
drama,
melodrama,
tragedy

Eddie is forced to confront his dark desires when his estranged cousin Hector returns 13 years after moving away, to reignite their incestuous affair. "Rules of a Closed Door" examines the poisons of love, sex, familia, community, and the lengths parents will go, to keep their children safe.

Eddie is forced to confront his dark desires when his estranged cousin Hector returns 13 years after moving away, to reignite their incestuous affair. "Rules of a Closed Door" examines the poisons of love, sex, familia, community, and the lengths parents will go, to keep their children safe.