Emilio Rodriguez

Emilio Rodriguez

Emilio Rodriguez is a playwright, actor, director, producer, and teaching artist currently living in Detroit. His plays have been read and performed in various cities but he is most excited about being a part of the 2015 Latino Theatre Commons Carnaval Festival of New Plays. In his work, he seeks to create three dimensional roles for Latinos and actors of color in order to give these actors a chance to showcase...
Emilio Rodriguez is a playwright, actor, director, producer, and teaching artist currently living in Detroit. His plays have been read and performed in various cities but he is most excited about being a part of the 2015 Latino Theatre Commons Carnaval Festival of New Plays. In his work, he seeks to create three dimensional roles for Latinos and actors of color in order to give these actors a chance to showcase their true talents and to make the theatre community better aware of the fact that all of our experiences have commonalities regardless of race.

Plays

  • Swimming While Drowning
    When teenager Angelo Mendez decides to leave his home out of fear of further disappointing his homophobic father, he encounters a world he was not prepared for at an LGBT homeless shelter in Los Angeles. There he meets a fellow homeless teen who gives him a voice and unexpectedly introduces him to love. Angelo ultimately learns that all relationships, no matter how powerful, have an unfortunate time cap which...
    When teenager Angelo Mendez decides to leave his home out of fear of further disappointing his homophobic father, he encounters a world he was not prepared for at an LGBT homeless shelter in Los Angeles. There he meets a fellow homeless teen who gives him a voice and unexpectedly introduces him to love. Angelo ultimately learns that all relationships, no matter how powerful, have an unfortunate time cap which he must cope with through his writing. A dark romantic comedy set in a homeless shelter. A story that is simultaneously gritty, sweet, funny, heartbreaking and real.
  • Angel of the People Mover
    Amidst the "Bathroom Battles" in North Carolina and our country at large, as we struggle to understand the individualism of Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, as we accept the recently Oscar nominated The Danish Girl, Angel of the People Mover is a subtle blend of Alice in Wonderland, Diva Icons, and Detroit culture through the lens of a Black Trans woman named Maya and her mother, Gloria. Throughout her...
    Amidst the "Bathroom Battles" in North Carolina and our country at large, as we struggle to understand the individualism of Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, as we accept the recently Oscar nominated The Danish Girl, Angel of the People Mover is a subtle blend of Alice in Wonderland, Diva Icons, and Detroit culture through the lens of a Black Trans woman named Maya and her mother, Gloria. Throughout her life, Gloria felt she was never able to connect with or fully understand her daughter. As she reflects on her own life, through monologues with the audience, we see how Gloria’s life parallels the scenes that Maya lives on stage. Gloria controls this vignette-driven memoir of Maya's experiences and connects with her as an omniscient presence on the Detroit People Mover. This play asks what is the difference between love and tolerance and whether or not tolerance can be detrimental to LGBT people of color.
  • Dance Again: A Brief Choreopoem for the Brown Boys of Orlando
    Three men enter a gay bar on Saturday June 11, 2016. They bond over their love of music, magic, men and being gay AF and ultimately remind us that the worst thing we can do in the wake of a tragedy is to forget it.
  • Rachel Jones Writes a Romantic Comedy
    A woman decides to convince a film producer that a romantic comedy with people of color would be just like any other romantic comedy as the entire ensemble of color acts out an homage to romantic comedies ... in 10 minutes! Great for college students, high schools, and adults alike.