Daniel Olivas

Daniel Olivas

Daniel A. Olivas is the author of nine books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry including, "The King of Lighting Fixtures: Stories" (University of Arizona Press), and "Crossing the Border: Collected Poems" (Pact Press). Widely anthologized, he has written on literature and culture for many publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Review of Books, LatinoLA, La...
Daniel A. Olivas is the author of nine books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry including, "The King of Lighting Fixtures: Stories" (University of Arizona Press), and "Crossing the Border: Collected Poems" (Pact Press). Widely anthologized, he has written on literature and culture for many publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Review of Books, LatinoLA, La Bloga, Los Angeles Times, Jewish Journal, and BOMB.

Olivas's first full-length play, "Waiting for Godínez" (posted on NPX), was selected for the Playwrights' Arena Summer Reading Series (2020), The Road Theatre's Twelfth Annual Playwrights Festival (2021), and was a semi-finalist for the American Blues Theater's 2021 Blue Ink Playwriting Award. Olivas was selected for Circle X Theatre Co.'s inaugural Evolving Playwrights Group where he adapted his novel "The Book of Want" for a reading on June 21, 2021. His play "Waiting" (a pandemic remix of "Waiting for Godínez") will have its world premiere with Playwrights' Arena on July 24, 2021.

Olivas received his degree in English literature from Stanford University, and law degree from UCLA. By day, he is an attorney and makes his home in Southern California with his wife.

Olivas is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild.

Plays

  • Waiting for Godínez by Daniel Olivas
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 10 more
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    Keyword: Latinx, immigration + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, radio drama, satire, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: Latinx, immigration, justice, bigotry, Border Patrol Agents, ice, Samuel Beckett, anti-racism, border, absurdist
    "Why does it happen, over and over and over? Why do they take you, my friend, and put you in a cage in the hopes of deporting you? What harm have you done to them? You are as much of this country as you are of México. But you are not home in either place. Ni de aquí, ni de allá." With these words, Isabel describes the absurd reality suffered by her longtime friend, Jesús, who is kidnapped each night...
    "Why does it happen, over and over and over? Why do they take you, my friend, and put you in a cage in the hopes of deporting you? What harm have you done to them? You are as much of this country as you are of México. But you are not home in either place. Ni de aquí, ni de allá." With these words, Isabel describes the absurd reality suffered by her longtime friend, Jesús, who is kidnapped each night by immigration officials and thrown into a cage to await deportation. But each time, Jesús escapes and makes his way back to the park to be with Isabel and await the mysterious Godínez.

    Inspired by Samuel Beckett’s iconic Godot play and our country's anti-immigrant policies, WAITING FOR GODÍNEZ explores the meaning—and absurdities—of identity and belonging.

    WAITING FOR GODÍNEZ was selected for the Playwrights' Arena 2020 Summer Reading Series, and was a semi-finalist for the American Blues Theater's 2021 Blue Ink Playwriting Award.

    Olivas discusses the writing of his first full-length play in the essay, "From Dystopia to Absurdity: On Being a Chicano Writer in the Age of Trump" published in the Los Angeles Review of Books: https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/dystopia-absurdity-chicano-writer-age-trump.
  • Waiting by Daniel Olivas
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: immigration, ice + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, fable/folktale, farce, political, satire, zoom
    Keyword: immigration, ice, Latinx, deportation, family separation, absurd comedy, border, Samuel Beckett
    "Why does it happen, over and over and over? Why do they take you, my friend, and put you in a cage in the hopes of deporting you? What harm have you done to them? You are as much of this country as you are of México. But you are not home in either place. Ni de aquí, ni de allá." With these words, Isabel describes the absurd reality suffered by her longtime friend, Jesús, who is kidnapped each night...
    "Why does it happen, over and over and over? Why do they take you, my friend, and put you in a cage in the hopes of deporting you? What harm have you done to them? You are as much of this country as you are of México. But you are not home in either place. Ni de aquí, ni de allá." With these words, Isabel describes the absurd reality suffered by her longtime friend, Jesús, who is kidnapped each night by immigration officials and thrown into a cage to await deportation. But each time, Jesús escapes and makes his way back to the park to be with Isabel and await the mysterious Godínez.

    Inspired by Samuel Beckett’s iconic Godot play and our country's anti-immigrant policies, WAITING explores the meaning—and absurdities—of identity and belonging.

    WAITING is a shorter, pandemic version of the playwright’s full-length play, WAITING FOR GODÍNEZ.
  • The Book of Want by Daniel Olivas
    Cast: 
    12–18
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    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 6 more
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    Keyword: Latinx, Latinx family + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, romantic comedy, zoom
    Keyword: Latinx, Latinx family, Latinx LGBTQ teens, magical realism, Los Angeles, A Family Comedy/drama, love, adult romantic comedy
    What is love? For one Mexican American family in Los Angeles circa 2006, the search for the answer is as heartbreaking as it is comical. THE BOOK OF WANT is an enchanting blend of social and magical realism that explores what it means to be fully human.

    Conchita, a beautiful, single woman of a certain age, sees nothing wrong with enjoying the company of handsome—and usually much younger—men. She...
    What is love? For one Mexican American family in Los Angeles circa 2006, the search for the answer is as heartbreaking as it is comical. THE BOOK OF WANT is an enchanting blend of social and magical realism that explores what it means to be fully human.

    Conchita, a beautiful, single woman of a certain age, sees nothing wrong with enjoying the company of handsome—and usually much younger—men. She then encounters Moisés, a widower with a penchant for levitation, and begins to think about how this unusual man might fit into her life. Julieta, Conchita’s younger sister, walks a more traditional path, but she and her husband each harbor secrets that could change their marriage and lives forever. Their twin sons, both in college, struggle to find fulfillment: Mateo refuses to let anyone stand in the way of his happiness, while Rolando grapples with his sexuality and the family’s expectations. And the chain-smoking, coffee-drinking Belén, the family’s late matriarch, serves as our host while she advises, scolds, and cajoles her hapless descendants.

    This play is an adaptation of the author's acclaimed novel of the same name, and was written as part of Circle X Theatre Company's inaugural Evolving Playwrights Group (2020) with a planned reading in 2021.
  • Amna (a monologue) by Daniel Olivas
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: adaptation, melodrama + 3 more
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    Keyword: Latinx, young adult + 5 more
    Genre: adaptation, melodrama, radio drama, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: Latinx, young adult, runaway teen, sexual abuse, latina, Los Angeles, monologue
    It is the year 2002, and a young Latina named Amna recounts with fondness her grandparents' migration from Mexico to Los Angeles as she recounts her own personal history that has brought her to the streets as a runaway. This monologue is adapted from the author's short story of the same name featured in the collection, "Assumption and Other Stories."
  • Juana (a monologue) by Daniel Olivas
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: Mexico City, noir + 8 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: Mexico City, noir, Latinx, Frida Kahlo, murder, ex-spouses, Latino, latina, chicano, Chicana
    An unnamed male narrator recounts a noir tale of his ex-wife, Juana, who asked him to fly from Los Angeles to Mexico because she needed help. This monologue is adapted from the author's short story of the same name.
  • Elizondo Returns Home (a monologue) by Daniel Olivas
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: death, grandmother + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: death, grandmother, Latina lesbian character, latina, English Teachers, Latinx, family mystery, monologue
    Upon the death of her grandmother, an unnamed Latina professor of English literature must pack up and sell her grandmother's house, but discovers a mysterious stranger living in the small house in the backyard. She recounts the unexpected encounter with this stranger who knows everything about her. Sometimes those we love and think we know are more complex than we could ever imagine. This monologue is...
    Upon the death of her grandmother, an unnamed Latina professor of English literature must pack up and sell her grandmother's house, but discovers a mysterious stranger living in the small house in the backyard. She recounts the unexpected encounter with this stranger who knows everything about her. Sometimes those we love and think we know are more complex than we could ever imagine. This monologue is adapted from the author's short story of the same name.
  • The Three Mornings of José Antonio Rincón (a monologue) by Daniel Olivas
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, fable/folktale + 4 more
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    Keyword: Latinx, chicano + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, fable/folktale, fantasy, parody/spoof, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: Latinx, chicano, magical realism, kafka, monologue, humor, Office Workers, business satire
    An unnamed California government employee recounts his co-worker's miraculous metamorphosis. This monologue is inspired by Kafka, and adapted from the author's short story of the same name.
  • Kind of Blue (a monologue) by Daniel Olivas
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: Latinx, gang violence + 7 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: Latinx, gang violence, Alienated teenager, urban violence, Painting, art, murder, jazz, Miles Davis
    Alfredo, a teenager, recounts a violent encounter with another teen, René, that leads to a fraught connection with René's girlfriend. This monologue is adapted from the author's short story of the same name which, in turn, is inspired by the title tracks of the Miles Davis iconic jazz album.