Tlaloc Rivas

Tlaloc Rivas

Tlaloc Rivas is a writer, director, and dramaturg based in Pittsburgh and a recent Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. Recent projects include: Johanna: Facing Forward (premiered at Cleveland Public Theatre); Divisadero (developed at The New Harmony Project); Maypearl (developed at St. Edward’s University), Kaliban: Waterloo, IA (a New Now commission from Lauren...
Tlaloc Rivas is a writer, director, and dramaturg based in Pittsburgh and a recent Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. Recent projects include: Johanna: Facing Forward (premiered at Cleveland Public Theatre); Divisadero (developed at The New Harmony Project); Maypearl (developed at St. Edward’s University), Kaliban: Waterloo, IA (a New Now commission from Lauren Gunderson); Take What You Can Carry (developed at La MaMa Umbria International Playwriting Retreat); Byzantine (10-min play); and Purslane, a commissioned monologue from City Theatre Company). He is also dramaturg for the new Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson concept album/musical Mexodus at New York Stage and Film.

Plays

  • THE REVOLUTION OF EVELYN SERRANO (or, Nochebuena with the Young Lords) by Tlaloc Rivas
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    7–8
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    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic + 5 more
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    Keyword: Latinx, Young Lords + 4 more
    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic, drama, musical, political, radio drama, young audiences
    Keyword: Latinx, Young Lords, Spanish Harlem, El Barrio, American political protest, nuyorican
    There are two secrets Evelyn Serrano is keeping from her family - her true feelings about growing up in their Spanish Harlem neighborhood, and her attitude about Abuela, her feisty grandmother who's come from Puerto Rico to live with them. Then suddenly like an earthquake, events erupt that change everything. The Young Lords, a Puerto Rican activist group, set the street's garbage on fire, igniting a...
    There are two secrets Evelyn Serrano is keeping from her family - her true feelings about growing up in their Spanish Harlem neighborhood, and her attitude about Abuela, her feisty grandmother who's come from Puerto Rico to live with them. Then suddenly like an earthquake, events erupt that change everything. The Young Lords, a Puerto Rican activist group, set the street's garbage on fire, igniting a powerful protest. When Abuela steps in to take charge, Evelyn is thrust into the action. Through it all, Evelyn learns important truths about her Latinx/e identity, and the history makers who shaped Nuyorican history forever.

    Based on the acclaimed young adult novel, The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, by award-winning actress and writer Sonia Manzano ("Sesame Street") and infused with actual news accounts from 1969, this stage adaptation captures this fiery, unforgettable moment of history when young Latinx/e took control of their destinies.
  • LA FUERZA DE ANTIGONA by Tlaloc Rivas
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    10
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    Genre: drama, movement/physical + 3 more
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    Keyword: bilingual, ensemble + 7 more
    Genre: drama, movement/physical, political, tragedy, translation
    Keyword: bilingual, ensemble, people of color, Latinx, Greek mythology, retelling, Chicanx, genderqueer, gender non-conforming
    LA FUERZA DE ANTIGONA is a radical re-imagining of 'Antigone', set in the near future and performed by refugees, deportees, and ‘the exiled’. This bilingual version, written for an entirely female/genderqueer ensemble is a cry for justice and how we make meaning out of life, death, and the legacy of ‘borders’.
  • LORELEI by Tlaloc Rivas
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    12–15
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 4 more
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    Keyword: immigration, vengeance + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, movement/physical, mystery/thriller, political, tragedy
    Keyword: immigration, vengeance, justice
    A new 'version' of Durrenmätt's THE VISIT - retaining most of it's psychosexual themes and reframing it in a dystopian small town in America.

    Lorelei Cruz has return to the town where her parents were deported on the steps of a courthouse. Now a media-mogul, Lorelei offers Maypearl (the town) an offer of one billion dollars in exchange for the life of the man who wronged her...
    A new 'version' of Durrenmätt's THE VISIT - retaining most of it's psychosexual themes and reframing it in a dystopian small town in America.

    Lorelei Cruz has return to the town where her parents were deported on the steps of a courthouse. Now a media-mogul, Lorelei offers Maypearl (the town) an offer of one billion dollars in exchange for the life of the man who wronged her and her family.

    Note: LORELEI differs from MAYPEARL (which was crafted for a college ensemble). This play plays lives in a 'Dark Mirror' world and contains sexual themes and violence. Professional inquires only.
  • DIVISADERO by Tlaloc Rivas
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    6–7
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: Latinx, Chicana + 8 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Latinx, Chicana, Lesbian bisexual, gay marriage, Academia, White Fragility, Dream Act, immigration, First generation college student, cultural belonging
    DIVISADERO explores the conflict between a widowed publisher and her mother-in-law over the legacy of their late wife and daughter (respectively). Each one wishes to publicly highlight one facet of the writer’s identity, and bury the others. Between the two great loves of the late writer’s life… who has the right to tell her story?
  • JOHANNA: FACING FORWARD by Tlaloc Rivas
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: adaptation, biography + 5 more
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    Keyword: latina, Latino + 8 more
    Genre: adaptation, biography, docudrama/historic, drama, movement/physical, political, young audiences
    Keyword: latina, Latino, domestic violence, teen romance, journalism, law, college, university, family, bilingual
    Johanna: Facing Forward explores the topic of domestic violence, community response, and personal resilience through the story of Johanna Orozco. At age 18 Johanna survives a brutal attack by her ex-boyfriend. Recovering with the help of her extended family, a committed medical team, and a new friend in journalist Rachel Dissell, Johanna ultimately must choose to face her attacker in order to move forward in...
    Johanna: Facing Forward explores the topic of domestic violence, community response, and personal resilience through the story of Johanna Orozco. At age 18 Johanna survives a brutal attack by her ex-boyfriend. Recovering with the help of her extended family, a committed medical team, and a new friend in journalist Rachel Dissell, Johanna ultimately must choose to face her attacker in order to move forward in her life. After her assailant is sentenced, Johanna’s advocacy helps close loopholes in her state’s laws to protect and support other young people facing intimate-partner violence. Johanna: Facing Forward was inspired by the investigative journalism of Rachel Dissell of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and the personal writings of Johanna Orozco (now Orozco-Fraser). All three individuals endorsed the creation of this play, supported its development, and attended its world premiere at the Cleveland Public Theatre in 2015.

    Update 12/23/15: The play was awarded second prize in the 2015 Repertorio Español MetLife Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition.
  • MAYPEARL by Tlaloc Rivas
    Cast: 
    17
    ·
    Genre: drama, political + 1 more
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    Keyword: contrition, justice + 3 more
    Genre: drama, political, satire
    Keyword: contrition, justice, political satire, immigration, small town America
    Originally commissioned as an adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1956 tragicomedy The Visit, Maypearl has expanded through collaborative company work into a rich and timely exploration of love, loss, redemption, community and social justice. Featuring a little country music, dancing puppets, a healthy dose of controversy and a whole lot of heart.
  • BYZANTINE by Tlaloc Rivas
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: LGBTQ
    A young college student and a woman selling her wares at a garage sale begin an exchange that leads to a reckoning of their own lives. 10-minute play.
  • FROM THE EDGE OF THE DEEP GREEN SEA by Tlaloc Rivas
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama, fantasy
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    Keyword: Fantasy, Latinx + 4 more
    Genre: drama, fantasy
    Keyword: Fantasy, Latinx, jazz, Sex, female friendship, Southwest
    An enigmatic story of a tryst - or is it more complicated than that? A short play about believing before seeing.