Alicia Margarita Olivo

Alicia Margarita Olivo

Alicia Margarita Olivo is a Houston-based Mexican American writer-director, arts manager, and weather enjoyer. Alicia was the Texas Representative in the 2022-2023 National Leaders of Color Fellowship cohort.

As a playwright, Alicia's works have been developed and/or received readings with The Workshop Theater, Rec Room Arts, Stages, Company One Theater, Teatro Chelsea, Telatúlsa,...
Alicia Margarita Olivo is a Houston-based Mexican American writer-director, arts manager, and weather enjoyer. Alicia was the Texas Representative in the 2022-2023 National Leaders of Color Fellowship cohort.

As a playwright, Alicia's works have been developed and/or received readings with The Workshop Theater, Rec Room Arts, Stages, Company One Theater, Teatro Chelsea, Telatúlsa, AlterTheater, and The Inkwell Theater. The writer has also directed or assistant directed for TEATRX, Rec Room Arts, Stages, and Wellesley Repertory Theater. Selected recognitions include being Finalist for AlterTheater and La Lengua Teatro's Historias de Descolonización Commission, Finalist for Texas State University's Black and Latino Playwrights Celebration New Play Development Workshops, Semi-Finalist for the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, Semi-Finalist for the South Texas Latinx New Play Festival, and a Semi-Finalist for The Future of Playwriting Prize (twice), plus more.

Alicia is a NWS SKYWARN Storm Spotter and loves to hang out with beloved family, eat good food with good friends, and enjoy the weather. BA: Wellesley College. @a.m.olivo Headshot by Hannah Colen.

Plays

  • Count Yourself Among the Lucky by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Recommendations: 9
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama, fantasy + 1 more
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    Keyword: liminal spaces, road trip + 5 more
    Genre: drama, fantasy, science fiction
    Keyword: liminal spaces, road trip, nonbinary protagonist, queer love, abuse, revenge fantasy, Latinx
    **NEW DRAFT AS OF 2/18/22**
    Belén and Andy, childhood friends-turned-lovers, find themselves stranded off of an abandoned South Texas highway on their way to Mexico. They're trapped in a liminal space, where only the two of them exist without the need for food, water, or sleep. Soon enough, the couple's buried resentments and secrets start to rise, culminating in one last celebration. Inspired...
    **NEW DRAFT AS OF 2/18/22**
    Belén and Andy, childhood friends-turned-lovers, find themselves stranded off of an abandoned South Texas highway on their way to Mexico. They're trapped in a liminal space, where only the two of them exist without the need for food, water, or sleep. Soon enough, the couple's buried resentments and secrets start to rise, culminating in one last celebration. Inspired by comic book aesthetics, Count Yourself Among the Lucky is a confrontation of violence, trauma, and, of course, love.

    Commissioned by AlterTheater Ensemble in San Rafael, CA. Part of Telatúlsa's #telatuesdays virtual readings series. Worshopped with The WorkShop Theater as part of their Winter 2021 Workshop Intensive. Part of Stages' 2022 Sin Muros: A Borderless Teatro Festival.
  • Your Mileage May Vary by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: nonbinary protagonist, being in the closet + 7 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: nonbinary protagonist, being in the closet, Latinidad, gay trans man, parasocial relationships, journey of self-discovery, masculinity, respectability politics, Houston
    **NEW DRAFT AS OF 8/22/22**
    Mayel has been inside all summer. When she's not too busy practicing her fencing skills, she's haunted by the ghost of her favorite Mexican character actor, Lefty González. As she ventures outside her home for the first time, Mayel runs into her former best friend, Alaska. Throughout the day, they try rebuilding their friendship over music, movies, and aguas de melón...
    **NEW DRAFT AS OF 8/22/22**
    Mayel has been inside all summer. When she's not too busy practicing her fencing skills, she's haunted by the ghost of her favorite Mexican character actor, Lefty González. As she ventures outside her home for the first time, Mayel runs into her former best friend, Alaska. Throughout the day, they try rebuilding their friendship over music, movies, and aguas de melón. Your Mileage May Vary is a slice-of-life about masculinity, duty, Mexicanidad, respectability politics, and learning to bite back. Developed with the 2021-2022 Rec Room Arts Writers Group cohort.
  • Flood by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: Hurricane Harvey, Latinx + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, tragedy
    Keyword: Hurricane Harvey, Latinx, flood, family, nonbinary protagonist, transphobia, homophobia, mental health issues, cycles of violence
    **NEW DRAFT AS OF 11/16/22**
    As Hurricane Harvey’s landfall approaches Houston, Salomé Salas is stranded with their estranged Mexican immigrant family. Tensions are high as their parents, Humberto and Yolanda, grapple with their return, unaware that Salomé has been expelled from college after a violent mental breakdown. Magdalena, Salomé’s sister, tries to keep them from recklessly sabotaging their...
    **NEW DRAFT AS OF 11/16/22**
    As Hurricane Harvey’s landfall approaches Houston, Salomé Salas is stranded with their estranged Mexican immigrant family. Tensions are high as their parents, Humberto and Yolanda, grapple with their return, unaware that Salomé has been expelled from college after a violent mental breakdown. Magdalena, Salomé’s sister, tries to keep them from recklessly sabotaging their familial relationships. Jealousy and resentment permeate Humberto and Salomé’s interactions, while Yolanda falls deeper into despair and disgust. As Harvey rages on, Magdalena documents her family’s life, violence, and trauma in a series of audio recordings.

    Funded by The Pamela Daniels Fellowship. Part of Teatro Chelsea's 2021 A-Típico: A New Latinx Play Festival. Finalist for the 2022 Del Shores Foundation Writers Search.
  • SPRAWL by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: unreality, nonbinary protagonist + 3 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, immersive
    Keyword: unreality, nonbinary protagonist, multiverses, writing, Latinx actors
    **NEW DRAFT AS OF 6/3/2022**
    Seven years after graduating high school, Dee is still reeling from the disappearance of Laurel. Daniel and Veronica just want Dee to move on. As Dee begins a new play as a tribute to her, reality begins to fracture as the dubious ethics of bringing her back from the dead arise. Developed with the Company One Theater’s 2021 C1 PlayLab Circuit Volt Lab and with The Workshop...
    **NEW DRAFT AS OF 6/3/2022**
    Seven years after graduating high school, Dee is still reeling from the disappearance of Laurel. Daniel and Veronica just want Dee to move on. As Dee begins a new play as a tribute to her, reality begins to fracture as the dubious ethics of bringing her back from the dead arise. Developed with the Company One Theater’s 2021 C1 PlayLab Circuit Volt Lab and with The Workshop Theater's Spring 2022 Workshop Intensive.
  • Left Lung Punctured, Gored by Bullet by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: political, tragedy
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    Keyword: genocide, Revolutionaries + 4 more
    Genre: political, tragedy
    Keyword: genocide, Revolutionaries, border crossing, apocalypse, unrequited love, Texas
    A Texas highway rest stop sees the relationship between two old friends over the course of two decades. A sort-of love story at the end of a world.
  • aislamientos by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: social isolation, comic romance + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, immersive, romantic comedy
    Keyword: social isolation, comic romance, media representations, depression & anxiety, Airport, liminal spaces, Latinidad
    Behold, The Protagonist! The Protagonist is but a mentally ill, Mexican, nonbinary, and a self-described loser stuck in a Dublin Airport bar after she loses her trusty pair of $5 headphones before boarding. A thousand miles from home, sit with her as she struggles with the complexities of human intimacy, white supremacy, shitty dates, and social isolation—you know, the usual. Funded by The Claude Beauclair Fellowship.
  • subliminal by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama, fantasy
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    Keyword: dreamscape, death + 3 more
    Genre: drama, fantasy
    Keyword: dreamscape, death, ghosts, bike messengers, depression & anxiety
    Two strangers' dreams are intertwined after an ill-fated accident.
  • La Jaula de Oro by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: adventure, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: immigration, border crossing + 3 more
    Genre: adventure, drama, fantasy
    Keyword: immigration, border crossing, family, LGBTQ, Mexican immigrants
    A grizzled elderly Mexican woman crosses the border to see her ailing gay son, whom she had kicked out of her home decades earlier.
  • St. Agnes Goes to Hell: a monologue by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: drama, faith-based
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    Keyword: destructive religion, homophobia + 3 more
    Genre: drama, faith-based
    Keyword: destructive religion, homophobia, Virgen de Guadalupe, Latinidad, mental illness
    A short monologue about a young queer kid grappling with the manifestation of anxiety and paranoia due to religious guilt. Performed as part of DECISIONS with Wellesley College Theatre in April 2018.
  • congratulations (10-minute excerpt from SPRAWL) by Alicia Margarita Olivo
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: coping with suicide, abuse by teacher + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: coping with suicide, abuse by teacher, dealing with guilt, high school reunion
    Three friends grapple with the suicide of Laurel, a high school classmate.