Ariel Estrada

Ariel Estrada (he/him/his) is an actor, playwright, and advocate in support of Asian American inclusion in the performing arts. As an actor, he has performed on television, film, commercials, digital media, and Off-, and Off-Off-Broadway. Ariel is the Founder/Producing Artistic Director for Leviathan Lab, a nonprofit creative studio for Asian American performing artists. As an arts advocate, he is the Communications & Membership Coordinator for the Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists and the Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator for Actors’ Equity Association. He has been designated by NY Foundation for the Arts as an Emerging Arts Leader and by Theatre Communications Group as a Rising Leader of Color. His play FULL CONTACT, about his experiences as a survivor of a brutal...

Ariel Estrada (he/him/his) is an actor, playwright, and advocate in support of Asian American inclusion in the performing arts. As an actor, he has performed on television, film, commercials, digital media, and Off-, and Off-Off-Broadway. Ariel is the Founder/Producing Artistic Director for Leviathan Lab, a nonprofit creative studio for Asian American performing artists. As an arts advocate, he is the Communications & Membership Coordinator for the Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists and the Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator for Actors’ Equity Association. He has been designated by NY Foundation for the Arts as an Emerging Arts Leader and by Theatre Communications Group as a Rising Leader of Color. His play FULL CONTACT, about his experiences as a survivor of a brutal martial arts cult, was a 2020 NNPN Commission Grant Finalist. arielestrada.com | leviathanlab.org

Scripts

Full Contact

by Ariel Estrada

Synopsis

What does it mean to have a body? In Full Contact, writer/performer Ariel Estrada investigates his experiences as a 20-year survivor of a brutal martial arts cult. The performance interweaves the story of his late father’s immigration from the Philippines with his own coming-of-age as a gay man at the height of the AIDS crisis. Through these histories, Estrada brings to life the emotional battle between father...

What does it mean to have a body? In Full Contact, writer/performer Ariel Estrada investigates his experiences as a 20-year survivor of a brutal martial arts cult. The performance interweaves the story of his late father’s immigration from the Philippines with his own coming-of-age as a gay man at the height of the AIDS crisis. Through these histories, Estrada brings to life the emotional battle between father and son, and his ongoing battle to take pride in himself as a gay Filipino American against all odds. Full Contact was a finalist for the National New Play Network’s 2020 Commission Grant.