How does your research inform and transform your discipline? 

My research centers on radical theatre history of the Americas, protest theatre, political puppetry, circus, and Latinx theatre, particularly in Central America, which is a largely overlooked region in theatre and Latinx studies. The significant contributions by marginalized and poor communities within the cannon of theatre history are often undervalued. My work celebrates the artistic, political, and cultural influence of marginalized groups through street theatre or political puppetry and identifies its impact on theatre and social justice movements. As a theatre artist, I direct and write plays that deal with social justice themes, as well as Latinx culture and history. My creative research through directing, playwriting, dramaturgy, or projection design, is also deeply rooted in participation of students, artists, and community. Although theatre is an inherently collaborative field, there are still limited opportunities that center the voices and narratives of marginalized folks. Through arts making as engaged research we can fill this gap and spearhead theatre projects that tell our stories. If we don’t create space for our narratives, no one else will. 

How has your experience with the UIC Bridge to Faculty program been? 

My experience with the Bridge to Faculty program has been incredible. Much of my success in the program is due to Angela Walden and Amalia Pallares who have mentored and supported my work. Also, being new to Chicago can be quite lonesome, especially at the start of a new career in a new city, but the B2F family helped me navigate several of these challenges, connected me to resources in and outside of UIC, and introduced me to a network of UIC faculty and scholars. I feel my time as a B2F fellow has been fruitful and filled with personal growth that best prepares me for a tenure-track position. What I most appreciate from this experience are the people in the program, like my fellow B2F postdocs, who continue to motivate and inspire me. I feel confident knowing that I am part of an academic community of exceptional scholars, educators, and activists. 

What drew you towards your field and work? 

My trajectory in the arts started at the age of five when my older sister (who is now a tenured Art History professor) and I attended an after-school arts program in our hometown of Compton, CA. My sister and I were both majoring in the visual arts and the only two girls in the class. We also took music, dance, and theatre classes. I didn’t fully participate in theatre until I was fourteen and in high school, and that’s when I knew theatre was it for me; I’ve been in love with theatre ever since. The arts have played a critical role in shaping my life, I’d even say the arts saved my life and led me in the right path of theatre making, activism, and teaching. My experience as a first-generation Salvadoran American theatre maker is what inspires me to mentor and shape the next generation of theatre artists, specifically first-generation students and those who wish to use theatre as a vehicle for social change. I think of my early experiences conducting research on social justice theatre, specifically for and by marginalized people.  My findings of research on theatre activism were limited to one or two books or a small paragraph—an after-thought really—at the end of a chapter. I rarely found the work I longed to read, which is why I decided to expand the cannon of theatre history through my research and creative work contributions. As a former community organizer, I found ways to merge my love for theatre and social justice and trained in Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). I facilitate TO workshops and last semester designed a TO course for the STM. I’ve always been drawn to theatrical work that brings communities together, educates people on overlooked histories, engages folks in critical dialogue, and inspires social change. My work as a director, playwright, and dramaturg are always aligned with these core values. 

What do you like most about teaching art/humanities/humanistic social sciences?

What I love most about teaching theatre are the opportunities to mentor young creative minds, to uplift and support their ideas and help bring those ideas to fruition. Teaching theatre is a collaborative and creative journey alongside the student. I continue to be inspired by this generation of theatre makers, the way they see the world, and how they use theatre to express their realities. As a theatre practitioner, being around young theatre makers is exciting and invigorating, it makes me a better artist. I also love teaching theatre because it builds community and empathy, especially among diverse groups of people with different lived experiences and perspectives. I am an educator in a field that not only teaches creativity, but also fosters compassion and inspires a deeper understanding of humanity. It’s such a privilege to teach students skills they can use beyond the class and implement in their lives, not only as theatre makers, but as human beings. In my mind, everyone should take a theatre class at some point in their lives. 

What projects are you working on at this moment?

I recently closed an incredible series of staged readings of my play Romero, based on the life, death, and canonization of El Salvador’s Saint Óscar Romero. The public readings and talkbacks took place throughout three performing and cultural spaces in Chicago, including Steppenwolf 1700 theatre, Centro Romero, and UIC School of Theatre and Music (STM) and was a partnership between the STM, Teatro Vista, and Centro Romero—with support from Steppenwolf Theatre’s LookOut Series. The readings were generously funded by the STM, the UIC Center for Latinx Literature of the Americas and the UIC Institute for the Humanities. After each reading, we held a talkback featuring Chicago-based artists, UIC Faculty, and Centro Romero staff to discuss Romero’s legacy and the play’s social justice themes. Romero was a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center KCACTF, Region V, National Partners of the American Theatre “Outstanding Play” award and national semifinalist. The play, which is a chapter of my current manuscript, was 2-years in the making and part of my B2F postdoctoral research. All readings were sold out and well-received by Chicago audiences! My goal is to direct a full production of Romero in the future. 

I am currently working on a manuscript tentatively titled Performing Resurrection: Upholding the Legacy of El Salvador’s Saint Óscar Romero through Radical Puppetry and Activism, which explores the role of performance and theatre activism in manifesting Romero’s social justice legacy. My manuscript explores political puppetry and transnational solidarity between the U.S-based Bread and Puppet Theater and Nicaraguan farm workers theatre, MECATE, through a performance lens and features a 20-foot Romero pageant puppet. In addition, I’m contributing a chapter to an exciting anthology on renowned Chicano playwright, Luis Alfaro, whom I had the pleasure of collaborating with last year through the UIC Luis Alfaro Residency Project, a community project that explored mental health through theater and storytelling.