User:Jnieto01/sandbox

=Tlaloc Rivas= Tlaloc Rivas is a self-identified Chicano who is a theatre director, a writer, and an assistant professor at The University of Iowa. He is also the co-founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons, which works side by side with HowlRound to revolutionize American theater and to highlight and promote the contributions and presence of Latinxs in theatre. Central to Rivas' work is the Latinx experience. Rivas focuses on writing and directing plays that significantly explore Latinx identity and history. Additionally, Rivas has also directed bilingual plays such as Mariela in the Desert and classical works such as Cymbeline.

Rivas earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1995. He later pursued and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from the School of Drama at the University of Washington. Since then Rivas has directed a number of professional and academic productions. In 2015, he directed his most recognized original written piece: Johanna: Facing Forward. Also during 2015, Johanna: Facing Forward brought him to second place in the MetLife Nuestras Voces Playwriting Competition. In addition to this recognition, Rivas has also been a recipient of the Sir John Gielgud Fellowship in Classical Directing and a winner of the Most Ambitious Production award in the Judy Awards.

Early Life and Education
Tlaloc Rivas was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Rivas spent his childhood in Mexico and has noted that his family members were word of mouth storytellers. The early exposure he had to storytelling helped Rivas shape and develop his own storytelling skills at a young age.

Rivas' family later moved to Watsonville, California where he attended Watsonville High School. Rivas graduated from high school in 1988 and planned to pursue a college education in history and political science. He attended Cabrillo College, where a theatre class led by Wilma Marcus Chandler prompted him to get involved with Chicano theatre. In 1993, after having worked with Teatro Campesino, Rivas along with three other classmates (Manuel Montez, Leonard Maestatas and Renee Sola) founded Chicano Theatreworks. Also in 1993, Rivas enrolled at The University of California, Santa Cruz. He graduated with honors from UC Santa Cruz within a two year period, obtaining a B.A. in Theater Arts. During his time at UC Santa Cruz, Rivas focused on acting and stage management, however he transitioned into directing for graduate school.

In 1996, Rivas enrolled at the School of Drama at the University of Washington. As a student in the Professional Directors Training Program, he directed productions such as Octavio Solis' El Paso Blue. Rivas graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from UW in 1999.

Career
Tlaloc Rivas started directing plays in California and has since then directed plays in other states including New York, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. While still an undergraduate student, Rivas worked as Assistant Director for Chicano Theatreworks, company which he also helped establish. Then, while he was in graduate school, he further dived into his professional career as a director with a position as Artistic Associate for The Group Theatre in Seattle. Upon obtaining his master's degree, Rivas worked as Artistic Director for Venture Theater Company.

In the early 2000s, Rivas worked as an Adjunct Theatre Professor first at Bryn Mawr College and later at Arcadia University. In 2004, he left this position but it was not long before he returned to teaching in higher education. In 2009, Rivas began working at at Queens College and the following year he took the position of Assistant Theatre Professor at The University of Missouri- St. Louis. Finally, in 2012, he began teaching at The University of Iowa as an Assistant Professor of Directing and he currently still holds this position while also teaching within the university's Latino Studies program.

In between and while working at these academic institutions, Rivas was also directing both academic and professional productions. Rivas has served as Guest Director at Insight Theater Company and Aurora Theatre Company; Director at Cleveland Public Theatre, Halcyon Theatre, and The Harmony Project; and Stage Director at Quantum Theatre and Merrimack Repertory Theatre.

Johanna: Facing Forward
Tlaloc Rivas' original work Johanna: Facing Forward is based on actual events. In 2007, Joanna Orozco was shot in the face by her ex-boyfriend. Johanna, who was only 18 years old at the time, went through intense recovery and post-recovery she went on to advocate for the rights of victims of domestic violence. To write his play, Rivas focused on the special series that Rachel Dissell wrote about Joanna Orozco for The Plain Dealer.

In its entirety, Johanna: Facing Forward is a bilingual play that primarily grapples with abusive relationships, assault and trauma, and survivor empowerment.

== Awards and Honors ==
 * Runner-Up in MetLife Nuestras Voces Playwriting Competition for Johanna: Facing Forward, 2015
 * Sir John Gielgud Fellowship in Classical Directing from the Stage Directors & Choreographers Foundation, 2014-2015
 * Most Ambitious Production, The New World in the Judy Awards, 2012
 * Person of the Year in NYTheatre.com for directing Summer and Smoke and Five Kinds of Silence, 2008
 * Participant in the Theatre Communications Group of NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors, 2001-2003

Affiliations

 * Co-Founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons
 * Assistant Professor of Theatre at The University of Iowa
 * Associate Artist at Boundless Theatre Company
 * Associate Artist in the Patriot Program at Merrimack Repertory Theatre
 * Usual Suspect of New York Theatre Workshop
 * Member of Dramatists Guild
 * Associate Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers
 * Member of The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures
 * Writer for HowlRound, A Journal for the Theater Commons

Professional Productions Directed
=== Academic Productions Directed  ===