Artist Profile – Lucas Garcia

Name: Lucas Garcia

City/State: Chicago, IL

Age: 23

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation: Non-binary, Queer

Racial / Ethnic Identity: Mixed-race / Mexican-American

Website and/or Bio (200 words): Lucas Garcia is a Chicago based writer and dramaturg from Albuquerque, NM. They are also Content Coordinator for the Alliance of Latinx Theatre Artists. Lucas has worked as a dramaturg with Steppenwolf Theatre Company (La Ruta, Pass Over), The Hypocrites (W;t), Chicago Dramatists (Lorca in New York) and is a guest dramaturg at ALTA’s Open Dramaturgy Office Hours. Their creative work can be found most recently on the blog of The Brillantina Project, plainchina, VCU’s anthology of undergraduate work, and in Re: Visions, the literary journal of the University of Notre Dame’s Creative Writing department. Lucas has performed recently as part of Safe Haven, Haven Theatre company’s pop-up event series. Their play, Out of Orbit, was produced as part of 2015 ND Theatre NOW! at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts.

Why do you want to write for Rescripted?: I believe in Rescripted’s goals and mission, and the framework on which it is built. I believe that transparent and open communication between artists about the art they create and participate in is essential and I’m glad that Rescripted is invested in prioritizing its archival. I believe in the power of a forum, and in the value in a multiplicity of voices, specifically voices that are underrepresented, oppressed and marginalized. I want to contribute how I can to Rescripted’s success, and be a participant in its project!

What are your artistic disciplines?: Dramaturgy, Playwriting, Poetry
What “lenses” do you bring with you when you go to a show? (Example: Oskar Eustis might bring the lenses of “dramaturg” and “activist”.): Dramaturg, Queer lens, Mexican-American lens, Social Justice lens, Non-binary lens, Playwright/Poet/Writer lens, Southwest U.S. lens, Immigrant lens
Who is your favorite theatre artist and why?: This question is difficult, and my answer is really from just one aspect of my life as a theatre person. My favorite theatre artist is Maria Irene Fornés. She is my teacher, and my teachers’ teacher. Her work is fearless, imaginative, excruciating, and it has withstood a swiftly changing culture. Her method, and her artistic existence inspire me, as she has inspired so many others. She and Paula Vogel are responsible for teaching not just one, but several generations of theatre artists. If nothing else, I am awestruck and deeply moved by the intense love and respect that her students, my teachers, have for her. She is a cornerstone of American theatre, and specifically latinx theatre in the United States, and she is part of my theatrical ancestry.

A New Translation of ‘Yerma’ Misses the Point – 11/12/17

‘Fade Explores a Poignant Friendship Where Race But Not Class Intersect – 11/22/17

Is Love Enough? ‘HOMOS, or Everyone in America’ – 9/14/18