For our Season 3 finale, David and Joey chat with playwright Mara Vélez Meléndez about making her Off-Broadway debut as Sol 7, decolonizing gender, and the queerness of the multiverse.

Mara Vélez Meléndez (she/her) is a playwright born and raised in Puerto Rico. Her Off-Broadway debut will take place in 2022 with Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Board Members, produced by Soho Rep in partnership with The Sol Project. She also adapted the upcoming Spotify/Gimlet podcast, Case 63. Mara was a 2020-2021 Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow and is currently a member of Ars Nova’s PlayGroup.

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In this episode, David and Joey chat with Dominic Colón, the inaugural recipient of Donja R. Love and National Queer Theater’s Write it Out! (WIO!) Prize, about the power artists have to shape and shift culture, the importance of prioritizing self-preservation, and the impact of people living with HIV telling their own stories.

Dominic Colón is an award-winning writer and actor from the Bronx. Recent plays include Prospect Ave. or The Miseducation of Juni Rodriguez (Rattlestick Theater). His play The War I Know has been developed by the Latinx Playwrights Circle, LAByrinth Theater Company (2021 Barn Series), and SOLFEST (2021). His short play Where Are Our Angels? was a recipient of the 2021 Latinx Playwrights Circle & Pregones/PRTT Greater Good Commission. 

Selected directing credits include: The War I Know (LAByrinth), Eduardo Machado’s Marquitas (Rattlestick Theater/Pride Plays), and Episodes 4-6 of The MTA Radio Plays at Rattlestick Theater. Colón’s half-hour television pilot Papi made the inaugural Latinx TV List, a curated list of the 10 most promising pilots created by Latinx writers. He was recently selected to be a part of the inaugural cohort of the Sundance Uprise Grant and is currently a staff writer on the upcoming Netflix series Pink Marine.

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On this episode, David and Joey chat with the newly appointed Co-Artistic Directors of Teatro Vista in Chicago, Lorena Diaz and Wendy Mateo, about shared leadership, how joy can be your currency, and their incredible 20+ year relationship.

Lorena Diaz, a "Made in Chicago" hybrid of Peruvian Indigenous descent and American Latino swagger, has bounced between Chicago's theater and comedy scenes for 15 years. She is familiar to Teatro Vista audiences for portraying Carolina in the company's acclaimed 2018 world premiere The Madres by Stephanie Alison Walker. She subsequently co-directed Teatro Vista's 2019 premiere of Walker's sequel, The Abuelas. Her many other collaborations include work with Jo Cattell and Steppenwolf 1700 (Tumbao, a live radio play), iO Chicago (People in the City), Mike Oquendo Productions, Goodman, Playground Theatre and The Second City. She is most commonly known for her work over six seasons as the snarky Nurse Doris on Dick Wolf's Chicago Med, Fire and PD franchise.

Wendy Mateo is a Chicago-based comedian, actor, writer, director and filmmaker. Mateo has been seen throughout the city's stages including Lookingglass Theatre, where she is an artistic associate, Steppenwolf 1700, and Playground Theater. Her directing credits include the 2018 play Not for Sale 2.0 by Guadalis Del Carmen at UrbanTheater Company. On TV she performs in shows like NBC's Chicago PD, as guest star Chicago Med, and as "Ronnie" in Station Eleven on HBO. Aside from her focus on expanding representation in media, Mateo is also an equity, diversity, and inclusion consultant and facilitator with the Nova Collective and her own consulting company, Ina Consulting.

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Joey flies solo this week as they chat with the incomparable Daphne Rubin-Vega about unlocking creativity during the pandemic, finding one’s community, and her upcoming film, ALLSWELL, co-written and co-produced with Elizabeth Rodriguez and Liza Colón-Zayas.

Daphne recently wrapped the film ALLSWELL and can be seen in the Netflix release, TICK TICK BOOM, directed by Lin Manuel Miranda, as well as the Warner Bros feature IN THE HEIGHTS, directed by Jon Chu, playing ‘Daniela.’  She shot the Netflix series SOCIAL DISTANCE, produced by Jenji Kohan and Tara Hermann, and SAME STORM, the newest Peter Hedges film, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. A staple of the New York theater community, Daphne earned a Tony nomination for her portrayal of ‘Mimi’ in the original cast of RENT, and another for ANNA IN THE TROPICS. Daphne was ‘Luisa Lopez’ on KATY KEENE, the CW spinoff of RIVERDALE and on the Netflix series, TALES OF THE CITY.

She starred in the musical, MISS YOU LIKE HELL at The Public Theater, and in the one-woman show EMPANADA LOCA, which was written for her.  She helped adapt the play into the scripted podcast, THE HORROR OF DOLORES ROACH, which is currently in production for Amazon/Blumhouse TV. 

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David and Joey chat with creative entrepreneur Ricardo Sebastián about the origin and launch of Arraygency, the beauty in taking ownership of one’s journey, and how meaningful partnerships are a key ingredient to success.   

Ricardo Sebastián is a first-generation Mexican-American, a longtime entrepreneur, and community organizer who recently came out as nonbinary. They have dedicated their career to supporting creatives and nonprofit organizations across the US, Canada, Mexico, South America, Paris, London and Australia. 

Past clients include Gage John Lazare, Mamma Cuisine, Julius LaCour, Diego Montoya and Habitat for Humanity New York City. Ricardo began managing Jason Rodriguez in 2019 and is taking this next step to spotlight the importance of BIPOC, Queer and Trans representation in all spaces. 

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This week, David and Joey chat with the wonderful Karen Olivo about the origins of AFECT, the importance of self discovery, and setting up future generations for success in an industry that continues to demand accountability and transparency.

Karen Olivo (she/they) is a multi-hyphenate living/working on the ancestral lands of the Ho-Chunk Nation in Madison, WI. She is most widely known for their acting work that spans the last 25 years on Broadway and TV. In the Spring of 2020, Olivo  co-founded the non-for-profit organization, Artists for Economic Transparency (AFECT), in the efforts to educate the industry and promote discussion regarding entertainment industry structures and how they can be altered to better support underserved communities. www.Afectchange.org 

Olivo’s most recent theatrical work is for playing “Satine” in Moulin Rouge, The Musical for which they received their 2nd Tony Award nomination. Olivo is also recognized for their Tony Award winning performance as “Anita” in the acclaimed 2009 Broadway revival of West Side Story, a role for which she also earned Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Astaire Award nominations. 

Some of their Broadway theater credits include originating the role of “Vanessa” in the Tony Award-winning musical, In the Heights (2008 Astaire Award), starring as “Faith” in the Broadway production of Brooklyn the Musical, and in Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning musical, Rent. Additional world premiere theatre credits include Murder Ballad at the Manhattan Theater Club, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage at 2nd Stage, and The Miracle Brothers directed by Tina Landau at the Vineyard Theatre.

Olivo is also recognized for her many television appearances including a series regular, recurring & guest-starring roles on “Harry’s Law”, “The Good Wife,” “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior,” “Chase,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Conviction,” and “Law & Order.”

As an educator Olivo has worked at Northwestern University, NYU-Tisch, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as working as a visual artist, writer, and vocalist. Their 1st solo album LEAVE was released in 2018.

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This week, David and Joey chat with actor Reza Salazar about making his Broadway debut this fall in Lynn Nottage’s Clyde’s, surviving a COVID diagnosis, and being part of one of the first outdoor productions in New York City after being shut down for over a year.   

Reza Salazar will make his Broadway debut this fall in Lynn Nottage's Clyde's at The Hayes Theater. Off-Broadway: Richard II, Oedipus El Rey, Mobile Unit’s Shakespeare: Call and Response and The Tempest (Public Theater), My Mañana Comes (Lortel Award Nomination). 

He appeared regionally in the world premiere of Floyd’s by Lynn Nottage (Guthrie Theatre), Sweat (Arena Stage). His TV credits include: “The Accidental Wolf,” (Topic) “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Daredevil,” (Netflix) “The Blacklist,” “Believe,” “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (NBC), "Louie," (FX) "The Knick," (Cinemax). Reza’s film credits include: The Imperialists Are Still Alive, See Girl Run, The Inquisition of Camilo Sanz. Reza is also a musician who has performed in venues such as Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater.

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Welcome to Season 3 of SolTalk! For our season premiere, David and Joey chat with living legend Luis Alfaro about his recent appointment as one of Center Theatre Group’s newest Associate Artistic Directors, how The Great Pause has become The Great Possibility, and he shares his wisdom for young writers.  

Luis Alfaro was born and raised in downtown Los Angeles and is Center Theatre Group’s newest Associate Artistic Director. He is a Chicano writer known for his work in poetry, theatre, short fiction, performance, and journalism. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, popularly known as the ‘genius’ grant; the PEN America/Laura Pels International Foundation Theater Award for a Master Dramatist; United States Artist Fellowship and Ford Foundation’s Art of Change Fellowship, among others. 

Luis spent six seasons as the Mellon Playwright-in-Residence at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (2013-2019); a member of the Playwright’s Ensemble at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theatre (2013-2020); a resident artist at the Mark Taper Forum (1995-2005); and has been associated with the Ojai Playwrights Conference since 2002. His plays and performances include Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, Mojada, Delano and Body of Faith. Luis spent over two decades in the Los Angeles poetry and performance art communities. He is an Associate Professor with tenure at the University of Southern California (USC). His recent book, The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfaro, was released by Methuen Drama this past year, and is the winner this year of the prestigious London/Hellenic Prize for 2020. 

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For our Season 2 finale, producer Sammy Lopez joins us to talk about the recently launched Industry Standard Group, his experiences growing up in LA and going to see shows with his abuelita, and his love for the art of gathering.  

Sammy Lopez is a Latinx artist dedicated to uplifting underrepresented voices and stories through the arts. He is a producer, director, digital marketer, and social media manager working on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and online. He is on the producing and social media team for The Old Vic's A CHRISTMAS CAROL and co-produced BE MORE CHILL on Broadway. With Holtzman-Lopez Productions he is developing the new musicals GUN & POWDER (2020 World Premiere at the Signature Theatre), HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO (In Development), BRADICAL (Zoom Edition now streaming on Broadway On Demand), as well as producing the Syracuse University Lewis Hecker Drama Showcase. 

As a social media manager, Sammy is on the team at Marathon Digital representing Broadway productions, regional theatres, and other live entertainment clients in New York City and he is the Chief Media Strategist of 10glo.com, a new website dedicated to promoting artists by removing traditional barriers of entry in theater. In Los Angeles, he spent time developing the social media strategy at Center Theatre Group's Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, the Kirk Douglas Theatre, in addition to working on the LGBTQIA+ Chicano activist/performer Dan Guerrero's acclaimed solo show GAYTINO. 

He is a Supporting Teaching Artist with CO/LAB Theater Group, a non-profit organization offering individuals with developmental disabilities a creative and social outlet through theater and he is proud to be on the New 42 Board of Directors, opening new worlds to young people and families at the New Victory Theatre. Lopez is a founding member of The Industry Standard Group (TISG), a multicultural commercial investment and producing organization strategically formed to promote work reflecting diversity and increase the presence of BIPOC investors and producers in the commercial producing arts and entertainment field. Sammy is a graduate of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. 

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On December 4, 2016, The Sol Project officially launched its initiative with the opening night of Alligator by Hilary Bettis, in partnership with New Georges. This week, David and Joey catch up with Hilary to chat about what the future of the American Theatre looks like, what it’s like to go from writing for the stage to writing for the screen, and cultural competency when producing stories of underrepresented communities.

Hilary Bettis is a critically-acclaimed playwright whose work has been developed and produced all over the country including, Roundabout Theatre, New Georges, The Sol Project, Miami New Drama, Studio Theatre, Alley Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, La Jolla Playhouse, amongst others. Accolades include, Egerton Foundation New Play Awards, National Endowment for the Arts Grant, and a finalist for the Blackburn Prize, Kendeda Award, Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition, American Blues Theater’s Blue Ink Award, amongst others.

In television, Bettis won the 2019 Writer’s Guild of America Award for her work on the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning FX series “The Americans.” She wrote for the Hulu miniseries “The Dropout,” starring Kate McKinnon, and Amazon’s “Rodeo Queens” starring Dakota Johnson and Fred Armisen. She’s an alumni of the Sundance Institute Episodic TV Lab, and is developing projects for AMC, Hulu, and PatMa. She’s a graduate of The Juilliard School. Proud member of The Kilroys and WGAEast.

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