Luis Alfaro

Luis Alfaro is a Chicano writer/performer known for his work in poetry, theatre, short stories, performance and journalism. Alfaro held a six-season tenure as the Mellon Playwright-in-Residence at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (2013-2019). He was a member of the Playwright's Ensemble at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theatre (2013-2020). Alfaro is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, popularly known as a "genius grant", presented to people who have demonstrated expertise and...See more

Luis Alfaro is a Chicano writer/performer known for his work in poetry, theatre, short stories, performance and journalism. Alfaro held a six-season tenure as the Mellon Playwright-in-Residence at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (2013-2019). He was a member of the Playwright's Ensemble at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theatre (2013-2020). Alfaro is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, popularly known as a "genius grant", presented to people who have demonstrated expertise and exceptional creativity in their respective fields. Alfaro is a Joyce Foundation Fellow. In 2019, Alfaro was awarded the PEN America/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for a Master American Dramatist, The United States Artist Fellowship from the Doris Duke Foundation, and the Ford Foundation's Art of Change Fellowship. Alfaro's plays and performances include Electricidad , Oedipus El Rey , Mojada , Delano , Body of Faith , Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Straight as a Line , Black Butterfly , Bitter Homes and Gardens and downtown. Alfaro spent over two decades in the Los Angeles poetry community and touring the United States and Mexico as a performance artist. He is an Associate Professor with tenure at the University of Southern California. See less