Adriana Gaviria is an actor, producer, director, writer, and advocate in the United States. She is a founding member and artistic producer of The Sol Project, a national initiative to support Latinx theater, and the founder and producing artistic director for North Star Projects, an arts initiative that supports independent artists and theaters. Her advocacy also includes leadership roles with the Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL).

Adriana Gaviria
Born
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Actor, producer, director, writer, advocate

Early life and education

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Adriana Gaviria was born in New York City and raised in Miami, Florida. She graduated from Florida International University (FIU) and pursued her acting career at the Yale School of Drama.[1][2] She received a BFA from FIU and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.[3][4]

Gaviria is a former recipient of the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC)/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Artistic Leaders Fellowship.[3] After applying for an artistic leadership fellowship in LA, Gaviria was inspired to create change in New York City, including by advocating and producing for the Latinx theatre community.[5]

Career

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Theatre

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Gaviria has performed in classical and contemporary works in many theaters across the nation, including the Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Arizona Theatre Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.[6] As a theater producer, her work includes Amparo the Experience, Frankie and Johnny In The Claire De Lune, and a virtual reading of Borrowed, with fellow producers William Fernandez and George Cabrera,[7][8] as well as a virtual reading of Jenna and the Whale produced with Fernandez, Jim Kierstead, and Conor Bagley.[9] She has also worked as the Virtual Technical Director for online productions of Two Sisters and a Piano[10][11] and Jericho.[12]

Film

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Gaviria played the lead role of Myra in the 2006 short film, Sueños. The film, directed by Rio Puertollano, was produced by Dreamriver Productions and tells the story of two addicts struggling to survive in the New York City district of Washington Heights. Gaviria later played the lead of Camilla, a young Brazilian mother, in the short, You and I, Always (2019), directed by Ellen Marmol.

Gaviria was the assistant director for the short films, Tamarind (2008) and Broken Wings (2011). She was a producer for Broken Wings and an associate producer for the web series Doin' Great. Gaviria has also worked in the makeup and hairstyling departments for Tamarind and The Bakery (2004).

Television

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In 2009, Gaviria saw her television breakout with her co-star role as Lucy Valdez in Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She would later co-star on CBS's Person of Interest as Christina Rojas in 2011.

Advocacy

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Gaviria is the founder and producing artistic director for North Star Projects, an arts initiative that partners with artists, cultural leaders, organizations, and theaters around the country to help support independent artists and theater organizations.[13] In 2020, Gaviria was a producer of a virtual reading of Jenna and the Whale that was also a fundraising activity for North Star Projects and the Sol Project.[9]

She is also a founding member, artistic producer, and SolFest producer for The Sol Project, a national theater initiative launched in 2016 to support Latinx theater.[4][14][15] The Sol Project operates out of New York City and works with Off-Broadway companies to stage productions for Latinx playwrights at various points in their careers.[16] In 2016, Sol Project artistic director Jacob Padrón told The New York Times that the long-term goal of the Sol Project is to "create a new canon" of Latinx theater.[17]

Gaviria has also worked on the advisory board and steering committee for the Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL), which is "a national community, resource hub, and solutions generator for individuals with caregiver responsibilities and institutions who strive to support them,"[18] and a video of her 2019 PAAL summit session on December 6, 2019 is featured as an anti-racism resource.[19] Gaviria's work with PAAL has included frequent participation in events, including conferences[20] and forums,[21] and essay writing to promote parent-artist advocacy.[22] She is a member of the PAAL Executive Team and PAAL Board.[23]

Gaviria was a 2018 National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) Advocacy Leadership Institute (ALI) fellow and traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby lawmakers for NALAC priorities.[24]

She is currently on the Steering Committee for the Latinx Theatre Commons, a movement made up of diverse artists, scholars, and administrators that seek to raise awareness of Latinx theatre.[25][26]

Critical reception

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In 2009, San Francisco Chronicle theater critic Robert Hurwitt described Gaviria's performance as the title role in Lydia as "Beautiful and focused," writing that "Gaviria embodies the charisma with which Lydia galvanizes the household, awakening Ceci and enchanting David Pintado's smart, attentive, poetic, adolescent younger brother, Misha."[27] Philip Kolin of the Shakespeare Bulletin reviewed Romeo and Juliet, presented by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in 2008, and wrote, "While Avery Clark’s Romeo and Adriana Gaviria’s Juliet did not speak with Hispanic accents, they nonetheless powerfully captured the passion and horror of a high-tech Miami of the mind."[28] Terry Teachout writes for The Wall Street Journal, "I was especially impressed with Adriana Gaviria, who plays Juliet as a very young-looking maiden, thereby increasing the dramatic charge of her pubescent attraction to Avery Clark's regular-guy Romeo."[29] In a 2005 review of Anna in the Tropics at The Pasadena Playhouse, Laura Hitchcock writes for CurtainUp magazine that "Gaviria's interpretation of an effervescent teenager is too contemporary but Gaviria shows her range in the tragic closing scenes."[30] In 2013, Michael Mulhern of BroadwayWorld described Gaviria's performance as Yadira in Just Like Us (written by Karen Zacarías, based on the book by Helen Thorpe) as "outstanding,"[31] while Lisa Kennedy of The Denver Post described Gaviria as part of a "gifted group."[32]

Theater credits

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Title Role Notes
Anna in the Tropics Marela (Dir. Richard Hamburger) Pasadena Playhouse,[30] Arizona Theatre Company,[33] Dallas Theater Center
The Glass Menagerie Laura (Dir. Timothy Bond) Syracuse Stage[34][35]
Just Like Us Yadira (Dir. Kent Thompson) Denver Center[31]
Lydia Lydia (Dir. Jasson Minadakis) Marin Theatre Company[27]
Romeo and Julieta Julieta (Dir. Henry Godinez) Chicago Shakespeare Theater (staged reading)[36]
The Count of Monte Cristo Haydee (Dir. Charles Morey) Alabama Shakespeare Festival
Romeo and Juliet Juliet (Dir. Geoffrey Sherman) Alabama Shakespeare Festival[28][29]
Stories on Stage Various (Dir. Norma Moore) Denver Center
The Escape Artist's Children Angie (Dir. Pam MacKinnon) Vassar/NY Stage & Film
September Shoes Ana (Dir. Amy Gonzalez) Denver Center[37]
Juanita's Statue Beatriz/Others (Dir. Leah Gardiner) Hartford Stage
Luscious Music Sony (Dir. Michael Garcés) Working Theater
The Black Eyed Tamam (Dir. Betty Shamieh) Immigrants' Theatre Project
Journey Theatre Marina/Others (Dir. Marcy Arlin/Victor Maog) Immigrants' Theatre Project
Little Pitfall (Pasticka) Nannette Deasy (Dir. Flipsxz Flipsxz) Immigrants' Theatre Project[38]
The Birds Ms. Jekyl/Iris (Dir. Christopher Bayes) Yale Repertory Theatre[39]
Cabaret Helga-Kit Kat Girl (Dir. William Frears) Yale Cabaret
Trade Darla (Dir. Valentina Fratti) Young Playwrights Festival[40]
The Cubans Vero (Dir. Victoria Collado) Miami New Drama[41]
She Stoops to Conquer Constance Neville (Dir. Therald Todd) FIU Theatre Department[42]
Dancing at Lughnasa Agnes (Dir. Therald Todd) FIU Theatre Department[43]
The Rose Tattoo Rosa (Dir. Wayne E. Robinson) FIU Theatre Department[44]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 The Bakery N/A Hair Stylist
2006 Sueños Myra
2008 Tamarind N/A Assistant director and makeup artist
2011 Broken Wings N/A Assistant director and makeup artist
2019 You and I, Always Camilla Also writer for additional text
2021 Crabs in a Barrel Cassie
TBA Doin' Great N/A Post-production; associate producer

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 Law & Order: Lucy Valdez
2011 Person of Interest Christina Rojas

References

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  1. ^ Rizzo, Frank (November 29, 1998). "High-Stakes Journey of An Actress". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  2. ^ Rizzo, Frank (April 29, 2001). "7 SISTERS OF DRAMA". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b "FIU Alumni Spotlights - Department of Theatre". FIU. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Adriana Gaviria". The Sol Project. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  5. ^ 25: Adriana Gaviria - BrokenGirl Unchained Podcast, retrieved 2020-12-16
  6. ^ "Adriana Gaviria Biography on BroadwayWorld". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  7. ^ BWW News Desk (October 19, 2020). "Virtual Reading Of Jim Kierstead's Psycho Thriller BORROWED Streams To Benefit The Humanity Project". Broadway World. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  8. ^ Dolen, Christine (October 16, 2020). "Rene Lavan is a star of stage, screen … and now Zoom". ArtBurst. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b Dolen, Christine (June 24, 2020). "South Florida pair's whale of a tale gets a big-time Broadway On Demand virtual reading". The Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  10. ^ Miller, Deb (April 20, 2021). "Tales of two sisters from WP Theater and New Normal Rep". DC Metro Theater Arts. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  11. ^ "'Two Sisters and a Piano' Review: Jimmy Smits and Daphne Rubin-Vega Bring Passion and Poetry to Digital Theater". Variety. April 21, 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  12. ^ Miller, Deb (March 4, 2021). "A family in 'Jericho' shares a traumatic Thanksgiving dinner". DC Metro Theater Arts. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  13. ^ "North Star Projects | About". North Star Projects Arts Initiative. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  14. ^ Sutton, Rebecca (September 22, 2017). "The Sol Project: Changing the Color of Theater". National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  15. ^ BWW News Desk (August 22, 2017). "The Sol Project Announces OEDIPUS EL REY, New Partner Theaters, and $100K Grant". Broadway World. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  16. ^ "About Us". The Sol Project. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  17. ^ Barone, Joshua (May 25, 2016). "Sol Project Aims to 'Create a New Canon' of Latino Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  18. ^ "What We Do". PAAL. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  19. ^ "PAAL Statement of Commitment to Racial Justice + Call to Action". PAAL. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  20. ^ BWW News Desk (November 14, 2019). "PAAL Partners With The Public Theater, Emily Mann and A.R.T./New York Join, To Present The First National Summit On Parent Support". Broadway World. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  21. ^ Hewitt, Rachel S. (November 13, 2018). "Who We Harm When Parenting Isn't Considered". Howlround Theatre Commons. Emerson College. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  22. ^ Gaviria, Adriana (December 15, 2017). "Don't Tell Anyone—A Call to Action for a Healthy Work-Life Balance in the Arts". Howlround Theatre Commons. Emerson College. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Our People". Parent Artist Advocacy League. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Latino Arts Workers Take Voices to Capitol Hill". NALAC. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  25. ^ "Latinx Theatre Commons". HowlRound Theatre Commons. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  26. ^ "Advocacy". ADRIANA GAVIRIA. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  27. ^ a b Hurwitt, Robert (March 26, 2009). "Theater review: 'Lydia'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  28. ^ a b Kolin, Philip C. (2009). "Review of Romeo and Juliet". Shakespeare Bulletin. 27 (1): 183–188. doi:10.1353/shb.0.0046. S2CID 192107513. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  29. ^ a b Teachout, Terry (June 13, 2008). "Down for 'The Count' and the Bard". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  30. ^ a b Hitchcock, Laura (2005). "A CurtainUp Los Angeles Review: Anna In the Tropics". CurtainUp. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  31. ^ a b Mulhern, Michael (October 24, 2013). "BWW Reviews: The Denver Center Theatre Company Presents an Intriguing Insight Into Colorado History with JUST LIKE US". Broadway World. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  32. ^ Kennedy, Lisa (October 16, 2013). ""Just Like Us" theater review: The future is full of promise". The Denver Post. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  33. ^ "Anna in the Tropics". About the Artists. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  34. ^ BWW News Desk (April 2, 2014). "THE GLASS MENAGERIE Runs Now thru 4/27 at Archbold Theatre". Broadway World. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  35. ^ Curulla, Tony (April 5, 2014). "Syracuse Stage's "The Glass Menagerie": An Emotional Stunne". Syracuse.com. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  36. ^ "Romeo y Julieta". About the Artists. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  37. ^ "September Shoes". About the Artists. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  38. ^ "Mainstage Productions". Immigrants' Theatre Project. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  39. ^ Johnson, Malcolm (March 29, 2001). "THESE 'BIRDS' DON'T FLY". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  40. ^ Gates, Anita (October 14, 2002). "Playwrights With the Glow of Youth". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  41. ^ Dolen, Christine (January 28, 2020). "Review: 'The Cubans' Marks Debut Of Playwright With A Voice Worth Experiencing". WLRN 91.3 FM. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  42. ^ "Daniel Pino and Adriana Gaviria, She Stoops to Conquer". Department of Theatre All Image Collection. FIU Department of Theatre. Spring 1997. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  43. ^ Todd, Therald (April 11, 1996). "Dancing at Lughnasa 18". Department of Theatre All Image Collection. FIU Department of Theatre. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  44. ^ "Jenny Kelchner and Adriana Gaviria in The Rose Tattoo". Department of Theatre All Image Collection. FIU Department of Theatre. October 1995. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
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