Tony Garcia (playwright)

Anthony J. Garcia (born 1953), known as Tony Garcia, is a playwright and the current Executive Artistic Director of Su Teatro in Denver, Colorado.[1][2] He has written over 20 original plays and has served as Su Teatro's artistic director since 1989.[3]

Biography

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Early life

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Garcia grew up in Denver, Colorado and has mentioned that his family lost their home as a result of the construction on Denver's Auraria Campus in the late 1960s.[4]

Education

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Garcia began attending the University of Colorado at Boulder in the fall of 1973 and dropped out in the spring of 1974.[5] He later graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.[1]

Garcia has since completed several fellowships, including the Rockefeller Fellowship in Theater arts in 2006,[6] the United States Artists Fellowship in 2006,[1] and the Livingston Fellowship from the Bonfils Stanton Foundation in 2011.[7]

Career

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Garcia started out as a musician for Su Teatro while still a student in 1972.[2] He later took on roles as an actor[2] until 1989, when he became Su Teatro's Executive Artistic Director. Since writing his first play in 1986, Garcia has written plays consistently, finishing one every three to four years.[8]

Garcia spearheaded Su Teatro's fundraising campaign to raise $4.5 million for the theater's move to its new facility in the Denver's Santa Fe Arts District in 2010.[9]

Garcia has also served as a faculty member for the National Association of Latino Art and CultureLeadership Institute.[1] He currently still does work as a peer trainer for the Colorado Creative Industries’ Peer Assistance Network, is a member of the Western States Arts Federation’s Board of Trustees, and is an adjunct professor at Metro State College in Denver.[1]

Awards

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  • Denver Post Theater Person of the Year (2010)[9]
  • Artist residency at the Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska (2009)[6]
  • University of California Irvine Chicano Literary Award (1989)[1]

Plays

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In chronological order of first publication.[8]

  • La Familia Sin Fabiano (1974)
  • El Corrido Del Barrio (1976)
  • Joaquin's Christmas (1976)
  • Mrs. Quintana's Living Room (1978)
  • Ludlow: El Grito De Las Minas (1980)
  • Intro to Chicano History:101 (1982)
  • Serafin Cantos y Lagrimas (1984)
  • The Day Ricardo Falcon Died (1986)
  • The Miracle at Tepeyac (1989)
  • Lydia Mendoza: La Gloria De Tejas (1991)
  • Obsidian Rain (1992)
  • Little Hands Hold the Wind (1993)
  • La Carpa Aztlan Presents I Don't Speak English Only (1994)
  • The Return of the Barrio Moon (1996)
  • Yerma (adaptation, 1998)
  • Papi, Me and Cesar Chavez (2000)
  • The Westside Oratorio (2004)
  • El Sol Que Tu Eres (2005)
  • When Pigs Fly and Men Have Babies (2006)
  • To Colorado on a Christmas Night (2008)
  • The Last Lamented Dance of the Rainbow Ballroom (2010)
  • Enrique's Journey (2010)
  • Chicanos Sing the Blues (2011)
  • Amorcito Corazon (2013)
  • Mestizo (adapted from the album by Daniel Valdez, 2013)
  • El Rio: Las Lagrimas de la Llorona (2013)
  • Cuarenta y Ocho (2014)
  • La Tierra: El Corazon de mi Madre (2015)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Staff | Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center". suteatro.org. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  2. ^ a b c "100 Colorado Creatives: Tony Garcia". Westword. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  3. ^ Ramos, Manuel (2014-04-18). "La Bloga: The Tony Garcia Interview". La Bloga. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  4. ^ "From Womb to Tomb... And Beyond". 2014. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  5. ^ "Five Questions: 'Cuarenta y Ocho' director Tony Garcia". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  6. ^ a b "Tony Garcia | Island Institute". www.iialaska.org. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  7. ^ "Alumni Fellows - Bonfils-Stanton Foundation". Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  8. ^ a b "Theater Season | Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center". suteatro.org. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  9. ^ a b "Anthony Garcia: 2010 theater person of the year". www.denverpost.com. Retrieved 2015-12-03.