Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) 2023

Tony Meneses (Playwright) (he/him) was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and raised in Albuquerque and Dallas. His plays include Guadalupe in the Guest Room, twenty50, The Hombres, and El Borracho. He is an alum of the Soho Rep. Writer/Director Lab, Ars Nova Play Group, Sundance Institute Playwrights Retreat at Ucross Foundation, The Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship, and Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood; his work has been previously developed at the Lark Playwrights’ Week, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, The Denver Center’s Colorado New Play Summit, The Old Globe’s Powers New Voices Festival, and South Coast Repertory’s Pacific Playwrights Festival and New SCRipt Series. He is a two-time recipient of The Kennedy Center Latinx Playwriting Award, is published by Dramatists Play Service and Theatrical Rights Worldwide, and has been previously commissioned by Denver Center, Two River Theater, South Coast Rep, and The Juilliard School. He is currently under commission from The Old Globe. Education: The University of Texas at Austin, Iowa Playwrights Workshop, Juilliard.

May Adrales is a director, artistic leader, educator and mother; she has directed over 25 world premieres. Her work has been seen most recently at Second Stage (Rajiv Joseph’s Letters of Suresh) Manhattan Theater Club (Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone, and Poor Yella Rednecks, Felicia Anchuli King’s Golden Shield) Signature Theater, LCT3, The Public Theater, WP, New York Theater Workshop, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Rep, Milwaukee Rep and South Coast Rep. She was awarded the prestigious Ammerman Award at Arena Stage and Theater Communications Group’s Alan Schneider award for freelance directors. She is a Drama League Directing Fellow, Van Lier Directing Fellow, WP Lab Director, SoHo Rep Writers/Directors Lab and New York Theater Workshop directing fellow, TCG New Generations Grantee, SDC Denham Fellowship and Paul Green Directing Award.  She served as an Associate Artistic Director at Milwaukee Rep; Artistic Associate at The Playwrights Center; Artistic Associate at The Public Theater; and Director of Artistic Programs and Artistic Director at The Lark. She serves on the board of Theater Communications Group. May has directed and taught at Juilliard, Harvard/ART, ACT, Fordham, NYU and Bard College. May has served on faculty at the Yale School of Drama and Brown/Trinity MFA program. MFA, Yale School of Drama. She is currently the Director of the Theatre Program/Assistant Professor at Fordham University. (www.mayadrales.net)

KRISTOFFER DIAZ is a playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and educator. His play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Other full-length titles include Welcome to Arroyo’s, Reggie Hoops, Things With Friends, Hercules, and The Unfortunates. His work has been produced, commissioned, and developed at The Public Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Geffen Playhouse, ACT, Center Theatre Group, The Goodman, Second Stage, Victory Gardens, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, among many others. Awards include the Guggenheim, Jerome, Van Lier, NYFA, and Gail Merrifield Papp Fellowships; New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award; Lucille Lortel, Equity Jeff, and OBIE Awards; and the Future Aesthetics Artist Regrant, among others. As a screenwriter, Kristoffer has developed original television pilots for HBO and FX, written for the first season of Netflix’s GLOW, and adapted the musical Rent for FOX. Kristoffer teaches playwriting at New York University. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists and a member of its Board of Directors, and the current secretary of the Dramatists Guild Council. Coming up: the world premiere of his musical Hell’s Kitchen, created with Alicia Keys.

José Zayas (he/him/his) is an award-winning director. He has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally, and internationally. Credits include: El Perro del Hortelano (Gala Theatre), Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (En Garde Arts), The Queen of Basel (Studio Theatre, DC), Exquisita Agonía (Repertorio Español), The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, MASS MoCA, US & European Tours), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Washed Up on the Potomac (San Francisco Playhouse, The Flea Theater), Undocumented (Joe’s Pub), Pinkolandia and El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theater), The House of the Spirits (Teatro Espressivo, Gala Theatre, Denver Center, ACE, HOLA, and Ovation Awards for Best Production and Direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies, In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, Burundanga (Repertorio Español, ACE and HOLA Awards for Best Production and Direction for the latter two), Corazon Eterno, (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist (PS 122, The Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS 122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Privilege, Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica). José has premiered works by Stephin Merritt, Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot, Susan Kim, and Jordi Galceran. ​Notable fellowships and affiliations include: a Drama League Fellowship, Lincoln Center Theater’s Directors Lab, Soho Repertory Theater’s Writer/Director Lab, and the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) and he was the Resident Director at Repertorio Español from 2008-2018. José was born in Puerto Rico. He holds a BA from Harvard University and an MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University. https://www.josezayasdirector.com/

Nathalia Garcia is a first-generation Brazilian-American studying English education at Georgian Court University to become a high school English teacher. When not lost in a novel, she takes several classes at Project Write Now and assists at a few of the after-school programs. Born in the spring, she used to often pick pretty flowers and, overcome with their loveliness, would pop them into her mouth and eat them! She seeks connection through poetry and what she likes to call haunted prose. These days, Nathalia can be found either on a river enjoying blooming lilies or at her home in Long Branch where she resides with a loving partner, their two cats, and 100+ houseplants.

Samantha Martinez is a first generation Mexican-American who journeys through the fields of visual art and writing. When Sam is not expressing their feelings on paper, they seek information in world history and culture. Sam is just about to begin their junior year at Red Bank Regional High School, but they plan to contribute as much as they can to the world as well during their continuous journey of self- identity.

Mar Mejia is currently a student at Red Bank Regional High School and is in the Visual & Performing Arts Academy as a studio art major. Mar is Mexican-American and has recently been involved with Project Write Now as they are volunteering at two summer programs and hope to improve in writing. Mar was raised in Mexico when they were younger and loves the culture that they saw throughout those years. Mar loves drawing and listening to music, allowing themselves to have an outlet and seeks to learn more every day as they are currently learning two more languages.

Edith Lozano Zane is a rising senior at Red Bank Regional High School. She will be the first generation in her family to finish high school and attend college. She loves fighting for what is right, mostly when it comes to her people, Hispanics. Her mom has been her inspiration for everything. Her mom is the one Edith fights for every day to make her proud and one day to tell her to not work any more or worry about anything. Edith is a very happy girl who hopes one day to accomplish each one of her goals. She is also a Dreamer.