matthew paul olmos is a Mexican-American playwright who focuses on the creation of space for marginalized, underrepresented communities and gives them poetics and theatricality. While his work is always personal, it is aimed at reaching across socio’political boundaries, showing the ridiculous of how separate we are, and illuminating hope for future generations.
i put the fear of méxico in’em @ teatro vista; pictured Mavin Quijada, Bryn W. Packard, Cheryl Graeff; photo by Art Carrillo
He is a three-time Sundance Institute Fellowship/Residency recipient, inaugural Dramatists Guild Foundation Catalyst Fellow, Echo Theater Company Resident Playwright, lifetime Ensemble Studio Theatre member and Sloan Commission recipient, Playwrights’ Center Core Writer and two-time Venturous Playwright Fellowship nominee. Previous Actors’ Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival Commission, Arizona Theatre Company’s National Latine Playwriting Awardee, Baryshnikov Arts Center Resident Artist, Brooklyn Arts Exchange Resident Artist, Center Theatre Group LA Playwright, Circle X Evolving Playwright, Drama League nominee, Geffen Playhouse Writers Room, Humanitas PlayLA, Ingram New Works at Nashville Repertory, two-time INTAR H.P.R.L., a proud Kilroys nominator, Moving Arts MADlab, New York Theatre Workshop Fellow, Oregon Shakespeare Festival Black Swan Lab, two-time Ojai Playwrights Conference, inaugural Primary Stages Creative Development Grantee and Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, Princess Grace Awardee in Playwriting, Repertorio Español Miranda Family Nuestra Voces Playwriting Awardee, The Road Under Construction playwright.
He spent two years as a Mabou Mines/SUITE Resident Artist being mentored by Ruth Maleczech & Terry O'Reilly, and was awarded “Top Prize of the Americas” by the BBC 2011 International Playwriting Competition for his Mabou Mines developed work The Nature of Captivity; published by Concord Theatricals/Samuel French.
Chosen/mentored by Taylor Mac for Cherry Lane’s Mentor Project, and was La MaMa e.t.c.'s Ellen Stewart Emerging Playwright Awardee as selected by Sam Shepard.
the nature of captivity @ Mabou Mines/Suite; pictured chantel cherisse lucier and Sarah Nina Hayon; photo by Christopher Marston
Awarded the Sundance Institute Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship for his play i put the fear of mexico in’em (published by Conford Theatrical/Samuel French) which world-premiered in Chicago at Theater with A View/Teatro Vista. It was also the 2012 Repertorio Español’s MetLife Nuestras Voces 3rd Place Winner and on the syllabus at a Rutger’s University course taught by Caridad Svich. It is also published by NoPassport Press.
Sam Shepard named him the inaugural recipient of La MaMa e.t.c. Ellen Stewart Emerging Playwright Award, for which La MaMa produced his play so go the ghosts of méxico, part one, the first in his 3-play cycle about the U.S./Mexico drug wars. Directed by The Public Theater's Director of Devised Theater Initiative and Under the Radar Director Meiyin Wang, the production played a sold-out run and was a New York Times Critic's Pick. It is published by Concord Theatricals/Samuel French and NoPassport Press. The play was translated into Spanish by playwright Bernardo Cubria, and has premiered in México and Repertorio Español, NYC.
Holds an M.F.A. in Playwriting from The Actor’s Studio Drama School (now New School for Drama), a B.A. in Playwriting from UC Santa Barbara, and was given UCLA’s GOP Award for Graduate Playwriting. He was the co-founder and former Artistic Director of woken’glacier theatre company (two-time New York Innovative Theatre Award nominee).
so go the ghosts of méxico, part one @ La MaMa e.t.c.; pictured: Bernardo Cubria, Laura Butler Rivera; photo by Steven Chreiber
He is currently developing a project inspired by the Mendez v. Westminster case about the building of Mexican schools as part of segregation. He recently developed a feature with Andrew Lauren Productions and is currently developing a screenplay inspired by his play THAT DRIVE THRU MONTEREY.
He is PADI certified scuba diver, and loves to (with great difficulty) to surf.