Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Rios.
Rachel, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I am an Actor/Playwright with an MFA in Playwriting and a BA in Theatre and English. (I also failed high school math, so don’t get it twisted.)
My first acting role: A talking deer (age 11).
The first play I wrote: Was about five dead people in purgatory (age 11, morbid).
Likes: Cheese, Teen Soaps, The West Hollywood Library, a very specific red coffee tumbler that I paid $20 to retrieve after losing it in an Uber.
Dislikes: Goats, Tardiness, the pink tax.
Item/Brand that should sponsor me: Dove Prescription Strength Deodorant.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I am a character actor. I love weirdoes. I love neurotics. I love the marginalized. Comedy is my wheelhouse, but I also like a good weep and rage now and then. I hope that people feel they’ve witnessed something honest in my characters, even if it’s a goofy or hard to swallow honesty. (Beyond all the “death for my art” crap, I really hope people laugh.)
I would describe my playwriting style as emotional realism in surrealist surroundings. I love that theatre can push the boundaries of an audience’s suspension of disbelief and am a big post-modern nerd. I mostly write about mental health, gender politics, friendship, and cultural identity. I believe that a play is a question, so I’m inspired by things I’m unsure about. I ask the question, the performance team proposes their answer via their production, and the audience can decide if they find that answer suitable or not. In the best-case scenario, the audience proposes new questions.
Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
Art is an expression of Radical Empathy.
It is our responsibility as artists to bring open-mindedness to the sheltered, elevate truth amongst ignorance, and inspire love in the face of hate.
I had just started grad school in DC in 2016 during the election. Existing as a mixed-race woman in a racially segregated city on a white, conservative campus was a major culture shock. The experience of being openly “other-ed” made me examine my identity in a way that I never have before. This inspired me to infuse my work with my cultural identity and write about my Latinx/mixed-race experience.
I didn’t write my “culture” pieces to start a conversation with people, but those conversations came all the same. I ended up having very open conversations about my heritage and experience with non-Latinx people, and I saw that we were all better for it.
In a time where bigotry and division are promoted, art is more important than ever. For someone in a homogenous neighborhood, how else will they learn of the “other”-‘s humanness than through your film? Your writing? Your art?
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can catch me as witchy Sabrina in ‘Curse of the Siren’ available on Amazon! ‘Curse’ is a quirky horror comedy that was a blast to make.
I have two projects in post right now: ‘Caged” a feature film, and “No New Friends” a web series. I’ll be making more announcements on my website and Instagram when they become available!
A list of my plays can be found on my website and on my New Play Exchange page.
Contact Info:
- Website: rachelrios.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/rachelriverz/
- Other: https://newplayexchange.org/users/32263/rachel-rios
Image Credit:
David Muller
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.