Award-Winning Playwright José Rivera to Speak at DePauw University
January 26, 2025
GREENCASTLE, Ind. — DePauw University’s Department of Communication and Theatre, in partnership with the Prindle Institute and the Creative School, is pleased to welcome Obie Award-winning playwright and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter José Rivera for a series of events this Winter and Spring. Rivera’s distinguished career includes over 27 full-length plays and numerous awards, such as the Obie Award for Marisol and References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot. His screenplay for The Motorcycle Diaries earned him an Oscar nomination, making him the first Puerto Rican writer to receive this honor. Rivera's current projects include a Netflix adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude. These achievements set the stage for Rivera’s talks, which will explore the ethics and inspirations behind his work.
The series will begin on Saturday, January 11, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the Putnam County Library, with José Rivera: Literary Inspirations. The playwright will discuss the literary figures who have shaped his work, including Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Moliére, as well as his mentorship under Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez. The talk will conclude with a Q&A session.
On Wednesday, January 22, at 7:30 PM, DePauw students from Dr. Dennis Sloan’s Winter Term course will present a staged reading of Rivera’s A Lunar Rhapsody in the Kerr Theatre at The Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts. This special event offers a unique opportunity to experience Rivera’s play in an intimate setting.
In the Spring Term, Rivera will present Ethical Practices in Entertainment on Thursday, April 17, at 4:30 PM in the Richard E. Peeler Art Center, Auditorium (102). In this session, Rivera will reflect on his career in the entertainment industry, addressing ethical issues in representing diversity and fostering new work. Attendees will be encouraged to participate in a discussion on ethical practices in the creative industries.
On Friday, April 18, at 11:30 AM, Rivera will present The Ethics of Storytelling for Stage and Screen in the Percy L. Julian Science and Mathematics Building, Auditorium (147). This event will be a brown bag lunch, where attendees are invited to bring their own lunches. Using Rivera’s play Sueño as a case study, this talk will explore the ethical complexities of storytelling in theatre and film, addressing topics such as family, sexuality, and spirituality. The session will conclude with a discussion and Q&A.
DePauw will also present Rivera’s work-in-progress A Lunar Rhapsody, directed by Dr. Sloan, at the Green Center for Performing Arts, Moore Theatre, from April 17–19 at 7:30 PM. This compelling play explores the journey of cosmic refugees and their observations of humanity during a lunar eclipse in Brooklyn.
For more information on these and other events, visit https://depauw.campuslabs.com/engage/events/