Octavio Solis (born 1958) is an American playwright and director whose plays have been produced and show theaters and small companies across the United States. He has written over 25 plays, including his most famous works: ''Lydia'', ''Santos & Santos'' and ''Man of the Flesh''. His works have earned numerous awards and grants.

Life and career

Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents,Breslauer, Jan. "In Reality, Octavio Solis Mines a New Vein." ''Los Angeles Times''. Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2009. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-octavio-solis12-2009apr12-story.html Solis started his career in theater by joining his high school, Riverside High School's (El Paso, TX) theater group when he was fourteen.Wilson, Emily. "The Rumpus Interview with Octavio Solis." ''The Rumpus''. 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://therumpus.net/2013/02/the-rumpus-interview-with-octavio-solis/ He received a BFA at Trinity University and went on to earn his MFA at Trinity University's off-campus program at the Dallas Theatre Center. After college, while acting in Eric Overmyer's ''Native Speech'' in Dallas, Solis was inspired to write his own plays rather than act in them. In between acting and writing, he taught high school students.Ebert, Roger. “Coco Review.” (To tired to do the rest). https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/amp/coco-2017 He moved to San Francisco in 1989 to further his career, as he felt he was "hitting a glass ceiling" in Dallas, and felt that California would be a good place to participate in the "Mexican American experience". Solis uses his experiences in life to help create and shape his plays, often drawing directly from his time in El Paso, where he states that he was able to see both the first-world and the third-world from his backyard. In his play ''Lydia'', which focuses on a working-class Mexican-American family and an undocumented maid who arrives in the broken home, he draws upon his own experiences as a Latino living only a mile from the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

. Solis was a "cultural consultant" for the Disney film '' Coco.'' He voices an Arrival Agent in the film and its spinoff short.

Contributions to Latino Theatre

Octavio Solis has made a large number of contributions to the Latino Theatre community, namely in the number of works he has created that are designed to be for and played by Latino/as. One of his most critically acclaimed works, ''Lydia'', focuses on a Latino family and their maid who recently came from Mexico to work in the states. His importance in the Latino/a community have been widely recognized, as evident by his numerous awards such as his National Latino Playwriting Award and his being awarded the Henry Award for Outstanding New Play.Singer, Anna. "Octavio Solis." ''Octavio Solis Playwright and Director''. Web. 29 Nov. 2015. http://www.octaviosolis.net/ He has also received a number of grants and funds, including the New Works Fund Grant from the Theatre Bay Area and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays.

Awards

Works

Books

*''Retablos: Stories From a Life Lived Along the Border'',

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and ...

, 2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solis, Octavio 1958 births Living people American people of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American dramatists and playwrights People from El Paso, Texas