PUBLIC LECTURE
As part of the SCS Sesquicentennial meeting in San Diego, famed playwright Luis Alfaro will present his work to AIA/SCS attendees and the general public. The lecture will be held in the Marriott Marquis & Marina on Thursday, January 3rd, the first night of the conference.
From the Ancient to the Streets of L.A.: Imagining the Greek Classics for Communities Today
Luis Alfaro works in theater, performance, poetry and is an associate professor at the University of Southern California. A Chicano born and raised in the Pico-Union district of downtown Los Angeles, Alfaro is the recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowship, popularly known as a “genius grant”, awarded to people who have demonstrated expertise and exceptional creativity in their respective fields. He is the first Playwright-in-Residence in the 84-year history of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the largest repertory theatre company in the United States, serving for six seasons (2013-2019).
This year he has been award the 2018 PEN America/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for a Master American Dramatist, the 2018 United States Artists, USA Doris Duke Foundation Fellowship and the 2017-18 Ford Foundation, The Art of Change Fellowship.
His adaptation of Oedipus The King, Oedipus El Rey, was presented this season, off-Broadway at The Public Theatre in New York City, with a sold-out run, extended three times, and a critic’s pick in the New York Times. Next season, his adaptation of Medea, Mojada, will be seen at The Public Theatre as well.
This event is organized by Classics and Social Justice, the Onassis Foundation USA, and hosted by the Society for Classical Studies.
