Marisela Treviño Orta

Marisela Treviño Orta is a third-generation Mexican-American playwright and poet from Lockhart, Texas. She attended the University of San Francisco where she received an MFA in Writing. While she was trained in poetry, Treviño Orta began writing plays after becoming the resident poet for El Teatro Jornalero!, a Latino theatre company which focuses on social justice issues.

Career Marisela Treviño Orta was first attracted to theatre and playwriting during her time as the resident poet at El Teatro Jornalero!. She was attracted to the theatre community, as she found poetry was often a lonely craft. Treviño Orta was awarded the 2013 National Latino Playwriting Award for The River Bride, and most recently was a 2018/2019 Kendeda Finalist (Alliance Theatre) for Shoe. She is a 2011 alumna of the Playwright Foundation's Resident Playwright's Initiative and a graduate of the University of Iowa’s Playwrights Workshop.

Most recently, Treviño Orta authored a trilogy of plays inspired by Latinx mythology and the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. The second, Wolf at the Door, which is currently featured in National New Play Network's Rolling World Premieres program, is set in Mexico and focuses on Mesoamerican belief. Alcira, the trilogy's conclusion, is set in San Francisco and based on Aztec mythology.

Involvement in the theatre community Treviño Orta is currently a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Latinx Theatre Commons, and is a founding member of the Bay Area Latino Theatre Artists Network.

Works Braided Sorrow Heart Shaped Nebula The River Bride Woman on Fire Wolf at the Door Alcira Ghost Limb Somewhere

Awards and recognition