Mildred Ruiz-Sapp

Mildred Ruiz-Sapp is an American poet, playwright, actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. Born and raised on New York's Lower East Side (Alphabet City), she co-founded THE POINT Community Development Corporation (Hunts Point) in 1993 and Universes (poetic theatre ensemble) in collaboration with Steven Sapp in 1996.

Education and Career Ruiz-Sapp earned her BA in Literature from Bard College in 1989 and is the co-founder and core member of Universes, a national ensemble theater company. Founded in The Bronx, New York, in 1995, Universes brings together a diverse group of multi-disciplined writers and performers of color who fuse theater, poetry, dance, jazz, hip hop, politics, blues, and Spanish boleros to create stage works. The group, originally formed as a poetry collective performing slam poetry at clubs and cafés in Manhattan's Lower East Side, began with members Ruiz-Sapp, her brother, William Ruiz, Gamal Chasten, and Steven Sapp.

The group created the production titled Ameriville, a response to how America responded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Universes aimed to present the United States as a united community, rather than a fractured society divided by divergent customs and beliefs.

In 2025, Ruiz-Sapp co-directed Tipi Tales from The Stoop, a project that explores family history and generational trauma. In collaboration with Murielle Borst-Tarrant, the production tells the story of a young girl growing up in the only Native family in a Mafia-run Brooklyn neighborhood, embarking on a quest to preserve cultural traditions.

Theater Credits Include Purgatory Another I Dies Slowly Live From the Edge Slanguage Blue Suite Ameriville Rhythmicity: Flipping The Script One Shot In Lotus Position The Ride The Denver Project UniSon

Television Credits Include

Film: Stay until Tomorrow by Laura Collela Television: HBO's Def Poetry Jam (Season 4- Episode 9 (with UNIVERSES))

Awards/Affiliations 2008 Jazz at Lincoln Center Rhythm Road Tour 2008 Theatre Communications Group (TCG) – Peter Zeisler Award 2002–2004 and 1999–2001 Theatre Communications Group (TCG) National Theater Artist Residency Program Award2002 BRIO Awards (Bronx Recognizes Its Own-Singing) from The Bronx Council on the Arts; 1999 OBIE Award Grant (The Point CDC & Live From Theater Theater) 1999 Bessie Awards (The Point CDC) 1998 Union Square Award recipient Co-Founder of The Point CDC New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect Board Member: National Performance Network Former Board member: Network of Ensemble Theaters