Diane Rodriguez

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Diane wrote, directed and premiered two of her own full length works, LIVING LARGE 2012 premier at Teatro Luna in Chicago and THE SWEETHEART DEAL 2017 premier at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. The SWEETHEART DEAL was developed at The Black Swan Lab at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, New Harmony in Indiana, Latino Fest at the Atlantic Theatre in New York City.  She worked for Mattel Toy, Inc. as the book writer for the Broadway style musical BARBIE LIVE.  The show toured Asia in 2013 and Latin America in 2010.   She worked as a creative and cultural consultant for the Disney Family animated series, ELENA OF AVALOR where she gave notes on story outlines and scripts.  Written with the ensemble LATINS ANONYMOUS, her two play anthology by the same name published by Arte Publico is popular with colleges throughout the Southwest for its comedy and enduring relevance.  Diane was inducted into The College of Fellows for the American Theatre in 2018. In 2016 she was appointed by President Obama to the NEA’s National Council on the Arts of which she still serves, and was president of the Theatre Communications Group board from 2013-2016. She served on the board for 8 years.   Her over 20 year tenure on artistic staff at Center Theatre Group/Los Angeles included the positions Associate Artistic Director; Associate Producer; and Director of New Play Production.  

 

Plays

LIVING LARGE 

Lily lives by herself and thinks that Big Maria and Little Maria are going to help her do so. But the Maria's have a different idea and so does Lilly's sister, Nellie. Two sets of sisters, two different countries, one privileged, one not. Who gets to live in the US of A and who doesn't? A story of about living large no matter who or where you are.....

 

 

PITCH LIKE A GIRL

Sandra Reyes has reached the "adobe" ceiling at work and it's a problem. She builds houses for other people but can't seem to make a home for her daughter, Gaby and her husband, Frank. Her career is going nowhere until she meets Wes Myerson, a popular author and housing guru who turns her world upside down. A story about a women making her own way to the top.

 

 

SWEETHEART DEAL

In 1970, Mari and Will decide to leave their comfortable middle class life in San Jose, California and volunteer for El Malcriado, the underground newspaper for the United Farmworkers Union. It's a tumultuous time for Cesar Chavez' union and the couple find themselves in the middle of a violent struggle that forces Mari to take the lead to protect herself and her husband.

 

Download scripts and ten minute excerpts here: Diane Rodriguez | New Play Exchange