sol 7: Mara Vélez Meléndez

mara Vélez Meléndez
the playwright

MARA VÉLEZ MELÉNDEZ  (she/her) is a playwright born and raised in Puerto Rico. She was a 2020-2021 Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow and is currently a member of Ars Nova's PlayGroup. Mara's Off-Broadway debut will take place in 2022 with Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board Members, produced by Soho Rep and she will adapt the upcoming Spotify/Gimlet podcast, Case 63.

​Her work has also been developed at The Lark, Teatro SEA, Pregones/PRTT, The Latinx Playwrights Circle and Fresh Ground Pepper. Other plays include We Built Our Homes Near Kingdoms of Animals and Magic (The Lark's Playwright's Week, 2019 Rita & Burton Goldberg Playwriting Prize), ¡GARGOLA! (MCC LiveLabs) and Lajasarriba. Playwriting MFA: Hunter College

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Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board Members
the play

Lolita finds herself in the Wall Street office of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board. Like a Boricua Lolita before her, she is here in the name la Revolución! She’s got glamour, glitter, and a gun, but is she really ready? 

Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board Members is a drag show about decolonizing places and people.

Soho Repertory Theatre
the partner theater


Soho Repertory Theatre provides radical theater makers with productions of the highest caliber and tailor-made development at key junctures in their artistic practice. We elevate artists as thought leaders and citizens who change the field and society. Artistic autonomy is paramount at Soho Rep.—we encourage an unmediated connection between artists and audiences to create a springboard for transformation and rich civic life beyond the walls of our small theater.

We re-center the narratives of people who are underrepresented in our field. We interrogate the history and form of Theater and ask why and for whom Theater exists.

We prioritize open access to our work. We keep tickets affordable, build two-way coalitions and partnerships across the City, and continually invite new audiences to our shows.
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The sustainability of Soho Rep. is directly tied to the individuals at the heart of our theater. We provide holistic support and fair pay. We are clear-sighted about our organizational capacity, which generates a more reasonable workload for all. We make ambitious and destabilizing theater, which demands even greater diligence to create a nurturing and supportive environment.

David Mendizábal
the director

DAVID MENDIZÁBAL (he/they) is a director, designer, and one of the Producing Artistic Leaders of The Movement Theatre Company, where they produced the NYC-premiere of Aleshea Harris’ WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN, directed by Whitney White. They are also the Associate Artistic Director of The Sol Project, where they co-host the podcast SolTalk.

Select directing credits include: Don't Eat the Mangos (Magic Theatre/Sundance) On The Grounds of Belonging (Long Wharf), the bandaged place (NYSAF), Then They Forgot About The Rest (INTAR), The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro, or iNegro (Cherry Lane), And She Would Stand Like This with choreographer Kia LaBeija, Look Upon Our Lowliness, Bintou (The Movement), Tell Hector I Miss Him (Atlantic - Drama League Nomination for Outstanding Production), and Locusts Have No King (INTAR). David was part of the inaugural Soho Rep Project Number One Residency, where they created and directed the short film, eat me!.

David is a 2021 Princess Grace Award Honoraria Recipient in Theater. Alumnus of Ars Nova Vision Residency, The Drama League, Labyrinth Intensive Ensemble, artEquity, NALAC, and LCT Directors Lab. David was a participant in the TCG Leadership U: One-on-One program, where they were the Artistic Associate at Atlantic Theater Company. BFA NYU/Tisch.

HIGHLIGHTS

Notes on Killing Review: For These Puerto Ricans, Promises Never Kept
The New York Times | May 30th, 2022

Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Members Review
Time Out NY | June 1st, 2022

La política de Puerto Rico llevada al teatro en SoHo Rep
Spectrum Noticias NY1 | May 30th, 2022

Soho Rep Announces: Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Board Members
Playbill | March 23, 2022

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The Sol Project: A  National Theater Initiative
The Sol Project is a New York City-based theater initiative dedicated to fortifying a movement that brings the voices of Latiné artists and their stories to the forefront of the new American theater.

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The Sol Project works to create a bold, kaleidoscopic body of work by Latiné writers by fostering creative partnerships, providing platforms of support, and building artistic homes for artists of color in all areas of production. We aim to inspire collective impact across the artistic landscape in New York City and beyond.

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Atlantic Theater Company, Baltimore Center Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Cara Mía Theater Company, Center Theatre Group, LAByrinth Theater Company, New Georges, New York Theatre Workshop, MCC Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Pregones/PRTT, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, SoHo Rep, The Playwrights Realm, The Public Theater, and Yale Repertory Theatre.
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