Before joining UNCSA, Rivas served as a lecturer of acting at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University, where he received the 2026 Distinguished Teaching Prize, and as the inaugural Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. He has directed productions across the United States and internationally, served as dramaturg and creative consultant for the award-winning Off-Broadway musical “MEXODUS” and is the founder of Chicano TheatreWorks and co-founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons.
As a playwright, Rivas is currently working on several play commissions. Other plays include: “Divisadero”, “The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano,” “Crayon Sun,” “Johanna: Facing Forward” and other works — including adaptations and translations.
Theatre is where we practice being human together. My coaching is a bridge between rigorous physical training and the passionate search for social truth. Shaped by a global palette of devised and classical methodologies, I teach actors and directors to be storytellers who can shift the cultural landscape. I want our UNCSA studios to feel like laboratories of bravery and compassion, where we cultivate the discipline of the body, the expansiveness of the imagination and the courage to make art that matters.
Tlaloc Rivas
Career Highlights
- Lecturer of acting, David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University
- Inaugural Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
- Directed productions at globally, including at INTAR, Dallas Theater Center, Cleveland Public Theatre, Los Angeles Theatre Center and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
- Dramaturg and creative consultant for the award-winning Off-Broadway musical, “MEXODUS”
- Founder, Chicano TheatreWorks
- Co-founder, Latinx Theatre Commons
Honors, Awards & Recognitions
- Distinguished Teaching Prize, David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University (2026)
- Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
- Sir John Gielgud Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
- NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors
- UC Regents Presidential Award
- Chancellor’s Honors, University of California – Santa Cruz
- Dean of the Arts Award, University of California – Santa Cruz
- Drama Award, Cabrillo College
- Bilingual/Bicultural Award, Cabrillo College
-
Directing Fellowship, Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Organizations
- Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
- Dramatists Guild
- Association for Theatre in Higher Education
- Latinx Theatre Commons
- Usual Suspect, New York Theatre Workshop
Education
M.F.A DirectingUniversity of Washington
B.A. Theatre ArtsUniversity of California Santa Cruz
A.A. Latino Studies and DramaCabrillo College