Tori and Mabelle talk with multihyphenate Brian Quijada about how a production of “Cabaret” showed him the power of political theater and set him on his theatrical journey. He shares his artist’s mission and goes in depth on the inspiration and development of “Where Did We Sit on the Bus?,” “Kid Prince and Pablo,” “Somewhere Over the Border,” and his new work, “Mexodus.” Find out why Brian never takes anything for granted, why he doesn’t ask permission to create, the magic of starting with something you know, and why we say “all roads lead to Brian Quijada.”
Writing prompt (courtesy of Brian Quijada)
Origin Story. Write a spoken word piece. Write a rap. Write a short story on your origin story. Brian likes to think of superheroes he loves–like Spiderman’s origin story (bit by a spider, with great power comes great responsibility). Think of where you came from. It can be your superpower, your parents, where your from, whatever origin means to you. Write your origin story.
Brian’s bio:
Brian Quijada is an Emmy-nominated playwright, actor, composer, and Artistic Director of The Wild Wind Performance Lab for New Play Development. Quijada has spent most of his career acting in Off-Broadway and Regional Theaters including The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, MCC, Playwright’s Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Victory Gardens, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. As a playwright/composer, Brian’s plays and musicals include his live-looped hip hop solo show Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, Kid Prince and Pablo, which received its World Premiere at The Kennedy Center Fall of 2019, and his Cumbia Hip Hop musical Somewhere Over the Border. Brian is a 4-time Jeff Winner in Chicago, 3-time Drama Desk Nominee in New York, and winner of a Lucille Lortel Award.
Connect with Brian:
Website: https://www.brianquijada.com/
IG: @mrbrianquijada
Check out the American Theatre magazine article about Marvin and Brian Quijada: https://www.americantheatre.org/2023/08/07/dos-hermanos-suenan-marvin-and-brian-quijadas-shared-story/
Brian Quijada drops wisdom and the art of the villanelle poem on the Latinx Superfriends Playwriting Hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhfHcz8aFvE
You can stream Brian’s episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (S24.E11 – Soldier Up) on Hulu, Peacock or Prime Video!: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt25394568/?ref_=nm_flmg_eps_tt_1