Montserrat Mendez
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Montserrat Méndez: Writer. Director. Professional Troublemaker.
Born in Puerto Rico, and now a Jersey boy baptized in the raw, unfiltered chaos of New York’s indie theater scene, Montse crafts stories that hit like a gut-punch wrapped in a velvet glove. He’s got English Literature, Spanish Literature and Theatre degrees from the University of Scranton. His play Thoroughly Stupid Things (a Wildean grenade of wit) won Outstanding Playwrighting at FringeNYC 2008. His chamber musical El Fuego Y Su Heredero; about Lolita Lebrón’s armed uprising in the U.S. Capitol was a finalist for the Perelman PAC’s Democratic Cycle. Because nothing says "musical" like revolution. As a director, he’s left his fingerprints all over NYC: Manhattan Theatre Source, Nylon Fusion Collective. He is a core work member of Flux Theatre Ensemble; where he’s unleashed plays like Rebecca Roman Redd at the Most Dangerous Hour, A Full-Blown Horror Story and The Residencies. Screenwriting? Oh, he does that too. Nicholl Fellowship Top 10 (A Trial of Spies). Sundance Labs Second Rounder. Athena List Finalist with A Woman of Brooklyn. Dramatists Guild member. Retro Productions company artist. Because history deserves to be stolen back with style, brains, and a little blood on the page. |
Montserrat Méndez: Escritor. Director. Agente del Caos Profesional.
Nacido en Puerto Rico y ahora un muchacho de Jersey bautizado en el caos puro y sin filtros de la escena teatral independiente de Nueva York, Montse crea historias que golpean como un puñetazo envuelto en un guante de seda. Tiene títulos en Literatura Inglesa, Literatura Española y Teatro de la Universidad de Scranton. Su obra Thoroughly Stupid Things (una granada de ingenio al estilo Wilde) ganó el premio a Mejor Dramaturgia en el FringeNYC 2008. Su musical de cámara El Fuego y Su Heredero, sobre el levantamiento armado de Lolita Lebrón en el Capitolio de los EE.UU., fue finalista del Democratic Cycle del Perelman PAC. Porque nada dice "musical" como la revolución. Como director, ha dejado su huella por toda Nueva York: Manhattan Theatre Source, Nylon Fusion Collective. Es miembro clave de Flux Theatre Ensemble, donde ha estrenado obras como Rebecca Roman Redd at the Most Dangerous Hour, A Full-Blown Horror Story y The Residencies. ¿Y guiones de cine? Ah, también hace eso. Top 10 del Nicholl Fellowship (A Trial of Spies). Segunda ronda en Sundance Labs. Finalista del Athena List con A Woman of Brooklyn. Miembro del Dramatists Guild. Artista de Retro Productions. Porque la historia merece ser reclamada con estilo, cerebro y un poco de sangre en la página. |
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
I believe language is one of the most powerful weapons ever created. Twice in my life, violence has tried to take me, leaving me with a cracked skull, lifelong tinnitus, a shattered jaw, two stab wounds, and a need for new front teeth. And yet, I’ve chosen to return this brutality with words as my weapons.
Theatre is a living, breathing battleground for the soul, a place where characters reveal their scars and fight for their humanity. As a queer, Latino, disabled playwright and filmmaker, I interrogate the intersection of identity and survival, the quiet rebellions of those who refuse to be taken by the darkness. I write to disturb, to inspire, to leave you in stitches, to remind you that we only have one life. Live it to the hilt and wear it gloriously. I want my audience to leave the theater questioning their own resilience and their own defiance. I want them to ask: How do we fight back? How do we carve out space for ourselves in a world that tries to erase us? I am Montserrat Mendez. I am a playwright and filmmaker. And I wield words as weapons to ensure no one is silenced. |
MANIFIESTO ARTÍSTICO
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AWARDS, RECOGNITIONS & "NEAR RECOGNITIONS"
2025
New Jersey State Council for The Arts Finalist Award
Sombraluz O La Presencia
A Game of Cunning
2025
Mid-Atlantic Arts Finalist - 2025
Sombraluz O La Presencia
2024
Finalist
The Democratic Cycle
The Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) and Civis Foundation (a Galvan Initiatives affiliate)
El Fuego Y Su Heredero
2024
People's Theatre Project
Playwright's Unit Fellowship
Sombraluz
2024
Map Fund Grantees
Portal Magic Consensus Time
as part of the Flux Theatre Ensemble
2023
Second Round
Creative Capital Award
A Trial of Spies
2022
Second Round Finalist
Sundance Directors Lab
A Woman of Brooklyn
2021
Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting
A Woman of Brooklyn
Top 20%
2021
Finalist
Spotify Sound Up
LatinX Program
2015
Finalist
Athena List
Chisholm - A Woman of Brooklyn
2008
Outstanding Playwriting Award
New York International Fringe Festival
The Importance of Being Earnest Part Deux:
Thoroughly Stupid Things
2008
Finalist
Orlando Shakespeare Theater
PlayFest
The Importance of Being Earnest Part Deux:
Thoroughly Stupid Things
2008
Finalist (Top 30)
Nicholl Fellowship
A Trial of Spies