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Montserrat Mendez
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Montserrat Méndez: Writer. Director. Professional Troublemaker.
Born in Rincon, Puerto Rico, raised on Jersey grit, and baptized in the raw, unfiltered chaos of New York’s indie theater scene. Mozzie's play The Importance of Being Earnest Part Deux: Thoroughly Stupid Things won Outstanding Playwriting at FringeNYC 2008. His chamber musical El Fuego Y Su Heredero, centered on Lolita Lebrón’s armed uprising in the U.S. Capitol, was a finalist for the Perelman PAC’s 2024 Democratic Cycle. Also in, 2024, Mozz joined the Playwrights Unit at The People’s Theatre, where he developed Sombraluz, later named a Terrence McNally/Rattlestick New Works Incubator Finalist and recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Grant. A Creative Partner with Flux Theatre Ensemble, he’s developed Rebecca Roman Redd at the Most Dangerous Hour, A Full-Blown Horror Story, and the upcoming Portal Project, a Flux company-devised piece about the Pandemic that received a MAP Fund grant. On the screen side, his screenplay A Trial of Spies—about the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg—was a Top Ten Finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Upcoming Film Projects - A Game of Cunning and Zone of Death. Dramatists Guild member. Retro Productions company artist. Creative Partner - Flux Theatre Ensemble Instagram: @TheRicanteur Website: MontserratMendez.com |
Montserrat Méndez: Dramaturgo. Director. Alborotador Profesional.
Nacido en Rincón, Puerto Rico, criado con la determinación de Jersey y bautizado en el caos puro y sin filtros de la escena del teatro independiente de Nueva York. La obra de Mozzie The Importance of Being Earnest Part Deux: Thoroughly Stupid Things ganó el premio a Dramaturgia Sobresaliente en FringeNYC 2008. Su musical de cámara El Fuego Y Su Heredero, centrado en el alzamiento armado de Lolita Lebrón en el Capitolio de los EE. UU., fue finalista del Ciclo Democrático 2024 del Perelman PAC. También en 2024, Mozz se unió a la Unidad de Dramaturgos de The People's Theatre, donde desarrolló Sombraluz, luego nombrada finalista del Terrence McNally/Rattlestick New Works Incubator y receptora de una beca del Consejo de Artes del Estado de Nueva Jersey. Como Socio Creativo de Flux Theatre Ensemble, ha desarrollado Rebecca Roman Redd at the Most Dangerous Hour, A Full-Blown Horror Story, y el próximo Portal Project, una obra creada en conjunto por la compañía Flux sobre la pandemia que recibió una beca del MAP Fund. En el ámbito cinematográfico, su guion A Trial of Spies —sobre el juicio de Julius y Ethel Rosenberg— fue uno de los diez finalistas de la Beca Nicholl para Guionistas. Próximos proyectos de cine: A Game of Cunning y Zone of Death. Miembro del Dramatists Guild. Artista de la compañía Retro Productions. Socio Creativo - Flux Theatre Ensemble. Instagram: @TheRicanteur Sitio web: MontserratMendez.com |
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
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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" & RESIDENCIES
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2025
Cry-Havoc Theatre Company Playlist 2025 - Cover to Cover 2025 Redbull Short Play Festival Finalist Viva Puerto Rico Libre! 2025 Terrence McNally New Works Incubator at Rattlestick SemiFinalist Sombraluz O La Presencia 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 |
