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Playwright Juan C. Sanchez

Introduction to Juan Sanchez. 1:29 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Video Editing & Production: Nyari Ng. Recorded via Zoom: 9/2/2020, Miami.

JUAN C. SANCHEZ is a Cuban-born playwright who’s been living in Miami since he was seven years old. His work includes the immersive productions of Miami Motel Stories: Little Havana directed by Tamilla Woodard; Miami Motel Stories: MiMo directed by Mia Rovegno; Wynwood Stories directed by Tai Thompson; and Miami Motel Stories: North Beach directed by Ana Margineanu and Tai Thompson — all commissioned and produced by Juggerknot Theatre Company.

Other plays include A Grey Divide produced by Postcard Theatre in North England; Marea Roja at Teatro MALI in Peru; Buck Fever, directed by JD Carter and produced by Terranova Collective in New York; Red Tide; Buck Fever; and A Bearded Lover — all directed by Margaret M. Ledford for The Promethean Theatre; Property Line, directed by Ricky J. Martinez at New Theatre and South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center; Paradise Motel, developed by Mangrove Creative Collective, directed by Margaret M. Ledford and produced by Miami Theater Center; Catherine’s Wheel, directed by Michael Yawney at FIU’s Alternative Roots Festival; Beer & Cigarettes: The Comeback of Connie Lingus, written in collaboration with David Hemphill for Project [Theatre] and directed by Hemphill, as part of the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Miami Made Festival; and Big Al, directed by Christian Coulson at The Tank in NY for {Your Name Here} A Queer Theatre Company.

Sanchez has been the recipient of three Playwright Development Program grants from the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council to workshop plays with recognized playwrights A.R. Gurney, Leslie Ayvazian, Eduardo Machado, and Sheri Wilner. He has also been awarded the Florida Department of State’s Individual Artist Fellowship.

The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 7 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

Introduction to Miami Motel Stories. 3:29 min.

DEVELOP A VOICE: 3:17 min.

Where did you grow up, and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

STRONG DRIVE FOR ACHIEVEMENT: 0:50 sec.

Though you immigrated to Miami from Cuba, you speak unaccented English. Did you make a conscious effort to do so, or was It a natural result of being young?

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 6:26 min.

Did you attend a progressive high school that inspired you to become a playwright?

DEVELOP A VOICE: 4:38 min.

Where did you go to school and what did you learn that still informs you today?

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 6:08 min.

Talk about the steps that led to the first production of one of your plays, and the arc of your career after that.

EMPATHY: 2:00 min.

In “Motel Stories North Beach” there are several characters that are Hasidic Jews. How did you get comfortable creating ultra-religious Jewish characters?

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 3:17 min.