Professor Dr. Emilio Rodriguez

Biography

Emilio Rodriguez is a theatre artist who began his career at age 2, performing one-kid adaptations of The Wizard of Oz in his parents’ living room using a broom, funnel, and his mother’s high heels. He earned a degree in theatre from the University of California, Irvine, and went on to pursue acting, directing, and playwriting. He has taught Acting and Playwriting at Kalamazoo College, Michigan Actors Studio, and the Detroit Institute of Music Education. Emilio has directed theatre companies such as Shakespeare Detroit, Muses Theatre, and Black and Brown Theatre, where he currently serves as the Artistic Director. His play Swimming in Drowning was featured in the anthology Scenes from Latinx Actors: Voices of the New American Theatre and has been professionally produced in cities like Dallas, Houston, Austin, Portland, Minneapolis, Ann Arbor, and Puerto Vallarta. Other works include Mamacita, which was performed at Planet Ant Theatre as part of the Austin New Latino Play Festival and has been selected for the Lark Playwrights’ Week in New York. Emilio's latest play, God Kinda Looks Like Tupac, premiered at Theatre Nova in Ann Arbor in the summer. He was selected as a guest playwright for the 2017 Theatre Kalamazoo Festival and participated in the 2019 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Midwest Region. In 2018, he received the Kresge Playwriting Award and the Robert Chesley/Victor Bumbalo LGBT Playwriting Award.

Research Interests