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Jerry Ruiz is an American theatre director.
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Jerry Ruiz is an American theatre director.
Jerry Ruiz grew up in Brownsville, Texas. Ruiz identifies as a Texican. [1] Ruiz graduated from college with honors, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Language from Harvard University in 2000. [2] In 2007, he obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the University of California, San Diego. [3]
From 2010-2015, Ruiz collaborated with the Two River Theater Company, acting as curator for the new play festival Crossing Rivers. [4] In 2010, Ruiz directed Kiss Bessemer Goodbye at Repertorio Español, a play written by Tencha Ávila, which demonstrates the racial and economic tensions of a Mexican-American family living in Colorado in the 1970s. [5] In 2011, he began working with playwrights Tanya Saracho and Mando Alvarado, directing readings and productions of their plays in NYC. Jerry Ruiz was one of the directors of the New York One-Minute Play Festival of Latino Voices that took place in November 2013. [6] In 2014, he was invited to direct In the Heights, by Lin-Manuel Miranda, at the University of Texas at Austin. [7] Ruiz is the former Executive Director at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Ruiz's vision at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center was to help those that identify as Latino, Chicano, or Mexican-American to examine what it means to belong to these groups. [8] In 2016, Ruiz was named Associate Artistic Director at PlayMakers Repertory Company [9] In 2018, he became an Assistant Professor at Texas State University, where he heads the Directing program. [10]
Plays as Director:
Plays as Assistant Director:
Notable awards and fellowships:
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