Alex Torra

“My theatre is one of celebration, often displaying humans at their most remarkable. In working with performers, I am on the hunt for their ‘superpowers’—be it their connection with audience, their physical ability, or comedic sensibilities—and I attempt to find frameworks for their virtuosity.”

Alex Torra’s ensemble-created, experimental performance work blends theater, dance, and music and invites audiences to consider the complexities of contemporary cultural identity, community, and humanity. He describes his creative process as highly collaborative and credits his “community-oriented upbringing” in a Cuban American family as a key influence on his interest in creating “an opportunity for communion” through his work. Torra’s most recent production, ¡BIENVENIDOS BLANCOS! or WELCOME WHITE PEOPLE!, is a Spanish-language performance work that examines American privilege and the relationship between Cuba and the US, supported by a 2016 Center grant. In 2014, Torra launched an ambitious performance experiment titled The Sincerity Project, in which the same seven-person ensemble gathers every two years for 24 years to create a long-term, structured performance. He is co-founder and resident director of theater group Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, for which he has directed and co-created six theater pieces since 2010. As an associate artist with Pig Iron Theatre Company, Torra collaborated on Center-funded projects including Chekhov Lizardbrain and Welcome to Yuba City. He has been honored with a 2007 Princess Grace Award, a 2007 Oregon Shakespeare Festival Directing Fellowship, and a 2006 Drama League Directing Fellowship. He received his MFA in directing from Brown University.