Photo by Emma Pratte. Artwork on left by Erick Ledesma. Artwork on right by Orlando Quevedo.
ABOUT QUIARA
Quiara Alegría Hudes is the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Water By the Spoonful; author of a memoir, My Broken Language; and screenwriter of the animated film Vivo. She wrote the script for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical In the Heights and the screenplay for its feature film adaptation. Her essays have appeared in The Nation, The Cut, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and American Theater Magazine. In opposition of the carceral state, Hudes and her cousin founded Emancipated Stories, helping people behind bars share one page of their life story with the world. She has keynoted alongside Gabriela Sanchez on the joys and madness of a Philly Rican sisterhood in theater.
ON MUSIC. Originally trained as a composer and pianist, Hudes naturally incorporates music into her writing process. She has collaborated with renowned musicians including Nelson Gonzalez, Michel Camilo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Erin McKeown, Alex Lacamoire, The Cleveland Orchestra, and Bill Sherman.
ON MENTORS. Hudes inherits teachings from matrilineal mentors including her aunt Linda Hudes who composed music for the Big Apple Circus for 20 years and taught her piano; Paula Vogel that monster of mischievous theatrical form who taught her playwriting; and Virginia Sanchez, her mom and a recognized Santera and shaman who taught her about the spiritual legacy of a Taína-Lukumí-Boricua. Are music, writing, and spirit teachable? Yes, just like lungs are born knowing how to breathe, but can learn new ways to integrate breath through musculature, observation, and practice.
INTERVIEWS
PLAYBILL * PEN AMERICA * HIP LATINA * LATINA TO LATINA PODCAST * THE NEW YORKER * GUERNICA MAGAZINE * BROADWAY.COM * THE BROOKLYN RAIL * THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE LA TIMES * A FRAME * DALLAS MORNING NEWS * 50 PLAYWRIGHTS PROJECT * THE INTERVAL * WESLEYAN MAGAZINE
SELECT HONORS
Pulitzer Prize in Drama * One Book, One Philadelphia * Tony Award for Best Musical * Pulitzer Finalist in Drama (twice) * Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical * Andrew Carnegie Medal Longlist * The Athenaeum of Philadelphia Literary Prize * Joyce Fellowship * USA Artists Fellowship * Ceiba Award * Pennsylvania Governor’s Award * HOLA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting * Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical * Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Musical * Puerto Rican Day Parade Grand Marshall (NYC & Philly) * Best Musical, New York Magazine * Best of 2021: Bookpage, New York Public Library, NPR, National Book Review & more * Best of 2007, New York Times * Aetna New Voices Fellowship * Clauder Prize