José
Casas is a playwright and
associate professor who heads the playwriting minor program at the University
of Michigan. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild as well as a board member
of Children’s Theatre Foundation of America. He has a bachelor’s degree in
dramatic arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara; a master’s
degree in theatre arts from California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA);
and an MFA in playwriting from Arizona State University. His plays include la rosa grows beyond the
wall, all brown all chingon, aDoBe, a million whispers all
at once, the vine, la ofrenda, somebody’s children and
Flint. His work has been included in a number of anthologies such as The
Bully Plays, Ethnodrama: An Anthology of Reality Theatre and Theatre
for Youth II: More Plays With Mature Themes. His published work includes la
ofrenda, 14, somebody’s children and Palabras del Cielo:
An Exploration of Latina/o Theatre for Young Audiences, which was awarded
the AATE Distinguished Book Award. His plays la ofrenda and somebody’s
children were awarded both the Bonderman National Playwriting Award and the
AATE Distinguished Play Award.
