Elaine Ávila’s plays are produced in Central America (National Theatre of Panamá, Teatro Lagartija); throughout Canada, (Canadian Centre for Theatre Creation, Theatre SKAM); New York City (Ontological-Hysteric Theatre, Hybrid Theatre Works, Occupy the Empty Space); the US (Trickock Theatre of Albuquerque, Theatre Simple of Seattle); London, England (Tracey Neuls, Nordic Nomad), and now, Lisbon, Portugal (Jardim de Inverno do Teatro São Luiz). Recent plays: Jane Austen, Action Figure, Quality: the Shoe Play, La Frontera/The Border. Selected awards: Victoria Critic’s Circle for Best New Play, Best Production/ Audience Favorite—Festival de Cocos, DISQUIET International Short Play Award, Canada Council (numerous). She has taught in universities from British Columbia to Tasmania, China to Panamá.
Publications: NoPassport Press (Jane Austen Action Figure and other Plays, 2012, in 24 Gun Control Plays edited by Caridad Svich and Zac Kline), Canadian Theatre Review, American Theater, HowlRound, Café Onda, Contemporary Theatre Review, and Lusitania. She is the former Endowed Chair and Head of the MFA Program in Dramatic Writing at the University of New Mexico, founder of the LEAP Playwriting Program at Vancouver’s Arts Club Theater, and currently a Playwrights Theatre Centre Associate in Vancouver, and the Playwright in Residence at Pomona College in Los Angeles. She was recently distinguished as a Notáveis dos Açores (Notable Descendant) for her theatre work by the Government of the Azores, Portugal.
