About the Panelists

Luis Alfaro is a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” grant and an assistant professor at the USC School of Dramatic Arts. He has served as director of new play development at the Mark Taper Forum and co-director of the Latino Theatre Initiative. His work in multiple mediums includes an award-winning spoken word CD and PBS short film, Chicanismo, and the playsBruja, Oedipus El Rey, and Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles.

David Bridel serves as the interim dean for the USC School of Dramatic Arts. He is also the director of the MFA in Acting Program and associate professor of theatre practice. He is an award-winning director, playwright, performer, author, choreographer, and teacher of acting, movement, and clowning. He is the author of the plays I Gelosi and Sublimity and the book Clowns: In Conversation with Modern Masters. Bridel is also an associate director of the Four Clowns theatre company and the founding and artistic director of The Clown School.

Mar Gómez Glez is an award-winning Spanish playwright and novelist living and working in the United States. She is the author of the novels La Edad Ganada and Cambio de sentido, the children’s book Acebedario, and numerous plays and short stories. Her plays, including Wearing Lorca’s Bowtie and 39 Defaults, have been performed in Spain and the United States. She is a lecturer in Spanish and Portuguese at USC Dornsife.

Oliver Mayer (moderator) is an associate professor of dramatic writing at the USC School of Dramatic Arts and faculty master at Parkside International Residential College. A native of Los Angeles, he is the author of 30 plays, including The Sinner from Toledo, adapted from a little-known Chekhov story; Members Only, the sequel to his groundbreaking Blade to the Heat; andBlood Match.