Mando Alvarado
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Mando Alvarado is an American playwright, screenwriter and actor originally from
Pharr, Texas Pharr is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 79,715, and in 2022, the estimated population was 80,187. Pharr is connected by bridge to the Mexican city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Pharr is ...
. At age nine, his father died. He grew up with two younger brothers and describes himself as a bully towards them in their younger years. He first got involved with theater in middle school, when his Drama teacher told him he would need to take a role in a production to pass the class. Alvarado's first play-writing experience was a monologue inspired by Luis Valdez's ''
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'', particularly
Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective List of Blade Runner (franchise) characters#Gaff, Gaff in ''Blade Runner'' (1982) and its sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017), Lieuten ...
' character El Pachuco. His first full-length play was written after he first moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, while he worked a temp-job in Midtown. After a reading with Raúl Castillo in a
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bar, Alvarado decided focus his career on writing.


Education and career


Theater

Alvarado is a graduate of the
University of North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is a public art school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants a high school diploma, in addition to both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina Sc ...
, as well as a member of Rising Phoenix Rep, alum of INTAR's Hispanic-Playwright-in-Residence Laboratory 2006 – 2008 and a member of
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writer's group. During his residency, Alvarado wrote two plays, both of which premiered off-Broadway: ''Post No Bills'', which premiered at the
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Rattlestick Theater is a non-profit off-Broadway theater based in the West Village, New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United S ...
in 2009 and ''Basilica'' which premiered at the Cherry Lane Theater in 2013. In between these two works, Alvarado's play ''Sangre'' premiered in 2011 at NYC Summerstages. In 2015, Alvarado premiered ''Parachute Men'' at the Latina/o Theatre Commons' ''Carnaval of New Latina/o Work'', which was hosted by
The Theatre School at DePaul University The Theatre School at DePaul University, previously the Goodman School of Drama (also known as TTS and GSD, respectively) is the drama school of DePaul University. Originally associated with the Goodman Theatre, its first class was conducted at ...
. He described ''Parachute Men'' as something "really personal" to him, written about himself and his brothers and "'a kind of asking for forgiveness' play that deals with manhood and the lack of motherly love." Although the play was inspired by his own history, Alvarado felt his characters needed to, "live and breathe on their own," not reflect the personalities of himself or his brothers. While Alvarado considers himself Mexican-American, he does not see his work as addressing Mexican American or Chicano issues. Instead, he sees his writing as addressing family issues and believes that his work, in a vacuum, speaks to the American experience broadly.


Film and television

Alvarado has also worked in film and television, appearing in shows such as '' Law and Order'', ''
The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...
'' and ''
Nurse Jackie ''Nurse Jackie'' is an American medical comedy-drama television series that aired on Showtime from June 8, 2009, to June 28, 2015. Set in New York City, the series follows Jackie Peyton ( Edie Falco), a drug-addicted emergency department nurse ...
''. Additionally, he has written for FX's series
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, receiving credit for the teleplay of
Season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album by Unk, 2008 * "Season 2", a song by Phoenix from ''Alpha Zulu ''Alpha Zulu'' is the seventh studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released on 4 ...
episode ''Desert Storm''. His 2009 film ''Cruzando'', which he co-wrote, directed, produced and starred in, was screened at the HBO New York International Latino Film Festival,
Newport Beach International Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival had permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival bega ...
, and London Latino International Film Festival. Further, ''Cruzando'' was awarded at the Mexican International Film Festival,
San Antonio Film Festival The San Antonio Film Festival (SAFILM) was founded in 1994 by Adam Rocha as a video festival. It was later renamed the San Antonio Underground Film Festival and then finally the San Antonio Film Festival. It is now the biggest film festival in So ...
and Seattle True Independent Film Festival. ''Cruzando'' is the story of 26 year old Manny, a resident of
Monterrey, Mexico Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
and father to be, who embarks on a journey to see his father for the last time before he is to be executed in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.


Personal life

Alvarado is a father and currently lives in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. Although writing has taken a backseat to parenting, he tries to write at least an hour a day.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarado, Mando People from Pharr, Texas Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights Hispanic and Latino American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Texas University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni American male dramatists and playwrights American writers of Mexican descent 21st-century American male writers American male actors of Mexican descent