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Daniel A. Olivas

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Daniel A. Olivas BIO

Daniel A. Olivas, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, is an award-winning author of nine books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Widely anthologized, Olivas has written on culture and literature for The New York Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, BOMB, and The Guardian.

Olivas’s first full-length play, WAITING FOR GODÍNEZ, was selected for the Playwrights’ Arena Summer Reading Series (2020), and The Road Theatre’s Twelfth Annual Playwrights Festival (2021). The play was also a semi-finalist for the American Blues Theater’s 2021 Blue Ink Playwriting Award. Olivas was selected for Circle X Theatre Company’s inaugural Emerging Playwrights Group to adapt his acclaimed novel, THE BOOK OF WANT (2021). Playwrights' Arena produced his first fully-staged play, WAITING, for a world premiere (2021).

Olivas earned his degree in English literature from Stanford University, and law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. By day he is an attorney and makes his home with his wife in Southern California.

Daniel A. Olivas News


Greenway Arts Alliance to Present WET: A DACAMENTED JOURNEY in October


Greenway Arts Alliance will present WET: A DACAmented Journey written and performed by Alex Alpharaoh and directed by Daphnie Sicre. The production will kick off Greenway’s25th Anniversary Season at Greenway Court Theatre in Los Angeles. Performances begin on October 22 and run to November 13.

Greenway Arts Alliance Presents WET: A DACAmented Journey


Greenway Arts Alliance will present the critically acclaimed WET: A DACAmented Journey written and performed by Alex Alpharaoh and directed by Daphnie Sicre.

Greenway Arts Alliance Announces 25th Anniversary Season & Mohammed Ali Ojarigi As Producing Director


Greenway Arts Alliance has announced its 25th Anniversary Season at Greenway Court Theatre along with the appointment of Mohammed Ali Ojarigi as Producing Director at Greenway Court Theatre.

Photos: First Look at Playwrights' Arena's Production Of WAITING


WAITING is inspired by Samuel Beckett’s iconic play, WAITING FOR GODOT. With humor deeply steeped in Latinx culture, and our country’s anti-immigrant policies, WAITING explores the meaning—and absurdities—of identity and belonging. This is a shorter, pandemic version of the playwright’s full-length play, WAITING FOR GODÍNEZ. 

Playwrights' Arena Announces The Cast of WAITING


Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena – the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights – has announced the cast for WAITING by Daniel A. Olivas, which includes Shanelle Darlene, Valentina Guerra, Amir Levi, and Raul Vega Martinez.

Road Theatre Company Presents Twelfth Annual Summer Playwrights Festival


THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY have announced the Twelfth Annual Summer Playwrights Festival returns to its online format making new plays more accessible than ever.

Circle X Theatre Co. Presents 2021 Evolving Playwrights Group Virtual Reading Series


Culminating its inaugural season, Circle X Theatre Co. will present the reading series from their Evolving Playwrights Group. Five emerging and mid-career playwrights, paired with mentors/playwrights in conversation, were challenged to create the play they were scared to write. This series celebrates those stories.

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