Saint Paul, MN

J. Isabel Salazar

She/Her
browngrl@gmail.com

A Tejana playwright, dramaturg, and photographer. My theatrical language comes from rusty dirt and technicolor skies, complex women disrupting time, communities wrestling with impossible dreams, and the unpredictability in witnessing and memory. Creating new mythologies and narratives for BIPOC women and LGBTQIA+ communities empowers us to be masters or destroyers of our own destiny, where we can challenge and question our own roles in society and history. As a dramaturg, I am passionate about discovery through process and devising, facilitating productive and constructive dialogue and collaboration, and getting to the heart of connection. Within my photography, I use tension, heighten realism, and my own body to create stories of mystery, danger, and connection to personal trauma and a search for self.

MFA: Writing for Performance, California Institute of the Arts. Residencies & Fellowships: Many Voices Fellow 2025-2027: Playwrights’ Center, F.A.I.R.: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Playwright Observer: Eugene O’Neil Theatre Center, Core Member: The Orchard Project, and Playwrights Group: Hyde Park Theatre. Awards: Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival - Latinidad Playwriting Award, Frontera Fest Best of the Week and Best of Fest; semi-finalist for the Prince Grace Awards - Theatre, National Playwrights Conference, the Goodman Theatre New Stages Residency, and the Bay Area Playwrights Foundation. Playwriting and Dramaturgy: Mixed Blood: Equitable Dinners, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Frontera Fest, TimeLine Theatre, ScriptWorks, Austin Latinx New Play Festival, The Story Theatre, and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and performer for Harry Gamboa, Jr.