All People
Alvaro Saar Rios HEADSHOT

Alvaro Saar Rios

  • Associate Professor, Playwriting
  • Area Head, Theatre Practices
  • Curator, New Dramaworks Short Play Festival

Education

  • MFA, Writing for Stage & Screen, Northwestern University
  • BA, English-Creative Writing, University of Houston
  • AA, Communications, Houston Community College

Biography

Alvaro Saar Rios’ primary research explores Latinx Theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA), and adaptation. His plays have been staged in New York City, Mexico City, Hawaii, Chicago, Seattle, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and throughout Texas. He has received commissions from leading organizations such as the Kennedy Center, Chicago Children’s Theatre, First Stage, Houston Grand Opera, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Alley Theatre, Purple Rose Theatre Company, Lexington Children’s Theatre, Houston Community College, and the Zoological Society of Milwaukee.

His award-winning works include Luchadora!, On the Wings of a Mariposa, and Carmela Full of Wishes, a stage adaptation of Matt de la Peña’s New York Times bestselling children’s book. Other plays include Piggsville, Alien Menudo, and the superhero adventure Quetzali & The Comic Book Queen vs. The Alebrije of Darkness: Life in the School Cafeteria. Most recently, Alvaro created a new stage adaptation of Pam Muñoz Ryan’s iconic novel Esperanza Rising.

As Head of the BA Practices program, he guides aspiring theatremakers who seek not only to participate in theatre but to shape its future. He founded New Dramaworks, an innovative series designed to introduce undergraduates from diverse academic backgrounds to process of new play development. Through this initiative, he also curates the New Dramaworks Short Play Festival, providing students with hands-on opportunities to create, collaborate, and present original work.  In 2025, his play In Darkness, Audio Flowers Bloom received its world premiere as part of the New Dramaworks series.

alvarosaarrios.com

Recent & Selected Works

Carmela Full of Wishes. Chicago Children's Theatre. Chicago, IL
The Mole Hill Stories. Children's Theatre of Madison. Madison, WI
Luchadora! Cara Mía Theatre Company. Dallas, TX
On The Wings of a Mariposa. First Stage. Milwaukee, WI
Like A Jet-Fueled Mariposa. Teatrx. Houston, TX

Awards

  • Cunningham Commission for Youth Theatre, DePaul University (2025)
  • AATE's Distinguished Play Award—CARMELA FULL OF WISHES (2023)
  • Chicago Dramatists Resident Playwright (2023-2017)
  • AATE's Distinguished Play Award—ON THE WINGS OF A MARIPOSA (2022)
  • Playwright-in-Residence, First Stage (2019)
  • AATE's Distinguished Play Award—LUCHADORA! (2016)
  • UWM's Student Success Award (2015)