Peck School of the Arts theatre faculty member Alvaro Saar Rios (Associate Professor, Theatre) has been awarded the 2025 Cunningham Commission for Youth Theatre by The Theatre School at DePaul University.
Rios, a Texican playwright based in Chicago, has had his work produced in Chicago, New York City, Mexico City, Hawaii, and throughout Texas. His plays include Luchadora! and Quetzali & Comic Book Queen vs. The Alebrije of Darkness. He also recently adapted Pam Muñoz Ryan’s novel Esperanza Rising for Milwaukee’s First Stage.
Through the Cunningham Commission, Rios will write a new play titled How to Catch an Alebrije. The story follows a group of eighth-grade friends searching for a mythical creature they believe can grant them one wish. Rios will develop the piece over the next year in collaboration with the Cunningham Commission Selection Committee and faculty at The Theatre School.
Dr. Ali-Reza Mirsajadi, chair of the Cunningham Commission Selection Committee and artistic director of Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences, praised the project.
“How to Catch an Alebrije captures the excitement and whimsy of childhood imagination at the intersection of Mexican culture and folk art,” Mirsajadi said. “Rios’s piece questions humanity’s relationship to power and control in a world where we coexist in balance with nature, creatures, and dreams.”
Rios reflected on the honor, noting his past experiences working with DePaul’s Chicago Playworks.
“Each experience left a strong impression on me, thanks to the talented performers, designers, and directors,” he said. “This play aims to incorporate puppetry, and I have no doubt that everyone involved will showcase the same creativity they brought to my previous works.”
At UW-Milwaukee, Rios serves as Associate Professor of Theatre and head of the Theatre Practices BA program, through which he mentors aspiring theatremakers who hope to contribute to and change theatre. He is also the creator of New Dramaworks, a Peck School of the Arts series introducing undergraduates to the craft of new play development.