MÓNICA SÁNCHEZ
BIO
In 1985 I met my destiny.
When the theatre and I found each other, I recognized at once the complement to my inclinations and susceptibilities: the visual arts and design, the written and spoken word, music and song, movement, gesture, dance, and perhaps most importantly, collaboration.
I discovered that not only was an interdisciplinary approach possible but rather, vital to making the kind of theatre that I was and am drawn to.
I began my journey as an actor with La Compañía de Teatro de Alburquerquea local bilingual company that adapted the classics to a New Mexican milieu as well as creating original work. Soon thereafter I became the founding Theatre Director for Working Classroom , now a 30- year-old arts and social justice non-profit in Albuquerque, NM.
Shortly after I embarked on what would become my life-long vocation as a theatre artist, I picked up stakes from my native New Mexico for a year-long residency with El Teatro Campesino, the theatre actuated by Luís Valdez as part of the nascent civil rights movement led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to unionize farmworkers.
Subsequently I moved to San Francisco where I would hone my acting chops originating numerous roles penned by playwright, Octavio Solís as well as work produced by The Magic Theatre, Campo Santo, Eureka, Word for Word, Daedelus, Thick Description, Intersection for the Arts, The Asian American Theatre Center, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe.
In addition to performance, I worked as a teaching artist with the farmworker youth of Watsonville High School and the diverse student body of Gilroy Community College in the agricultural heart of California’s central valley.
In San José, CA I worked with the nationally acclaimed, award-winning social justice theatre company, Red Ladder ,as part of the inaugural cohort of artists.
In San Francisco I worked with the inner-city youth in the city’s predominantly Latinx Mission District and taught acting to adults at the Asian American Theatre Center.
In 1999, I relocated to Los Angeles, California.
My time in southern California continued to reap countless opportunities to collaborate on original productions and developmental processes with the inspiring Luis Alfaro, Culture Clash, the Latino Theatre Lab, South Coast Repertory, San Diego Repertory, Erik Ehn, Cornerstone Theatre, Shirley Jo Finney, Playwright's Arena, Diane Rodriguez, and Company of Angels, to name a few.
A then-thriving period of developmental support for new work allowed me a multitude of opportunities that (in retrospect) became foundational to my dramaturgical training.
After 20+ years in California, I returned to my native New Mexico.
In 2015, I returned to school seeking to round out a neglected skill set and to engage in a community of others compelled to tell stories and in 2018, I was graduated with distinction from the University of New Mexico with an MFA in Dramatic Writing.
I continue to work, teach and learn as a multi-faceted theatre artist.


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![07122018 Monica Black Mock 02 [IMG_7474]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55fd79_caa6f02735fa4b7bb7f0b3e252eb0bec~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_191,h_235,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/07122018%20Monica%20Black%20Mock%2002%20%5BIMG_7474%5D.jpg)

