Ralph B. Peña

Ralph B. Peña
Born
Manila, Philippines
NationalityFilipino American
Occupation(s)Playwright, theater director, actor, arts administrator
Years active1980s–present
Known forProducing Artistic Director of Ma-Yi Theater Company
Notable workFlipzoids; Tagalog text for The Romance of Magno Rubio
AwardsObie Award – Special Citation (2003)

Ralph B. Peña is a Filipino American playwright, theater director, actor, and arts administrator. He is a founding member and the producing artistic director of Ma-Yi Theater Company, an Off-Broadway company in New York City that develops and produces new works by Asian American playwrights.[1][2] Peña was among the recipients of an Obie Award Special Citation in 2003 associated with Ma-Yi’s production of The Romance of Magno Rubio.[3]

Early life and activism

Peña was born in Manila. In the early 1980s he took part in political street theater during the Marcos era with the University of the Philippines–based troupes UP Tropang Bodabil and, later, UP Peryante, where he served as an early chair.[4] In an interview, Peña recalled helping found the street performance group Bodabil (later renamed Peryante).[5] He later moved to the United States.[6]

Career

Ma-Yi Theater Company

Peña has been Ma-Yi’s artistic leader since the mid‑1990s.[7] Ma‑Yi received a Special Drama Desk Award in 2010 “for more than two decades of excellence and for nurturing Asian‑American voices in stylistically varied and engaging theater.”[8] The company established the Ma‑Yi Writers Lab in 2004; the Dramatists Guild has described it as the largest AAPI playwright collective in the United States.[9]

Playwriting

Peña wrote Flipzoids (first produced in the 1990s), which has been the subject of academic analysis,[10] and he supplied original Filipino (Tagalog) text for Ma‑Yi’s acclaimed staging of Lonnie Carter’s The Romance of Magno Rubio (2002).[11]

Directing

Peña’s directing credits include Off‑Broadway and regional productions:

  • The Chinese Lady (Barrington Stage, Long Wharf Theater, Public Theater/Théatre Row, 2022), by Lloyd Suh.[12][13]
  • Tiger Style! (South Coast Repertory, 2022), by Mike Lew.[14]
  • The Far Country (Yale Repertory Theatre, 2024), by Lloyd Suh.[15][16]
  • SUMO (La Jolla Playhouse/Ma-Yi, 2023, Public Theater/Anspacher, 2025), by Lisa Sanaye Dring (co‑production with Ma‑Yi).[17][18][19]

Earlier in his career he directed Lloyd Suh’s The Children of Vonderly (2007) and Michael Lew’s Microcrisis (2010) for Ma‑Yi.[20][21] Ma‑Yi’s family production The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra GO! (2013) won the 2014 Off‑Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Show.[22]

Writing and advocacy

Peña’s essay “Diversity for Dummies” was published by HowlRound Theatre Commons in 2017 and addresses practical approaches to equity in U.S. theatre institutions.[23] Discussions of his performance work and Filipino diaspora theatre contexts also appear in scholarly literature.[24][25]

Awards and recognition

  • Obie Award, Special Citation (2003), for contributions to The Romance of Magno Rubio production.[26]
  • Special Drama Desk Award (2010), to Ma‑Yi Theater Company for “more than two decades of excellence…”[27]
  • Off‑Broadway Alliance Award, Best Family Show (2014), The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra GO! (La MaMa in association with Ma‑Yi).[28]
  • FAHNS Lifetime Achievement Award, 2016.[29]

Selected works

  • Flipzoids (playwright).[30]
  • The Romance of Magno Rubio (2002) – Tagalog text contributor.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ma-Yi Theater Company Announces 30th Anniversary Season". American Theatre. TCG. June 20, 2019.
  2. ^ "About Ma-Yi Theater Company". Ma-Yi Theater Company. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  3. ^ "2002–2003 Obie Awards". Obie Awards (Village Voice archive). Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  4. ^ Barrios, Joi (September 23, 2022). "Clowns in a Time of Repression". The Margins. Asian American Writers' Workshop.
  5. ^ "Ralph B. Peña". Primary Stages Off-Center. January 26, 2017.
  6. ^ "Elevating Asian-American Voices in American Theater: A Look at Ma-Yi Theater Company". National Endowment for the Arts. May 13, 2021.
  7. ^ "About Ma-Yi Theater Company". Ma-Yi Theater Company. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  8. ^ "Play by Play: Highlights of the Drama Desk Awards". Playbill. May 24, 2010.
  9. ^ "Announcing New Ma-Yi Writers Lab Members". The Dramatist (Dramatists Guild). February 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Lee, Esther Kim (July 29, 2019). "Asian American Theater and Drama from the 1960s to the 1990s". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  11. ^ "The Romance of Magno Rubio". Ma-Yi Theater Company. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  12. ^ Shaw, Helen (March 9, 2022). "Theater Review: "The Chinese Lady," at Theatre Row". The New Yorker.
  13. ^ "Review: The Chinese Lady". New York Theatre Guide. March 9, 2022.
  14. ^ "Review: 'Tiger Style!' roars with comic energy at South Coast Repertory". Orange County Register. May 24, 2022.
  15. ^ "The Far Country". Yale Repertory Theatre. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  16. ^ "Press Room: The Far Country". Yale Repertory Theatre. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  17. ^ "SUMO". The Public Theater. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  18. ^ Holdren, Sara (March 5, 2025). "Sumo Is a Subculture Story That Goes Big". Vulture (New York Magazine).
  19. ^ "'Sumo' review — step into the ring of a hallowed sport". New York Theatre Guide. March 5, 2025.
  20. ^ "The Children of Vonderly". TheaterMania. October 4, 2007.
  21. ^ "Microcrisis". TheaterMania. October 5, 2010.
  22. ^ "Off Broadway Alliance Awards Go to Fun Home, Hand to God, and Saint Joan". Playbill. May 27, 2014.
  23. ^ Peña, Ralph B. (March 25, 2017). "Diversity for Dummies". HowlRound Theatre Commons.
  24. ^ Lee, Esther Kim (July 29, 2019). "Asian American Theater and Drama from the 1960s to the 1990s". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature.
  25. ^ Barrios, Joi (September 23, 2022). "Clowns in a Time of Repression". The Margins. Asian American Writers' Workshop.
  26. ^ "2002–2003 Obie Awards". Obie Awards (Village Voice archive). Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  27. ^ "Play by Play: Highlights of the Drama Desk Awards". Playbill. May 24, 2010.
  28. ^ "Off Broadway Alliance Awards Go to Fun Home, Hand to God, and Saint Joan". Playbill. May 27, 2014.
  29. ^ "Ralph B. Peña receives Lifetime Achievement Award". June 1, 2016.
  30. ^ Lee, Esther Kim (July 29, 2019). "Asian American Theater and Drama from the 1960s to the 1990s". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature.
  31. ^ "The Romance of Magno Rubio". Ma-Yi Theater Company. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
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