What's New?

Welcome! I hope you are doing well during these challenging times. Please stay safe and healthy by responsibly social distancing and wearing masks in public. I'm happy to share that I am continuing to program virtual community events and gatherings with New York Theatre Workshop to support artists, audiences, and our local communities. At the moment, I am co-facilitating NYTW's Mind the Gap program, an intergenerational playwriting program that brings elders and teens together. I am also assisting a new free playwriting program co-supported by PENAmerica, National Queer Theatre, and NYTW geared towards Immigrant playwrights. I am also proud to share that I have created with Poetic Theater Productions, their veteran community, and NYTW a new free playwriting seminar for veterans and their families that will begin classes in late April. For virtual resources on COVID-19 and ways to support the Black Lives Matter Movement and speaking against Anti-Asian Violence and Discrimination, please go to NYTW tab above.

Upcoming and Recent:
June 2021. More news on a project with Regina De Vera coming soon. The piece will share work-in-progress from 'Mam Lys, of The Plan and some of my other projects that explore my Filipinx American Identity. It is tentatively planned to be streamed both in New York and Manila time zones.
March 2, 2021. New York Theatre Workshop held its virtual gala celebrating the 25th Anniversary of RENT. I hosted the after-party virtual trivia room!
January & February 2021. Illustrated the limited edition art for the 25th Anniversary of RENT at New York Theatre Workshop!

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My name is Gaven, rhymes with "Raven"...

He/him/his. I am a brown queer Asian American theatremaker based in New York City. I have experience with new play development, production dramaturgy, audience engagement, direction, and arts administration. I am a globally conscious and interdisciplinary artist who believes that theatre is a transformative tool for underrepresented communities to imagine and create radically new inclusive worlds. I continue to work closely with LGBTQIA+ community leaders, artists with disabilities, and international artists whose work focus on Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity, and Belonging (EDIB) Initiatives. I believe in an artistic collaborative process that centers on feminist and queer concepts of radical compassion, love, empathy, and community-building. I advocate for LGBTQIA+ and feminist issues, mental health awareness, inclusive accessible theatre, and advancement of diverse representation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) people on and off U.S. stages. I have had the honor to intern and work at various companies in various artistic, administrative, and dramaturgical positions: The Juilliard School Drama Division, Musical Theatre Factory, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, New York Theater Workshop, Ma-Yi Theatre, the TEAM, Playhouse on the Square (Memphis, TN), and Bremen Schaulspielhaus. B.A. American Studies, Dickinson College; M.F.A. Dramaturgy, University of Massachusetts Amherst; and graduate certificate of Advanced Feminist Studies from the UMass Amherst Women, Gender, and Sexualities Department. I am also a proud former teacher of Teach for America's Memphis Corps from 2012 to 2014. I recently completed a year-long professional apprenticeship in the Drama Division at The Juilliard School. I currently reside with my 10-year-old dog Ripley in the East Village. I am the Community Engagement Associate at New York Theatre Workshop.