PLEASE NOTE THAT THE WEBSITE IS UNDERGOING A REDESIGN & UPDATING
RECENT AND CURRENT PROJECTS
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Mercury Makes the Skin Glow's Development2026 exploded with momentum for Mercury Makes the Skin Glow. A star-studded developmental reading hit Manila in January, which was made possible by Leviathan Lab, Ariel Estrada, and Nacho Tambunting! It was then followed by a New York industry reading in March featuring a talented Filipino and Filipino American performers, directed by award-winning theatre maker Roger Q. Mason.
2025, finalist for Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference 2025, finalist for Bay Area Playwrights Festival |
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Learning How to Read by Moonlight FundraiserLearning How to Read by Moonlight earned a critically acclaimed world premiere in Boston in 2025, produced by CHUANG Stage and Company One. In March 2026, the original New York workshop team reunited to read the play as a fundraiser for the Adult English Language Program for Immigrant Adults at University Settlement in the Lower East Side. The play continues to activate communities and honor New York City's immigrant legacy. The reading was directed by Nicholas Polonio, with special guest narrator Baba Isreal.
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Memories in My Bones Summer DevelopmentThis summer, I will join New York Stage & Film as a resident artist of Leviathan Lab to develop my new one-man show, Memories in My Bones. A Filipino American performer embodies two men, a century apart: a great-grandfather surviving immigrant life in 1900s Watsonville, California, and a great-grandson who joins a federal agency to demolish his own immigrant community in present-day Mountain Home, Arkansas. How do one man's choices echo through generations?
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Directing Ariel Estrada's Full ContactIn November & December 2025, I directed the New York premiere of Ariel Estrada's Full Contact as part of its rolling world premiere. A gripping true story of survival from a martial arts cult Estrada belonged to for nearly two decades, the play ran for two electrifying weeks at TheatreLab in midtown Manhattan.
"Director Gaven D. Trinidad has the task of taking this beautiful rage, this sinuous grace, and guiding it in its fierceness to the loudest cork pop of the most exquisite champagne. Trinidad’s almost feverishly kinetic staging refuses to permit Estrada even a moment’s repose; instead, it propels him through the performance space in an unbroken cascade of motion, as though his very body were the battleground upon which past and present collide." - Tony Marinelli, TheatreScene.net |
RECENT PRESS & REVIEWS
ABOUT ME
Photo by Adam Fontana, 2024
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My name is Gaven (rhymes with "raven"). I use the pronouns they and he. I am a brown, first-generation, gender non-conforming Filipino American theatre maker based in New York City, and I bring a deep commitment to storytelling that centers Asian American, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and neurodiverse voices. I actively work as a playwright, director, dramaturg, and arts administrator. I bring a diverse professional background, having served in artistic, administrative, and dramaturgical roles at esteemed organizations like The Juilliard School Drama Division, Musical Theatre Factory, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, and Roundabout Theatre Company, among others. My original work has been developed or produced by a number of companies, including Leviathan Lab, The Shelter NYC, Orchard Project, Company One, and CHUANG Stage. I’m a current member and co-facilitator of Ma-Yi Writers Lab. As an artist living with Bipolar Disorder, I’m dedicated to fostering responsible and empathetic representation of mental health and neurodiversity on and off the stage. I advocate for inclusive mental health awareness, suicide prevention, and trauma-informed healing, and I strive to create spaces that uplift and support underrepresented voices in culturally meaningful ways. After almost 6 years at New York Theatre Workshop, I joined Signature Theatre Company as its full time Marketing Manager of Audience and Community Engagement. Outside of the theatre, I love boxing, traveling to the countryside, and discovering new food places in NYC.
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As the child of immigrants, born and raised in a vibrant NYC immigrant community, I know firsthand the power of support and solidarity. I invite you to consider donating to these three incredible organizations—each providing vital guidance, medical care, and essential resources to those who need them most domestically and internationally. Your generosity can make a real difference in the lives of individuals and families striving for safety, stability, and a brighter future.