Elisa Bocanegra is Producing Artistic Director of Hero Theatre, a company she formed with the help of her mentor Olympia Dukakis. Most recently she produced Festival Irene, Celebrating the Legacy of Cuban-American playwright María Irene Fornés. Bocanegra is also an accomplished stage actress who has performed at major theaters around the U.S. Most recently she was named one of TCG’s Leadership U grant recipients, a grant awarded to visionary leaders in the field. Please visit Hero Theatre for more information about her work.

María Irene Fornés is a Cuban-American playwright and director, a leading figure of the Off-Off-Broadway movement. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize with her play And What of the Night? Other notable works include Fefu and Her Friends, Mud, Sarita, and Letters from Cuba. Fornés is revered in both Hispanic-American and experimental theatre, winning a total of nine Obie Awards.