Sol Project Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón interviews playwright Charise Castro Smith and director Laurie Woolery about their Fall 2018 Sol Project production of El Huracán at Yale Repertory Theater, their artistic and professional journeys as Latinx women in the performing arts, and the power of artistry for community.

Charise Castro Smith is a playwright, television writer, and actor originally from Miami. She is a recipient of a Van Lier Fellowship at New Dramatists and is an alumna of Ars Nova’s Play Group and The New Georges Jam. She holds an MFA from Yale School of Drama.

Laurie Woolery is a director, playwright, educator, facilitator, producer and is currently the Director of Public Works at The Public Theater, an initiative that seeks to engage the people of New York by making them creators and not just spectators. Learn more about Laurie and her work at www.lauriewoolery.com.

Jacob G. Padrón is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Sol Project and Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut. He has previously worked on the artistic staff at The Public Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He is also on faculty at Yale School of Drama where he teaches artistic producing in the graduate theater management program.Originally from Gilroy, California, Padrón is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University (BA) and Yale School of Drama (MFA).

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// Music by Megumi Katayama, recording by Laura Cornwall, editing by Daniela Hart.