Luis Alfaro works in theater, performance, poetry, and journalism. A Chicano born and raised in the Pico-Union district of downtown Los Angeles, he is tenured at the University of Southern California. Alfaro is the first playwright-in-residence in the history of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, serving for six seasons. Previously, he was a resident artist at the Mark Taper Forum for ten years.

Recent work includes; Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles presented at Victory Gardens, Oregon Shakespeare, Portland Center Stage, Getty Villa; St. Jude presented at Victory Gardens, Kirk Douglas Theatre; Oedipus El Rey presented at Public Theatre, Victory Gardens, Dallas Theatre Center, Magic Theatre, Boston Court, Woolly Mammoth, Milagro; Electricidad presented at Goodman, Mark Taper Forum, over 30 productions; Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner presented at Oregon Shakespeare, Hartford Stage; and Black Butterfly presented at Mark Taper Forum, Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Museum.


Alfaro has performed his solo work across the United States and in England and Mexico, including Institute of Contemporary Art London, Getty Center, Boston Center for the Arts, Hirshhorn Museum, and X-Teresa Performance Space Mexico City. He has an award-winning PBS short film, Chicanismo, and spoken-word recording, downtown, on New Alliance Records.