REAL-WORLD THEATRE Speaker Series

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ALEX RIAD – Playwright

Alex, an Egyptian-American writer based in New York City, was our speaker in March 2024. He enjoyed speaking with students at Durango High School, Animas High School and Fort Lewis College. His play, “Heartbeat,” premiered at the 2023 Durango PlayFest. He has been a part of The Lark’s Middle Eastern Writers Lab, a Literary Fellow at The Farm Theater, a member of The Actor’s Studio Playwright Unit, a Lila Acheson Wallace American playwriting fellow at The Juilliard School, and is currently under commission at the Atlantic Theater Company via the Judith Champion Launch Commission Program. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School.

SKY LAKOTA-LYNCH – Actor

An actor of Native American and Ethiopian descent, Sky served as the first speaker in PlayFest’s REAL-WORLD THEATRE speaker series in April 2023, where he spoke to students at Fort Lewis College, Animas High School, and the cast of FLC’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.”

Sky is starring as Johnny Cade in the Broadway musical, “The Outsiders.” He’s received both Tony and Grammy nominations for his role. He made his Broadway debut as Jared Kleinman in the Tony-winning “Dear Evan Hansen.” At the 2021 Durango PlayFest, he starred with actor Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years, Lombardi) in Pulitzer-nominated playwright Lee Blessing’s play, “The Family Line.” He graduated from The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City.


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