how to make An American Son

A “Model Immigrant” and business mogul, Honduran born Mando’s cleaning empire is bracing for a downturn and he must rein in his over-privileged American son Orlando — who is living large on his dime. To teach him a lesson, he puts Orlando on the floor with the cleaning team, but in the wake of a personal gay-bashing, Orlando suddenly finds himself responsible for the fate of a treasured undocumented worker and the future of his father’s entire enterprise. A play about the complexities of privilege, status, sexual identity and legal status within a newly wealthy immigrant family.

christopher oscar peña on how to make An American Son

“i wrote this play because immigrants were sold the ideal of the american dream. but i look around and realize that racism and hatred are so deeply ingrained into the fabric of who we are that rapists sit in the highest seats of government, children are separated from their parents simply because they are brown, and black kids get shot up on the street by those meant to protect them. THIS is what we’re supposed to be proud of? what a time to be an american.”

Christopher Oscar Peña

christopher oscar peña is a writer originally from California, now residing in Harlem and LA.

His work has been developed or seen at the Goodman Theater, Public Theater, Two River Theater, INTAR, Ontological Hysteric Incubator, Playwrights Realm, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Old Vic, Theater For a New City, Orchard Project, Naked Angels, The Flea Theater and New York Theatre Workshop, among many others.

A two time Sundance Institute Theater Fellow (2015 Theater Lab Fellow with awe/struck, 2014 UCross Fellow), he has also held Fellowships with the Lark Play Development Center (2014 Playwrights Workshop Fellow, 2012-2013 Van Lier Fellow) was a recipient of the Latino Playwrights Award (Kennedy Center), an NYTW Emerging Artist Fellow, Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow, and was a part of the US/UK Exchange (Old Vic New Voices).

The Clarence Brown Theatre, where he’s currently playwright-in-residence, commissioned and will produce the world premiere of his play “The Strangers” in their 2017/18 season. He is also working on a new play, “How to Make an American Son” commissioned by Yale Rep.

He’s a proud member of New Dramatists, an Artistic Patriot at Merrimack Rep, was named one of “The 1st Annual Future Broadway Power List” by Backstage, and was a writer on the Golden Globe nominated, debut season of the CW show, “Jane the Virgin.” His work is published through NoPassport Press and Smith and Krauss. He teaches playwriting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is represented by Heroes and Villains and CAA. In television he has written for Jane the Virgin – CW, Insecure – HBO – (as well as recurring on screen as “Gary”), and Sweetbitter – STARZ.  Currently, he writes for the upcoming Freeform show Motherland: Fort Salem, and is developing an original series based on Stephen King’s Joyland.

B.A. UC Santa Barbara / M.F.A. NYU-Tisch School of the Arts