Pictured: Isaac Gomez 

Jump inside the brains of Chicago theater artists as we ask them 10 questions that were in no way inspired by “Inside the Actor’s Studio.”

What’s the one role/show you’ve always wanted to work on that you haven’t yet?

I’m ITCHING to write an adaptation of Three Sisters through the lens of Mexican women. The sisters in that play are SO MEXICAN (Bordertown Mexican) without Chekov even realizing it and I love that about them. I owe my entire existence to Mexican women. And the characters in Three Sisters remind me of them. #NeverMoscow #NeverOaxaca

What current production, besides one of your own, are you most excited about?

I’m really pumped about seeing Monty Cole’s production of Hamlet at the Gift this summer. After seeing first hand what his imaginative and innovative creativity can bring to a classic text (re:Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape at Oracle a few years back), especially through the lens of a Black man in America today, I can’t wait to see what he does with the infamous Prince.

If you couldn’t be in theater, what career would you have chosen?

I have a feeling I’d be a talk show host. It’s my curiosity in people and their stories that really drives me to be a writer, so I don’t think that core characteristic of who I am would disappear if I wasn’t in the theater. And as a Taurus, I’m quick to marry my passion/lifestyle with my work so. That makes sense to me haha.

What quote or saying do people spout but is really complete BS?

Life is what you make of it.

What would you name your boat if you had one?

Hortencia

What will finally break the internet?

White supremacy

What well-known fictional character would be the most boring to meet in real life?

Harry Potter (I love the series but pobresito, he’s not very adventurous and his friends are more interesting than he is)

What is a play or musical that you cannot stand (CATS is not an acceptable answer)?

Anything Goes. Because, like… who cares?

What is a play or musical that you love (CATS is not an acceptable answer)?

Spring Awakening. I have song lyrics tattooed on my body (don’t judge me)

What are you reading, watching or listening to right now?

Reading: A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez, the sun and her flowers by rupi kaur

Watching: Grey’s Anatomy (yes, still), Superstore, This is Us, Insecure, Atlanta

Listening to: “Brain Food” Spotify playlist

Isaac Gomez is a Chicago-based playwright who’s world premiere production THE DISPLACED opens June 6th at Haven Theatre, haventheatrechicago.com.

Originally from El Paso, Texas/Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, His play La Ruta will be receiving its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theater Company this fall. He is currently under commission from South Coast Repertory, the Goodman Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville (Acting Apprentice New Play Commission), The Theatre School at DePaul University (Cunningham Commission for Youth Theater), Sideshow Theater Company, Steep Theatre, Albany Park Theater Project and StepUp Chicago Playwrights. His plays have been supported by Steppenwolf Theater Company, Primary Stages, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Northlight Theatre, Albany Park Theater Project, WaterTower Theater, Haven Theater, Teatro Vista, Greenhouse Theater Center, Jackalope Theater Company, Pivot Arts, Definition Theater Company, Broken Nose Theater, Stage Left, The VORTEX and Something Marvelous. He is the recipient of the 2017 Jeffry Melnick New Playwright Award at Primary Stages, an inaugural 3Arts “Make A Wave” grantee, a member of the 2017-18 Goodman Theatre’s Playwrights Unit, Co-Creative Director at the Alliance of Latinx Theatre, a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists, an Artistic Associate with Victory Gardens Theater, Ensemble Member with Teatro Vista, Artistic Associate with Pivot Arts, Artistic Curator for Theater on the Lake 2018/2019, a steering committee member of the Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC) and a core producer with the Jubilee. He is a Professional Lecturer at The Theatre School at DePaul University, and is represented by The Gersh Agency and Circle of Confusion.