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{{short description|American dramatist}}
{{short description|American dramatist}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Essay-like|date=September 2023}}
{{Very long|date=September 2023}}
}}


{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
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== Early life ==
== Early life ==
Tanya Selene Saracho<ref name="Meridians 2006">{{cite journal |author1=Sobeira Latorre |author2=Joanna L. Mitchell |title=Performing the ''Generic Latina'': A Conversation with ''Teatro Luna'' |journal=Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |volume=7 |issue=1 |year=2006 |pages=19–37 |jstor=40338715 }}</ref> was born in {{lang|es|[[Los Mochis]], [[Sinaloa]]|italic=no}}, Mexico,<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01">{{cite news |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Tanya+Saracho+catching+the+wheel%3a+a+Mexico-born+play+wright+steps...-a0254687463 |title=Tanya Saracho catching the wheel: a Mexico-born play wright steps boldly from ''Teatro Luna'' into Chicago's larger scene. |author=Kerry Reid |work=[[American Theatre (magazine)|American Theatre]] |date=April 1, 2011 |access-date=December 21, 2018 |via=[[The Free Library]] }}</ref><ref name="American Theater 2011-07-01">{{cite news |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Inside+the+violence%3A+an+interview+with+the+playwright.-a0262041250 |title=Inside the violence: an interview with the playwright |author=Tanya Palmer |work=[[American Theatre (magazine)|American Theatre]] |date=July 1, 2011 |access-date=December 21, 2018 |via=[[The Free Library]] }}</ref><ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06">{{cite news |url=http://remezcla.com/film/hbos-looking-writer-tanya-saracho-on-creating-latina-roles-and-taking-on-twitter-haters/ |author=Vanessa Erazo |title=HBO's ''Looking'' Writer Tanya Saracho on Creating Latina Roles and Taking on Twitter Haters |work=[[Remezcla]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218232552/http://remezcla.com/film/hbos-looking-writer-tanya-saracho-on-creating-latina-roles-and-taking-on-twitter-haters/ |date=February 6, 2014 |archive-date=February 18, 2015 |access-date=December 20, 2018 }}</ref> to Ramiro A. Saracho, head [[customs officer]] with the {{lang|es|[[Servicio de Administración Tributaria]]}}<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/> and a powerful figure in the conservative [[Institutional Revolutionary Party]],<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/> and Rosalina Armenta. After her parents' divorce, her childhood was split between {{lang|es|[[Reynosa]], [[Tamaulipas]]|italic=no}}, where her father lived, and just across the border in [[McAllen, Texas]],<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15">{{cite news |url=https://www.timeout.com/chicago/theater/playwright-tanya-saracho |title=Playwright Tanya Saracho |author=Kris Vire |work=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]] |date=June 15, 2010 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.kmfa.org/pages/2107-enfrascada-a-dark-comedy-by-tanya-saracho |title=''Enfrascada'', a dark comedy by Tanya Saracho |publisher=[[KMFA]] |date=August 25, 2017<!-- data-date="08-25-17" in source --> |access-date=December 29, 2018 }}</ref> where she and her mother chose to reside together with her two younger sisters Tatiana Saracho and Fresy Saracho.<ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> Both cities are part of the bi-national [[Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan area]] straddling the [[Rio Grande]] ({{lang-es|Río Bravo del Norte}}). She and her family-members went back and forth between Mexico and the United States often — with her father commuting over the border in 2008.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> She attended middle and high school in McAllen<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/> and enrolled in [[Boston University College of Fine Arts]] to study theater, earning a [[Bachelor of Fine Arts]] degree.<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/January-2014/Tanya-Saracho/ |title=13 Questions for Tanya Saracho |author=Matt Pollock |work=[[Chicago (magazine)|Chicago]] |date=January 15, 2014 |access-date=December 21, 2018 }}</ref>
Tanya Selene Saracho<ref name="Meridians 2006">{{cite journal |author1=Sobeira Latorre |author2=Joanna L. Mitchell |title=Performing the ''Generic Latina'': A Conversation with ''Teatro Luna'' |journal=Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |volume=7 |issue=1 |year=2006 |pages=19–37 |jstor=40338715 }}</ref> was born in {{lang|es|[[Los Mochis]], [[Sinaloa]]|italic=no}}, Mexico,<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01">{{cite news |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Tanya+Saracho+catching+the+wheel%3a+a+Mexico-born+play+wright+steps...-a0254687463 |title=Tanya Saracho catching the wheel: a Mexico-born play wright steps boldly from ''Teatro Luna'' into Chicago's larger scene. |author=Kerry Reid |work=[[American Theatre (magazine)|American Theatre]] |date=April 1, 2011 |access-date=December 21, 2018 |via=[[The Free Library]] }}</ref><ref name="American Theater 2011-07-01">{{cite news |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Inside+the+violence%3A+an+interview+with+the+playwright.-a0262041250 |title=Inside the violence: an interview with the playwright |author=Tanya Palmer |work=[[American Theatre (magazine)|American Theatre]] |date=July 1, 2011 |access-date=December 21, 2018 |via=[[The Free Library]] }}</ref><ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06">{{cite news |url=http://remezcla.com/film/hbos-looking-writer-tanya-saracho-on-creating-latina-roles-and-taking-on-twitter-haters/ |author=Vanessa Erazo |title=HBO's ''Looking'' Writer Tanya Saracho on Creating Latina Roles and Taking on Twitter Haters |work=[[Remezcla]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218232552/http://remezcla.com/film/hbos-looking-writer-tanya-saracho-on-creating-latina-roles-and-taking-on-twitter-haters/ |date=February 6, 2014 |archive-date=February 18, 2015 |access-date=December 20, 2018 }}</ref> to Ramiro A. Saracho, head [[customs officer]] with the {{lang|es|[[Servicio de Administración Tributaria]]}}<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/> and a powerful figure in the conservative [[Institutional Revolutionary Party]],<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/> and Rosalina Armenta. After her parents' divorce, her childhood was split between {{lang|es|[[Reynosa]], [[Tamaulipas]]|italic=no}}, where her father lived, and just across the border in [[McAllen, Texas]],<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15">{{cite news |url=https://www.timeout.com/chicago/theater/playwright-tanya-saracho |title=Playwright Tanya Saracho |author=Kris Vire |work=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]] |date=June 15, 2010 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.kmfa.org/pages/2107-enfrascada-a-dark-comedy-by-tanya-saracho |title=''Enfrascada'', a dark comedy by Tanya Saracho |publisher=[[KMFA]] |date=August 25, 2017<!-- data-date="08-25-17" in source --> |access-date=December 29, 2018 }}</ref> where she and her mother chose to reside together with her two younger sisters Tatiana Saracho and Fresy Saracho.<ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> Both cities are part of the bi-national [[Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan area]] straddling the [[Rio Grande]] ({{langx|es|Río Bravo del Norte}}). She and her family-members went back and forth between Mexico and the United States often — with her father commuting over the border in 2008.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> She attended middle and high school in McAllen<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/> and enrolled in [[Boston University College of Fine Arts]] to study theater, earning a [[Bachelor of Fine Arts]] degree.<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/January-2014/Tanya-Saracho/ |title=13 Questions for Tanya Saracho |author=Matt Pollock |work=[[Chicago (magazine)|Chicago]] |date=January 15, 2014 |access-date=December 21, 2018 }}</ref>


== Career ==
== Career ==
=== Theater ===
=== Theater ===
Reluctant to move to [[New York City|New York]] or [[Los Angeles]],<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23">{{Cite news |url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/NUNN-ON-ONE-Tanya-Saracho-on-her-past-with-the-Goodman/50056.html |title=Nunn on One: Tanya Saracho on her past with the Goodman |author=Jerry Nunn |work=[[Windy City Times]] |date=December 23, 2014 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> her career started when she moved to [[Chicago]] in 1998 with her college roommate.<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29">{{cite news |url=http://www.theintervalny.com/interviews/2014/10/an-interview-with-tanya-saracho/ |title=Tanya Saracho |author=Victoria Myers |work=The Interval |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928160058/https://the-interval.com/interviews/2014/10/29/tanya-saracho/ |date=October 29, 2014 |archive-date=September 28, 2015 |access-date=December 21, 2018 }}</ref> They chose Chicago partly because the [[Steppenwolf Theatre Company]] had shown the city to be somewhere where artists could start a theater group and see it grow to success.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/> Saracho first tried working mostly as an actress, but found her opportunities as a Latina were limited,<ref name="Meridians 2006"/> with the only roles available for Latina actors being [[maid]]s and [[sex work]]ers.<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> As a result, after having met Coya Paz (who was initially reluctant) at an audition,<ref name="Meridians 2006"/><ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> the two founded {{lang|es|[[Teatro Luna]]}} in June 2000.<ref name="Teatro Luna">{{cite web |url=https://teatroluna.org/about-tl/history/ |title=History |publisher=[[Teatro Luna]] |access-date=December 22, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Goodman Theatre: Teatro Luna">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/Artists-Archive/creative-partners/companies/Teatro-Luna/ |title=Artist Bios: Teatro Luna |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=July 2010 |access-date=January 25, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="NBC 2014-03-06">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latina-theater-troupe-makes-art-identity-n45041 |title=Latina Theater Troupe Makes Art of Identity |date=March 6, 2014 |access-date=January 25, 2019 }}</ref> This self-proclaimed all-Latina theater group<ref name="Meridians 2006"/><ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> had an original ensemble of 10 women from diverse backgrounds;<ref name="NBC 2014-03-06"/> its establishment was partly funded through the sale of a house Saracho's father had bought her in Mexico.<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/>
Saracho has said that a goal of her work is to provide representation for [[Latinx]] people and address [[stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States|stereotypes]].<ref name="Samuel French FW1718">{{cite journal |author=Garrett Anderson |date=October 31, 2017 |title=Expanding upon the canon of Latinx plays. Spotlight on Tanya Saracho |url=https://issuu.com/ckam7/docs/sfjournal_fw1718_complete |journal=Journal of Plays and Musicals |publisher=[[Samuel French, Inc.]] |issue=Fall/Winter 2017–2018 |pages=24–26}}</ref> Her career started in 1998 when she moved to [[Chicago]].<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23">{{Cite news |author=Jerry Nunn |date=December 23, 2014 |title=Nunn on One: Tanya Saracho on her past with the Goodman |work=[[Windy City Times]] |url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/NUNN-ON-ONE-Tanya-Saracho-on-her-past-with-the-Goodman/50056.html |access-date=December 23, 2018}}</ref><ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01" /><ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29">{{cite news |url=http://www.theintervalny.com/interviews/2014/10/an-interview-with-tanya-saracho/ |title=Tanya Saracho |author=Victoria Myers |work=The Interval |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928160058/https://the-interval.com/interviews/2014/10/29/tanya-saracho/ |date=October 29, 2014 |archive-date=September 28, 2015 |access-date=December 21, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15" />{{Excessive citations inline|date=September 2023}} Saracho initially attempted to work as an actress, but found that her opportunities as a Latina were limited<ref name="Meridians 2006" /> to [[Typecasting|typecast]] roles as [[maid]]s or [[sex work]]ers.<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> She would form {{lang|es|[[Teatro Luna]]}} with Coya Paz in June 2000.<ref name="Meridians 2006"/><ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Teatro Luna">{{cite web |url=https://teatroluna.org/about-tl/history/ |title=History |publisher=[[Teatro Luna]] |access-date=December 22, 2018 |archive-date=June 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628193112/https://teatroluna.org/about-tl/history/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Goodman Theatre: Teatro Luna">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/Artists-Archive/creative-partners/companies/Teatro-Luna/ |title=Artist Bios: Teatro Luna |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=July 2010 |access-date=January 25, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="NBC 2014-03-06">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latina-theater-troupe-makes-art-identity-n45041 |title=Latina Theater Troupe Makes Art of Identity |date=March 6, 2014 |access-date=January 25, 2019 }}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=September 2023}} The group had an original ensemble of 10 Latina women from diverse backgrounds.{{Tone inline|date=September 2023}}<ref name="Meridians 2006"/><ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/>


At {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}}, Saracho took part in the creation of numerous works, including {{lang|es|Machos|italic=yes}}, ''{{lang|es|Dejame Contarte|italic=inherit}} (Let Me Tell You)'', ''The María Chronicles'' and {{lang|es|S-E-X-Oh!|italic=yes}}.<ref name="Meridians 2006"/><ref name="Teatro Luna"/> {{lang|es|Machos|italic=yes}} is a play examining "contemporary masculinities",<ref name="IL Humanities 2007-12-11">{{cite web |url=https://www.ilhumanities.org/news/2007/12/exploring-contemporary-masculinity-in-machos-with-teatro-luna-on-december-19/ |title=Exploring contemporary masculinity in ''Machos'' with ''Teatro Luna'' on December 19 |publisher=Illinois Humanities |date=December 11, 2007 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref> drawn from interviews with 50 men across the U.S.<ref name="IL Humanities 2007-12-11"/><ref name="Rudolph2016">{{cite book |author=Jennifer Domino Rudolph |title=Embodying Latino Masculinities: Producing ''Masculatinidad'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zdjIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |date=April 30, 2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-02288-2 |pages=14 }}</ref> and performed by the all-Latina cast in [[drag (clothing)|drag]],<ref name="IL Humanities 2007-12-11"/><ref name="Playbill 2008-06-10">{{cite news |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/dr-moreau-jerry-springer-machos-are-among-jeff-award-winners-in-chicago-com-150800 |title=''Dr. Moreau'', ''Jerry Springer'', ''Machos'' Are Among Jeff Award Winners in Chicago |author=Kenneth Jones |work=[[Playbill]] |date=June 10, 2008 |access-date=February 5, 2019 }}</ref> which earned 2 Non-Equity [[Jeff Award]]s.<ref name="Playbill 2008-06-10"/> A year after Coya Paz, her {{lang|es|co-madre}} at {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}},<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/> had been asked to step down as co-artistic director during Paz's [[parental leave|maternity leave]],<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Teatro Luna"/> Saracho parted with group in January 2010 after 10 years so that she could focus on playwriting, which had suffered from her responsibilities toward the administration of the group.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> The same year, Saracho co-founded The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists (ALTA) of Chicago,<ref name="ALTA members emeritus">{{cite web |url=http://altachicago.org/emeritus/ |title=Member Emeritus |publisher=The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago |access-date=February 4, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Goodman 90">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/90/index.php/tanya-saracho/ |title=Tanya Saracho |work=Goodman Theatre 90 Years |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=2015 |access-date=December 22, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Variety 2018-02-23">{{Cite news |url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/tanya-saracho-vida-showrunner-starz-overall-deal-1202709115/ |title=''Vida'' Showrunner Tanya Saracho Sets Overall Deal With Starz |author=Cynthia Littleton |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=February 23, 2018 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="50 Playwrights">{{cite web |url=https://50playwrights.org/2016/08/01/tanya-saracho/ |title=Tanya Saracho |work=50 Playwrights |date=August 1, 2016 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> which describes itself as "a [[service organization]] dedicated to furthering the Chicago Latinx Theater movement by promoting, educating, representing, and unifying [[Latinx]]-identified artists and their allies".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://altachicago.org/ |title=Official website |publisher=The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago |access-date=February 4, 2019 }}</ref>
Saracho took part in the creation of numerous works through {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}}, including {{lang|es|Machos|italic=yes}}, ''{{lang|es|Dejame Contarte|italic=inherit}} (Let Me Tell You)'', ''The María Chronicles'' and {{lang|es|S-E-X-Oh!|italic=yes}}.<ref name="Meridians 2006"/><ref name="Teatro Luna"/> {{lang|es|Machos|italic=yes}} is a play examining "contemporary masculinities",<ref name="IL Humanities 2007-12-11">{{cite web |url=https://www.ilhumanities.org/news/2007/12/exploring-contemporary-masculinity-in-machos-with-teatro-luna-on-december-19/ |title=Exploring contemporary masculinity in ''Machos'' with ''Teatro Luna'' on December 19 |publisher=Illinois Humanities |date=December 11, 2007 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref> drawn from interviews with 50 men across the U.S.<ref name="IL Humanities 2007-12-11"/><ref name="Rudolph2016">{{cite book |author=Jennifer Domino Rudolph |title=Embodying Latino Masculinities: Producing ''Masculatinidad'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zdjIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |date=April 30, 2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-02288-2 |pages=14 }}</ref> and performed by the all-Latina cast in [[drag (clothing)|drag]],<ref name="IL Humanities 2007-12-11"/><ref name="Playbill 2008-06-10">{{cite news |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/dr-moreau-jerry-springer-machos-are-among-jeff-award-winners-in-chicago-com-150800 |title=''Dr. Moreau'', ''Jerry Springer'', ''Machos'' Are Among Jeff Award Winners in Chicago |author=Kenneth Jones |work=[[Playbill]] |date=June 10, 2008 |access-date=February 5, 2019 }}</ref> which earned 2 Non-Equity [[Jeff Award]]s.<ref name="Playbill 2008-06-10"/>


Saracho parted with the group in January 2010 to focus on playwriting.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15" /> The same year, she co-founded The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists (ALTA) of Chicago,<ref name="ALTA members emeritus">{{cite web |url=http://altachicago.org/emeritus/ |title=Member Emeritus |publisher=The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago |access-date=February 4, 2019 |archive-date=June 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620195117/http://altachicago.org/emeritus |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Goodman 90">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/90/index.php/tanya-saracho/ |title=Tanya Saracho |work=Goodman Theatre 90 Years |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=2015 |access-date=December 22, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Variety 2018-02-23">{{Cite news |url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/tanya-saracho-vida-showrunner-starz-overall-deal-1202709115/ |title=''Vida'' Showrunner Tanya Saracho Sets Overall Deal With Starz |author=Cynthia Littleton |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=February 23, 2018 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="50 Playwrights">{{cite web |url=https://50playwrights.org/2016/08/01/tanya-saracho/ |title=Tanya Saracho |work=50 Playwrights |date=August 1, 2016 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=September 2023}} which describes itself as "a [[service organization]] dedicated to furthering the Chicago Latinx Theater movement by promoting, educating, representing, and unifying [[Latinx]]-identified artists and their allies".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://altachicago.org/ |title=Official website |publisher=The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago |access-date=February 4, 2019 |archive-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020044/http://altachicago.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The transition into more independent work was easy for Saracho as she had already been involved in some independent theater, such as her adaptation of ''The House on Mango Street''<ref name="OSF 2012">{{cite web |url=https://www.osfashland.org/artist-biographies/playwrights/tanya-saracho.aspx |title=Tanya Saracho |publisher=[[Oregon Shakespeare Festival]] |date=2012 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> at the Steppenwolf Theatre. Other independent work include her pieces {{lang|es|Kita y Fernanda|italic=yes}}<ref name="OSF 2012"/> at the 16th Street Theater and ''[[Our Lady of the Underpass]]''<ref name="OSF 2012"/> at {{lang|es|Teatro Vista}}. {{lang|es|Kita y Fernanda|italic=yes}} was inspired by her relatively privileged upbringing as a Mexican in Texas with "a complicated relationship with the daughter of the family maid",<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> whereas ''Our Lady of the Underpass'' is an interview-based character study of people who believe they [[Marian apparition|saw the Virgin Mary]] in a salt stain in Chicago's [[Fullerton Avenue (Chicago)|Fullerton Avenue]].<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2009-03-13">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-03-13-0903110238-story.html |title=''Lady of the Underpass'' is the sort of Chicago story we need on stage |author=Chris Jones |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225004513/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-03-13-0903110238-story.html |date=March 13, 2009 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |access-date=December 25, 2018 |url-access=limited |postscript=. (URL not available in the [[European Economic Area]] or Switzerland.) }}</ref> Both plays received nominations for the [[Jeff Award|Joseph Jefferson Award]] Citation for New Work of a Play, all in 2009.<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/> She also had the chance to do some outside acting during her time at {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}}, in {{lang|es|Electricidad|italic=yes}} by {{lang|es|[[Luis Alfaro]]|italic=no}} at the [[Goodman Theatre]] in June and July 2004.<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="Goodman: Electricidad">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/0304/Electricidad/ |title=''Electricidad'' |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=December 10, 2011<!-- from meta revised in source --> |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> [[Henry Godinez]], curator of the Goodman Theatre's Latino Theatre Festival, cast her in the role for {{lang|es|Electricidad|italic=yes}}, before seeing her writing work for {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}}, which he considered "crazily well-developed" and suggested Saracho for the Goodman's 2005 Ofner Prize supporting new work.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> Winning the Ofner led her to work with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> — including her first commission in 2006<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/> — where she debuted with her [[young adult fiction|young-adult]] adaptation of ''[[The House on Mango Street]]'' by {{lang|es|[[Sandra Cisneros]]|italic=no}} in late 2009,<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Chicago Reader 2009">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-house-on-mango-street/Event?oid=1229636 |title=The House on Mango Street |work=[[Chicago Reader]] |date=2009 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Steppenwolf: Mango Street">{{cite web |url=https://www.steppenwolf.org/articles/a-conversation-with-the-house-on-mango-street-adaptor-tanya-saracho/ |title=A Conversation with ''The House on Mango Street'' Adaptor Tanya Saracho |publisher=[[Steppenwolf Theatre Company]] |date=2009 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref> which she described as a Latinx cultural-equivalent to ''[[The Catcher in the Rye]]''.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> Another 2006 work with {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}} was {{lang|es|Quita Mitos|italic=yes}}<ref name="Chicago Reader 2006-11-09">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/quita-mitos/Content?oid=923617 |title=''Quita Mitos'' |author=Jen Goddu |work=[[Chicago Reader]] |date=November 9, 2006 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref> (translated as "Myth Remover"),<ref name="New City Stage 2006-11-23">{{cite web |url=https://www.newcitystage.com/2006/11/23/review-quita-mitosteatro-luna/ |title=Review: ''Quita Mitos''&thinsp;/&thinsp;Teatro Luna |author=Ilana Kowarski |work=New City Stage |date=November 23, 2006 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref> with 3 "multidimensional Mexican-American women" speaking in monologue.<ref name="Chicago Reader 2006-11-09"/> The work played at Chicago's Viaduct Studio Theater and, on weekend performances, Saracho played all 3 roles herself.<ref name="Chicago Reader 2006-11-09"/>


Multiple plays that she worked on in this time received nominations for the [[Jeff Award]].<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01" /> She also worked as an outside actor on occasion during her time at {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}}.<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01" /><ref name="Goodman: Electricidad">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/0304/Electricidad/ |title=''Electricidad'' |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=December 10, 2011<!-- from meta revised in source --> |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref>
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One of her first works after leaving {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}} was {{lang|es|El Nogalar|italic=yes}} for the Goodman Theatre, co-produced with {{lang|es|Teatro Vista}}, as a reconstruction of [[Anton Chekhov]]'s ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'' set in the [[pecan]] orchards of [[Northern Mexico]] amid the drug wars,<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="American Theater 2011-07-01"/><ref name="Goodman 90"/><ref name="OSF 2012"/> which ran at the Goodman Theatre March 26 – April 24, 2011.<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/><ref name="Goodman: El Nogalar">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/1011/El-Nogalar/ |title=''El Nogalar'' |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=December 9, 2011<!-- from meta revised in source --> |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> {{lang|es|El Nogalar|italic=yes}} was initially inspired by [[Cecilie Keenan]]'s observation that "''The Cherry Orchard'' is a very Latino play".<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/> {{lang|es|El Nogalar|italic=yes}} also marked a break from the use of [[monologue]]s, previously very prominent in Saracho's writing.<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/> Despite moving from storefront theaters to larger scaled stages such as the Goodman and Steppenwolf, Saracho still kept true to her storefront start: "And the cover of ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out Chicago]]'' — the scrappy, storefront aesthetic got me on that cover. The fact that we respect and honor the storefront — I feel like that is why I am here right now. I need to always be of both worlds."<ref name="American Theater 2011-07-01"/> At that time, she was [[artist-in-residence|resident playwright]] {{lang|la|[[emeritus]]}} at [[Chicago Dramatists]], resident playwright at {{lang|es|Teatro Vista}}, a Goodman Theatre Fellow at the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at [[Columbia College Chicago]] and an artistic associate with Chicago's [[LGBT]]Q-oriented [[About Face Theatre]].<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="American Theater 2011-07-01"/><ref name="OSF 2012"/> She was also then working on two [[Andrew W. Mellon Foundation]] commissions for Steppenwolf Theatre, an adaptation of a {{lang|es|''Sor'' [[Juana Inés de la Cruz]]|italic=unset}} play for [[Oregon Shakespeare Festival]] called ''The Tenth Muse'',<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="OSF: Tenth Muse">{{cite web |url=https://www.osfashland.org/productions/2013-plays/the-tenth-muse.aspx |title=The Tenth Muse |publisher=[[Oregon Shakespeare Festival]] |date=2013 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref> and a historical fiction piece for About Face Theatre called ''The Good Private''. The latter, about a [[transgender]] soldier in the [[American Civil War]],<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="American Theater 2011-07-01"/> was inspired by the story of [[Albert Cashier]], recognized as female on birth in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Ireland]] but who lived out their life in [[Illinois]] as a man after fighting for the [[Union Army]].<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/><ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> In late 2012, her play ''Song for the Disappeared'' about an estranged borderland family brought together by the disappearance of their younger brother, was performed at the Goodman Theatre.<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="Goodman: Song for the Disappeared">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/1213/Song-for-the-Disappeared/ |title=''Song for the Disappeared'' |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=September 12, 2012<!-- meta revised in HTML source --> |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref>


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One of her first works after leaving {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}} was {{lang|es|El Nogalar|italic=yes}} for the Goodman Theatre, co-produced with {{lang|es|Teatro Vista}}, as a reconstruction of [[Anton Chekhov]]'s ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'' set in the [[pecan]] orchards of [[Northern Mexico]] amid the drug wars,<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01" /><ref name="American Theater 2011-07-01" /><ref name="Goodman 90" /><ref name="OSF 2012">{{cite web |date=2012 |title=Tanya Saracho |url=https://www.osfashland.org/artist-biographies/playwrights/tanya-saracho.aspx |access-date=December 23, 2018 |publisher=[[Oregon Shakespeare Festival]]}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=September 2023}} which ran at the Goodman Theatre from March 26 to April 24, 2011.<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23" /><ref name="Goodman: El Nogalar">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/1011/El-Nogalar/ |title=''El Nogalar'' |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=December 9, 2011<!-- from meta revised in source --> |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> At that time, she was [[artist-in-residence|resident playwright]] {{lang|la|[[emeritus]]}} at [[Chicago Dramatists]], resident playwright at {{lang|es|Teatro Vista}}, a Goodman Theatre Fellow at the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at [[Columbia College Chicago]] and an artistic associate with Chicago's [[LGBT]]Q-oriented [[About Face Theatre]].<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01" /><ref name="American Theater 2011-07-01" /><ref name="OSF 2012" /> She was also then working on two [[Andrew W. Mellon Foundation]] commissions for Steppenwolf Theatre, an adaptation of a {{lang|es|''Sor'' [[Juana Inés de la Cruz]]|italic=unset}} play for [[Oregon Shakespeare Festival]] called ''The Tenth Muse'',<ref name="OSF 2012" /><ref name="OSF: Tenth Muse">{{cite web |url=https://www.osfashland.org/productions/2013-plays/the-tenth-muse.aspx |title=The Tenth Muse |publisher=[[Oregon Shakespeare Festival]] |date=2013 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref> and a historical fiction piece for About Face Theatre called ''The Good Private''. The latter, about a [[transgender]] soldier in the [[American Civil War]],<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01" /><ref name="American Theater 2011-07-01" /> was inspired by the story of [[Albert Cashier]], recognized as female on birth in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Ireland]] but who lived out their life in [[Illinois]] as a man after fighting for the [[Union Army]].<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01" /><ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15" /> In late 2012, her play ''Song for the Disappeared'' about an estranged borderland family brought together by the disappearance of their younger brother, was performed at the Goodman Theatre.<ref name="OSF 2012" /><ref name="Goodman: Song for the Disappeared">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/1213/Song-for-the-Disappeared/ |title=''Song for the Disappeared'' |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=September 12, 2012<!-- meta revised in HTML source --> |access-date=December 23, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225131453/https://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/1213/Song-for-the-Disappeared/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Throughout her work, she has sought to provide representation for [[Latinx]] people, to redress [[stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States|stereotypes]]: "You know how [[Jill Soloway]] is talking about the [[female gaze]]? I'm interested in the Latina gaze for the foreseeable future."<ref name="Samuel French FW1718">{{cite journal |url=https://issuu.com/ckam7/docs/sfjournal_fw1718_complete |title=Expanding upon the canon of Latinx plays. Spotlight on Tanya Saracho |author=Garrett Anderson |journal=Journal of Plays and Musicals |issue=Fall/Winter 2017–2018 |publisher=[[Samuel French, Inc.]] |date=October 31, 2017 |pages=24–26 }}</ref>


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Her 2014 work also included ''Mala Hierba'' at the [[Second Stage Theater|Second Stage Uptown]]<ref name="NYT 2014-07-28">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/theater/mala-hierba-a-new-play-by-tanya-saracho.html |title=Tangled Romances, in Need of Some Pruning |author=Charles Isherwood |author-link=Charles Isherwood |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 28, 2014 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Variety 2014-07-29">{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2014/legit/reviews/off-broadway-review-mala-hierba-1201270227/ |title=Off Broadway Review: ''Mala Hierba'' |author=Marilyn Stasio |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=July 28, 2014 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref> and ''Hushabye'' as part of Steppenwolf's First Look in 2014.<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29" /><ref name="Steppenwolf: Hushabye">{{cite web |url=https://www.steppenwolf.org/tickets--events/seasons/201314/hushabye/ |title=''Hushabye'' |publisher=[[Steppenwolf Theatre Company]] |date=2014 |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-date=June 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628193114/https://www.steppenwolf.org/tickets--events/seasons/201314/hushabye/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-08-11">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-ent-0812-first-look-review-20140811-story.html |title=REVIEW: First Look Repertory in the Steppenwolf Garage |author=Kerry Reid |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812052051/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-ent-0812-first-look-review-20140811-story.html |date=August 11, 2014 |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |access-date=December 25, 2018 |url-access=limited |postscript=. (URL not available in the [[European Economic Area]] or Switzerland.) }}</ref> Saracho's additional involvements include being a member of [[The Kilroys' List]]<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29" /> and founding the [[Ñ Project]].<ref name="Bret Adams">{{cite web |title=Tanya Saracho |url=http://www.bretadamsltd.net/content/client/plays/tanya-saracho/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225080900/http://www.bretadamsltd.net/content/client/plays/tanya-saracho/ |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |access-date=December 24, 2018 |publisher=Bret Adams Ltd Artists' Agency}}</ref> Saracho is also a member of [[SAG-AFTRA]]<ref name="Bret Adams" /> and the [[Writers Guild of America West]]<ref name="Bret Adams" /> and has worked as a [[voice acting|voice-over actress]].<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01" />
Overall her theater career has led her plays to be performed at many different venues, including the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, {{lang|es|Teatro Vista}}, {{lang|es|Teatro Luna}}, Fountain Theater, Clubbed Thumb, Next Theater Company, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and 16th Street Theater.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/><ref name="Goodman biog">{{cite web |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/Artists-Archive/creative-partners/playwrights/Tanya-Saracho/ |title=Artist Bios: Tanya Saracho. |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]] |date=April 2011 |access-date=December 2, 2015 }}</ref> She has also had commissions at some of these theaters, and others, including the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Two Rivers Theater, Denver Theater Center, and South Coast Rep.<ref name="50 Playwrights"/><ref name="Bret Adams">{{cite web |url=http://www.bretadamsltd.net/content/client/plays/tanya-saracho/ |title=Tanya Saracho |publisher=Bret Adams Ltd Artists' Agency |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref>

⚫
Her 2014 work also included ''Mala Hierba'' at the [[Second Stage Theater|Second Stage Uptown]]<ref name="NYT 2014-07-28">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/theater/mala-hierba-a-new-play-by-tanya-saracho.html |title=Tangled Romances, in Need of Some Pruning |author=Charles Isherwood |author-link=Charles Isherwood |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 28, 2014 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Variety 2014-07-29">{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2014/legit/reviews/off-broadway-review-mala-hierba-1201270227/ |title=Off Broadway Review: ''Mala Hierba'' |author=Marilyn Stasio |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=July 28, 2014 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref> and ''Hushabye'' as part of Steppenwolf's First Look in 2014.<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/><ref name="Steppenwolf: Hushabye">{{cite web |url=https://www.steppenwolf.org/tickets--events/seasons/201314/hushabye/ |title=''Hushabye'' |publisher=[[Steppenwolf Theatre Company]] |date=2014 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-08-11">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-ent-0812-first-look-review-20140811-story.html |title=REVIEW: First Look Repertory in the Steppenwolf Garage |author=Kerry Reid |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812052051/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-ent-0812-first-look-review-20140811-story.html |date=August 11, 2014 |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |access-date=December 25, 2018 |url-access=limited |postscript=. (URL not available in the [[European Economic Area]] or Switzerland.) }}</ref> Saracho's additional involvements include being a member of [[The Kilroys' List]]<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> and founding the [[Ñ Project]].<ref name="Bret Adams"/> Saracho is also a member of [[SAG-AFTRA]]<ref name="Bret Adams"/> and the [[Writers Guild of America West]]<ref name="Bret Adams"/> and has worked as a [[voice acting|voice-over actress]].<ref name="American Theater 2011-04-01"/>


=== Television: In the writers' room ===
=== Television: In the writers' room ===
In 2012, Saracho began working in television, benefiting from the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[Affirmative action|Diversity]] program.<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> In her first TV job, as a staff writer at [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]]'s ''[[Devious Maids]]'' in 2013,<ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/> her office-mate told her she was "the diversity writer" and her agent confirmed that she was not costing the [[showrunner]] any budget.<ref name="THR 2018-05-04">{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/how-starzs-vida-created-a-safe-space-explore-latinx-queer-stories-1107482 |title=How Starz's ''Vida'' Created a Safe Space to Explore Latinx and Queer Stories |author=Pilot Viruet |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=May 4, 2018 |access-date=December 20, 2018 }}</ref> She has described feeling unprepared at the time, experiencing [[impostor syndrome]] and she was new to [[Final Draft (software)|Final Draft]].<ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/> She was relieved when [[Gloria Calderón Kellett]] joined the show,<ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/> and has talked about the culture shock of seeing very few other Latinx faces there and becoming close to the Spanish-speaking janitorial staff as a result.<ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/> In 2014, she was intending to write a [[musical theatre|musical]] about {{lang|es|[[Lupe Vélez]]|italic=no}},<ref name="50 Playwrights"/> "within the safety of" a [[writers' workshop]] at the [[Center Theatre Group]].<ref name="50 Playwrights"/> With the mixed cultural experience of her work at Lifetime on her mind, she instead wrote a [[two-hander]] for the Goodman Theatre,<ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/> where one character was a first-year TV writer and the other a janitor.<ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/> The [[Denver Theatre Center]] commissioned Saracho to expand that work to create ''Fade'', which premièred there in Winter 2016.<ref name="50 Playwrights"/><ref name="Westword 2016-02-23">{{cite news |url=https://www.westword.com/arts/review-tanya-sarachos-fade-brings-class-struggle-to-the-denver-center-7633045 |title=Review: Tanya Saracho's ''Fade'' Brings Class Struggle to the Denver Center |author=Juliet Wittman |work=[[Westword]] |date=February 23, 2016 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref>
In 2012, Saracho began working in television, benefiting from the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[Affirmative action|Diversity]] program.<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> In her first TV job, as a staff writer at [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]]'s ''[[Devious Maids]]'' in 2013,<ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/> her office-mate told her she was "the diversity writer" and her agent confirmed that she was not costing the [[showrunner]] any budget.<ref name="THR 2018-05-04">{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/how-starzs-vida-created-a-safe-space-explore-latinx-queer-stories-1107482 |title=How Starz's ''Vida'' Created a Safe Space to Explore Latinx and Queer Stories |author=Pilot Viruet |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=May 4, 2018 |access-date=December 20, 2018 }}</ref> In 2014, Saracho wrote a [[two-hander]] for the Goodman Theatre,<ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/> where one character was a first-year TV writer and the other a janitor.<ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/> The [[Denver Theatre Center]] commissioned Saracho to expand that work to create ''Fade'', which premièred there in Winter 2016.<ref name="50 Playwrights"/><ref name="Westword 2016-02-23">{{cite news |url=https://www.westword.com/arts/review-tanya-sarachos-fade-brings-class-struggle-to-the-denver-center-7633045 |title=Review: Tanya Saracho's ''Fade'' Brings Class Struggle to the Denver Center |author=Juliet Wittman |work=[[Westword]] |date=February 23, 2016 |access-date=December 25, 2018 }}</ref>


After ''Devious Maids'', Saracho wrote for [[HBO]]'s ''[[Girls (TV series)|Girls]]''<ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2014-02-20-ct-tanya-saracho-chicago-closeup-20140220-story.html |title=Chicago playwright Tanya Saracho lands ''Girls'' writing gig |author=Nina Metz |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005122253/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2014-02-20-ct-tanya-saracho-chicago-closeup-20140220-story.html |date=February 20, 2014 |archive-date=October 5, 2018 |access-date=December 21, 2018 |url-access=limited |postscript=. (URL not available in the [[European Economic Area]] or Switzerland.) }}</ref> and ''[[Looking (TV series)|Looking]]'' (in 2013–14),<ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/> along with ABC's ''[[How to Get Away with Murder]]''. For ''Looking'', she wrote the episode where Patrick ([[Jonathan Groff]]) introduced his Latino boyfriend Richie (played by Saracho's longtime friend [[Raúl Castillo]]) to his friends.<ref name="Goodman 90"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/> She also pitched her play ''Mala Hierba'' to HBO as a television show;<ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/> her agent sending the script of ''Mala Hierba'' as a sample of her work is part of how Saracho came to be interviewed for the ''Looking'' writers' room.<ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/> Initially she was reluctant to write gay male characters, as she felt she "wouldn't know what to say".<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/> She was convinced after speaking with showrunner [[Michael Lannan]], especially when she discovered that Lannan had heard of one of Saracho's personal heroes, {{lang|es|''Sor'' Juana Inés de la Cruz|italic=unset}}.<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/>
After ''Devious Maids'', Saracho wrote for [[HBO]]'s ''[[Girls (TV series)|Girls]]''<ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2014-02-20-ct-tanya-saracho-chicago-closeup-20140220-story.html |title=Chicago playwright Tanya Saracho lands ''Girls'' writing gig |author=Nina Metz |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005122253/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2014-02-20-ct-tanya-saracho-chicago-closeup-20140220-story.html |date=February 20, 2014 |archive-date=October 5, 2018 |access-date=December 21, 2018 |url-access=limited |postscript=. (URL not available in the [[European Economic Area]] or Switzerland.) }}</ref> and ''[[Looking (TV series)|Looking]]'' (in 2013–14),<ref name="Remezcla 2014-02-06"/><ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/> along with ABC's ''[[How to Get Away with Murder]]''.<ref name="Goodman 90" /><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20" /> Saracho continued writing for theater while also writing for television, including two theater commissions, one set in [[Red Bank, New Jersey]] and the other in [[Costa Mesa, California]].<ref name="50 Playwrights" /> Between seasons of ''Looking'', Saracho worked on ''The Tenth Muse'', an all-female play set in a convent in [[New Spain|Colonial Mexico]].<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29" />

Saracho continued writing for theater while also writing for television. In the early 2010s, she sublet in [[Los Angeles]] rather than moving full-time from Chicago while working for both TV and theater, saying that she felt a need "to know I belong in Chicago".<ref name="Chicago 2014-01-15"/> By 2016, however, she was talking about Los Angeles as being her reluctant residence.<ref name="50 Playwrights"/> At the time, as well as working on the scripts for the TV show that would become ''[[Vida (TV series)|Vida]]'', she was also working on 2 theater commissions: a play set in [[Red Bank, New Jersey]], about the number of Latinx people moving to the area, and a second for [[Costa Mesa, California]]'s [[South Coast Repertory]] about [[domestic worker]]s in [[Orange County, California]].<ref name="50 Playwrights"/>

Between seasons of ''Looking'', she was working on ''The Tenth Muse'', an all-female play set in a convent in [[New Spain|Colonial Mexico]] and she spoke about the change in writing style as being "jarring" and "like [[whiplash (medicine)|whiplash]]", where stage directions and scene lengths have to be quite different between the two media.<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> She observed in the same interview that it was "such a strange time" to be working in television, as [[social media]] had made television an interactive experience, with aspiring writers asking her questions on [[Twitter]] and fans of ''Looking'' feeling like they know the actors, rather than just the characters.<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/>


=== Television: As showrunner ===
=== Television: As showrunner ===
More recently, with [[production company]] [[Big Beach (company)|Big Beach]],<ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/><ref name="El Diario 20187-11-14">{{cite news |url=https://eldiariony.com/latinowire/starz-announces-cast-for-half-hour-drama-series-vida-from-latinx-showrunner-tanya-saracho/ |title=Starz Announces Cast for Half-Hour Drama Series ''Vida'' from Latinx Showrunner Tanya Saracho |work=[[El Diario La Prensa|El Diario]] |date=November 14, 2017 |access-date=February 4, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="DQ 2018-05-02">{{cite news |url=http://dramaquarterly.com/walking-the-walk/ |title=Walking the Walk |author=Michael Pickard |work=[[Drama Quarterly]] |date=May 2, 2018 |access-date=February 4, 2019 }}</ref> she has created, co-written, co-produced and is [[showrunner]] for [[LGBT|LGBTQ+]] [[Latinx]] show ''[[Vida (TV series)|Vida]]''.<ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/><ref name="Autostraddle 2018-04-30">{{cite news |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/vidas-non-binary-latinx-actor-ser-anzoategui-already-knows-their-show-will-be-your-new-favorite-418344/ |title=''Vida''{{'}}s Non-Binary Latinx Actor Ser Anzoategui Already Knows Their Show Will Be Your New Favorite |author=Carmen Phillips |work=[[Autostraddle]] |date=April 20, 2018 |access-date=December 20, 2018 }}</ref> For ''Vida'', she has assembled an all-Latinx, "heavily [[queer]]" [[screenwriting|writers' room]]<ref name="Autostraddle 2018-04-30"/><ref name="Autostraddle 2018-05-03">{{cite news |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/tanya-saracho-made-vida-with-for-and-about-latinxs-and-shes-not-apologizing-419284/ |title=Tanya Saracho Made ''Vida'' With, For and About Latinxs — And She's Not Apologizing |author=Carmen Phillips |work=[[Autostraddle]] |date=May 3, 2018 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref> — all female-identified except for one [[cisgender|cis]]-male<ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/> — and a [[television director|directorial]] team who are all Latinx or [[person of color|women of color]].<ref name="Autostraddle 2018-04-30"/><ref name="Autostraddle 2018-05-03"/> Similarly, she hired [[Germaine Franco]], "the only Latina in the [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|academy of composers]]",<ref name="Muse TV 2018-05-01">{{cite news |url=https://www.musetv.net/tanya-saracho-talks-about-her-latest-project-for-starz-vida/ |title=Tanya Saracho Talks About Her Latest Project For Starz, ''Vida'' |author=Michael Sandoval |work=Muse TV |date=May 1, 2018 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref> who worked on ''[[Coco (2017 film)|Coco]]'', to work on the soundtrack, including a piece in [[Nahuatl]] using [[indigenous music of North America|indigenous instruments]] for a scene depicting a {{lang|es|[[ritual purification|limpia]]}}.<ref name="Muse TV 2018-05-01"/> Saracho rejects the idea that it is difficult to find talent of colour,<ref name="Autostraddle 2018-05-03"/> also citing [[Beyoncé]] demonstrating that same point at [[Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival|Coachella]].<ref>{{cite tweet |user=ashleyn1cole |author=Ashley Nicole Black |authorlink=Ashley Nicole Black |number=985600575923466241 |date=April 15, 2018 |accessdate=December 24, 2018 |title=Next time someone tells you they want to have a more diverse writers room but they can’t find any women and POC, tell them Beyonce found TEN black women who play violin. }}</ref> Saracho has described {{lang|es|Vida|italic=yes}} explicitly as being a show coming from a "female brown queer perspective".<ref name="Remezcla 2018-02-16">{{cite news |url=http://remezcla.com/features/film/showrunner-tanya-saracho-queer-latina-series-greenlit-starz-vida/ |title=How Tanya Saracho Got Her Queer Latinx Series Greenlit by Starz |author=Kiko Martinez |work=[[Remezcla]] |date=February 16, 2018<!-- from DC.date.issued in source--> |access-date=December 20, 2018 }}</ref> She also made clear that {{lang|es|Vida|italic=yes}} is not a show about immigrants: "It's a show about Americans. Who are the grandchildren of immigrants ... this is a show about American girls."<ref name="them. 2018-05-05">{{cite news |url=https://www.them.us/story/vida-queer-latinx-representation |title=Viva la ''Vida'' — This New Show About Latinx Queer Folks Is Everything |author=Suzy Exposito |work=[[them.]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |date=May 5, 2018 |access-date=December 20, 2018 }}</ref> The show does, however, include characters who are [[undocumented immigrant]]s and [[DACA]] recipients — as does the cast.<ref name="DQ 2018-05-02"/> Similarly, the dialog is deliberately in [[Spanglish]],<ref name="DQ 2018-05-02"/> like much of Saracho's theater work,<ref name="Mic 2018-06-09">{{cite news |url=https://mic.com/articles/189743/vida-creator-tanya-saracho-on-queer-latinx-identity-authentic-slang-and-writing-good-sex-scenes |title=''Vida'' creator Tanya Saracho on queer Latinx identity, authentic slang and writing good sex scenes |author=Anna Swartz |work=[[Mic (media company)|Mic]] |date=June 9, 2018 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref> and [[code-switching|code switches]] in a way that is natural to Saracho.<ref name="Mic 2018-06-09"/> As her background is Texan rather than Californian, thought, she relied on members of her writers' room from [[Eastside Los Angeles]] to help ensure the terms were true to the characters and not skewed by Spanglish more natural to Americans of [[Cuban Americans|Cuban]] and [[Puerto Ricans in the United States|Puerto Rican]] backgrounds.<ref name="Mic 2018-06-09"/> Talking to ''Breaking Character'' magazine in 2017, she described {{lang|es|Vida|italic=yes}} — then still known by its working title ''Pour Vida'',<ref name="50 Playwrights"/><ref name="Samuel French FW1718"/><ref name="3Arts">{{cite web |url=https://3arts.org/artist/tanya-saracho/ |title=Tanya Saracho |publisher=3Arts |date=2017 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> named for the Richard Villegas Jr. [[short story]] that inspired the show<ref name="Muse TV 2018-05-01"/><ref name="Broadway World 2016-04-15">{{cite news |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Playwright-and-Television-Writer-Tanya-Saracho-Named-Showrunner-for-Starzs-POUR-VIDA-20160415 |title=Playwright and Television Writer Tanya Saracho Named Showrunner for Starz's ''Pour Vida'' |work=[[BroadwayWorld]] |date=April 15, 2016 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref> — as "thematically it's the same stuff from 2000 when I was starting to write; Latinas at the center, women of color, just a feminist Latina take. Like the [[Gloria E. Anzaldúa|Gloria Anzaldúa]] take, [[intersectionality|intersectional]], you know?"<ref name="Samuel French FW1718"/> Immediately before the show premièred, Saracho described it to ''[[them.]]'' as being "about finding your authentic self. It’s about finding a way back home."<ref name="them. 2018-05-05"/> To avoid gentrifying [[Boyle Heights, Los Angeles|Boyle Heights]] by virtue of filming there, shooting mainly took place in [[Pico-Union, Los Angeles|Pico-Union]].<ref name="IndieWire 2018-05-10">{{cite news |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/05/vida-creator-latinx-queers-tanya-saracho-1201962846/ |title=''Vida'' Creator Tanya Saracho Gives Voice to Latinx Sisters, Brown Queers, and Displaced Neighborhoods — Turn It On Podcast |author=Michael Schneider |work=[[IndieWire]] |date=May 10, 2018 |access-date=December 20, 2018 }}</ref>
Saracho, working with the production company [[Big Beach (company)|Big Beach]],<ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/><ref name="El Diario 20187-11-14">{{cite news |url=https://eldiariony.com/latinowire/starz-announces-cast-for-half-hour-drama-series-vida-from-latinx-showrunner-tanya-saracho/ |title=Starz Announces Cast for Half-Hour Drama Series ''Vida'' from Latinx Showrunner Tanya Saracho |work=[[El Diario La Prensa|El Diario]] |date=November 14, 2017 |access-date=February 4, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="DQ 2018-05-02">{{cite news |url=http://dramaquarterly.com/walking-the-walk/ |title=Walking the Walk |author=Michael Pickard |work=[[Drama Quarterly]] |date=May 2, 2018 |access-date=February 4, 2019 }}</ref> created, co-wrote, and co-produced the show ''[[Vida (TV series)|Vida]]''.<ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/><ref name="Autostraddle 2018-04-30">{{cite news |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/vidas-non-binary-latinx-actor-ser-anzoategui-already-knows-their-show-will-be-your-new-favorite-418344/ |title=''Vida''{{'}}s Non-Binary Latinx Actor Ser Anzoategui Already Knows Their Show Will Be Your New Favorite |author=Carmen Phillips |work=[[Autostraddle]] |date=April 20, 2018 |access-date=December 20, 2018 }}</ref> She assembled an all-Latinx, "heavily [[queer]]" [[screenwriting|writers' room]]<ref name="Autostraddle 2018-04-30"/><ref name="Autostraddle 2018-05-03">{{cite news |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/tanya-saracho-made-vida-with-for-and-about-latinxs-and-shes-not-apologizing-419284/ |title=Tanya Saracho Made ''Vida'' With, For and About Latinxs — And She's Not Apologizing |author=Carmen Phillips |work=[[Autostraddle]] |date=May 3, 2018 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/> and [[television director|directorial]] team who are all Latinx or [[person of color|women of color]].<ref name="Autostraddle 2018-04-30"/><ref name="Autostraddle 2018-05-03"/> Like much of Saracho's theater work, the dialog in ''Vida'' is in [[Spanglish]].<ref name="DQ 2018-05-02" />


Speaking to ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'', Saracho explained that [[Starz]] initially approached her about the show, rather than the other way round:<ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/><ref name="Muse TV 2018-05-01"/><ref name="DQ 2018-05-02"/> "They wanted a female [[millennials|millennial]] show about {{lang|es-US|gentefication}}, which is the [[gentrification]] of a Latinx space. The queerness came from me. I identify as queer, and it had to be there."<ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/> The show seeks to normalise both trans and Latinx representation, including trans actors without their [[gender identity]] being central to the story.<ref name="DQ 2018-05-02"/> In an interview with ''[[Deadline Hollywood]]'', Saracho described the importance of Latinx representation: "Out of 520 shows right now, now five are of a Latinx gaze, you know. That’s not enough. We make up almost 20% of this country, so that’s [[Social invisibility|erasure]]. So for so long we’ve been erased."<ref name="Deadline 2018-06-19">{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/video/vida-tanya-saracho-latinx-starz-interview-next-generation-tv-video/ |title=''Vida''{{'}}s Tanya Saracho On Starz's East L.A. Drama, Seeing Herself & Having A Vision |author=Dominic Patten |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=June 19, 2018 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> Saracho felt it important to show queer Latinx character in their own context:
Saracho has said that [[Starz]] initially approached her about the show, looking for "a female [[millennials|millennial]] show about {{lang|es-US|gentefication}}, which is the [[gentrification]] of a Latinx space. The queerness came from me. I identify as queer, and it had to be there."<ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/>


In February 2018, Saracho signed a 3-year deal with Starz.<ref name="Variety 2018-02-23" /><ref name="Deadline 2018-06-19">{{cite news |author=Dominic Patten |date=June 19, 2018 |title=''Vida''{{'}}s Tanya Saracho On Starz's East L.A. Drama, Seeing Herself & Having A Vision |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |url=https://deadline.com/video/vida-tanya-saracho-latinx-starz-interview-next-generation-tv-video/ |access-date=December 23, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Deadline 2018-06-12">{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2018/06/vida-renewed-second-season-starz-1202408949/ |title=''Vida'' Renewed For Second Season By Starz |author=Denise Petski |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> She has described season 1 of ''Vida'' as a three-hour [[television pilot|pilot]].
{{Blockquote|Cruz's friends, they're all these [[genderqueer]], brown, educated, [[wikt:ratchet|ratchet]] friends that are very real. And we didn't explain — like, I didn't say one of them is trans, one of them is genderqueer. They just exist, and that was really important, to have that and also to cast it with actual queer actors. Same thing with Eddy's group of friends. It's that type of masculine-of-center [[butch and femme|butches]] that are a little older, a little more old-school.<ref name="Mic 2018-06-09"/>}}


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She is also developing another series with Big Beach called {{lang|es|Brujas|italic=yes}},<ref name="ALTA members emeritus" /><ref name="Deadline 2017-12-05">{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2017/12/brujas-big-beach-latinx-tanya-saracho-showrunner-1202220859/ |title=Big Beach Developing ''Brujas'' Series With Showrunner Tanya Saracho |author=Dino-Ray Ramos |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=December 5, 2017 |access-date=February 4, 2019 }}</ref> based on her 2007 play {{lang|es|Enfrascada|italic=yes}},<ref name="Sun-Times 2018-05-02">{{cite news |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/with-vida-ready-to-air-chicago-tv-series-may-be-next-for-tanya-saracho/ |title=With ''Vida'' ready to air, Chicago TV series may be next for Tanya Saracho |author=Curt Wagner |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=May 2, 2018<!-- source contains: tp.push(["setContentCreated", "2018-05-02T13:30:30+0000"]); --> |access-date=February 5, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Latin Heat 2019-02-01">{{cite news |url=https://www.latinheat.com/tv-3/tv-news-tv-3/ginas-kick-ass-roles-bardem-isaac-sci-fy-castings-a-little-bit-of-chisme/ |title=Gina's Kick Ass Roles, Bardem & Isaac Get Sci-Fi, Castings & Chisme |author=B Hernandez |work=Latin Heat |date=February 1, 2019 |access-date=February 5, 2019 |archive-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015819/https://www.latinheat.com/tv-3/tv-news-tv-3/ginas-kick-ass-roles-bardem-isaac-sci-fy-castings-a-little-bit-of-chisme/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> which will follow four Afro-Caribbean&thinsp;/&thinsp;Latinx Chicagoans within the {{lang|es|[[brujería]]}} [[counter-culture]].<ref name="Deadline 2017-12-05" /><ref name="ALTA members emeritus" />
The explicit sex-scenes, both heterosexual and lesbian scenes, were also deliberate inclusions, being considered integral to telling the audience more about the characters involved and written and directed for the [[female gaze]].<ref name="Mic 2018-06-09"/> Saracho has also spoken about how few shows come from a Latina gaze: "It's ''[[Jane the Virgin]]'' and ''[[One Day at a Time (2017 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'' on one end of the spectrum, and ''[[Queen of the South (TV series)|La Reina del Sur]]''<!-- sic: from context it's the U.S. remake she's talking about, not the telenovela --> and ''[[Narcos]]'' on the other. ... We get the good wholesomeness, or we get the cartel."<ref name="them. 2018-05-05"/>

In February 2018, Saracho signed a 3-year deal with Starz,<ref name="Variety 2018-02-23"/><ref name="Deadline 2018-06-19"/><ref name="Deadline 2018-06-12">{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2018/06/vida-renewed-second-season-starz-1202408949/ |title=''Vida'' Renewed For Second Season By Starz |author=Denise Petski |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=December 23, 2018 }}</ref> expanding on their relationship: "I was a playwright who was still learning the ropes when Starz took a chance on me to create and showrun {{lang|es|Vida|italic=yes}}. They nurtured and supported me during every step of the strenuous process and that is a debt that cannot be repaid."<ref name="Variety 2018-02-23"/> Reflecting on season 1 of {{lang|es|Vida|italic=yes}}, she has described it as a three-hour [[television pilot|pilot]] and is looking forward to exploring the characters and their relationships in greater depth in the second season, which she started writing during the production of season 1. Season 2 is due to air on Starz in Spring 2019,<ref name="ET 2018-12-20">{{Cite news |url=https://www.etonline.com/vida-showrunner-tanya-saracho-says-finding-her-voice-helped-shape-season-2-exclusive-116189 |title=''Vida'' Showrunner Tanya Saracho Says Finding Her Voice Helped Shape Season 2 |author=Elisa Osegueda |work=[[Entertainment Tonight|ET Más]] |date=December 20, 2018 |access-date=December 22, 2018 }}</ref> and will include her long-time friend [[Raúl Castillo]] in a recurring role.<ref name="Deadline 2018-08-15">{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2018/08/vida-raul-castillo-adrian-gonzalez-to-recur-in-season-2-of-starz-series-1202445866/ |title=''Vida'': Raúl Castillo & Adrian Gonzalez To Recur in Season 2 of Starz Series |author=Denise Petski |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=August 15, 2018 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref> Saracho has also talked about both the possibility of providing representation of "brown women and queers" but also the responsibility she feels not to misrepresent those stories.<ref name="ET 2018-12-20"/> She also wants to ensure she can provide [[mentorship]] to a younger generation of artists from underrepresented communities, to which end she was involved in December 2018's [[Diverse Women in Media Forum]], hosted by the [[National Association of Latino Independent Producers]],<ref name="ET 2018-12-20"/><ref name="Remezcla 2018-06-26">{{cite news |url=http://remezcla.com/film/run-show-nalip-latina-showrunners/ |title=What It's Like to Be a Latina Showrunner in Hollywood |author=Manuel Betancourt |work=[[Remezcla]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706082639/http://remezcla.com/film/run-show-nalip-latina-showrunners/ |date=June 26, 2018 |archive-date=July 6, 2018 |access-date=February 5, 2019 }}</ref> where she talked about the radical nature of representation: "It’s a political act to put brown bodies on the screen, already. And to put brown bodies on the screen just living, it’s the most radical act."<ref name="Remezcla 2018-06-26"/>

In June 2019, Saracho will speak on 2 panels at the [[ATX Television Festival]], "Let's Talk About Sex (Scenes)" and, with her {{lang|es|Vida|italic=yes}} writers, "Inside the Writers' Room", where they will discuss their storytelling approach.<ref name="Variety 2018-11-08">{{Cite news |url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/atx-television-festival-2019-presidents-guild-blumhouse-vida-men-in-trees-1203023281/ |title=Blumhouse Television, ''Vida'', Guild Presidents panel among 2019 ATX Television Festival Lineup |author=Danielle Turchiano |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=November 8, 2018 |access-date=December 24, 2018 }}</ref>

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She is also developing another series with Big Beach called {{lang|es|Brujas|italic=yes}},<ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/><ref name="Deadline 2017-12-05">{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2017/12/brujas-big-beach-latinx-tanya-saracho-showrunner-1202220859/ |title=Big Beach Developing ''Brujas'' Series With Showrunner Tanya Saracho |author=Dino-Ray Ramos |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=December 5, 2017 |access-date=February 4, 2019 }}</ref> based on her 2007 play {{lang|es|Enfrascada|italic=yes}},<ref name="Sun-Times 2018-05-02">{{cite news |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/with-vida-ready-to-air-chicago-tv-series-may-be-next-for-tanya-saracho/ |title=With ''Vida'' ready to air, Chicago TV series may be next for Tanya Saracho |author=Curt Wagner |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=May 2, 2018<!-- source contains: tp.push(["setContentCreated", "2018-05-02T13:30:30+0000"]); --> |access-date=February 5, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Latin Heat 2019-02-01">{{cite news |url=https://www.latinheat.com/tv-3/tv-news-tv-3/ginas-kick-ass-roles-bardem-isaac-sci-fy-castings-a-little-bit-of-chisme/ |title=Gina's Kick Ass Roles, Bardem & Isaac Get Sci-Fi, Castings & Chisme |author=B Hernandez |work=Latin Heat |date=February 1, 2019 |access-date=February 5, 2019 }}</ref> which will follow four Afro-Caribbean&thinsp;/&thinsp;Latinx Chicagoans within the {{lang|es|[[brujería]]}} [[counter-culture]]<ref name="Deadline 2017-12-05"/> and its intersection with feminism,<ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/> described in publicity material as "a means for Latinx feminists to reconnect with their heritage through music, style, nightlife, and art. It’s a powerful return to indigenous practices and a reclamation of feminine strength."<ref name="Deadline 2017-12-05"/>


== Awards and recognition ==
== Awards and recognition ==
Saracho was named Best New Playwright by ''[[Chicago (magazine)|Chicago]]'' magazine,<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/> one of the nine national {{lang|es|Luminarios}} by ''[[Café (magazine)|Café]]'' magazine<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/> and given the first {{lang|es|Revolucionario}} award in theater by the [[National Museum of Mexican Art]].<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/> She has also won the Goodman's Ofner Prize,<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="OSF 2012"/> a 3Arts Artists Award<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="3Arts"/> and a [[National Endowment for the Arts]] Distinguished New Play Development Project Grant with [[About Face Theater]].<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="Goodman biog"/> In January 2019, she was presented with the 2019 [[Final Draft (software)|Final Draft]] New Voice Award for Television<ref name="Latin Heat 2019-02-01"/><ref name="Deadline 2019-01-15">{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2019/01/final-draft-awards-2019-callie-khouri-boots-riley-tayna-saracho-1202535478/ |title=Final Draft Awards: Callie Khouri, Boots Riley, Tanya Saracho To Be Honored |author=Patrick Hipes |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=January 15, 2019 |access-date=February 5, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Final Draft YouTube 2019-02-01">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSiZy117_Q8 |title=2019 Final Draft Awards: New Voice Recipient Tanya Saracho |publisher=[[Final Draft (software)|Final Draft]] |date=February 1, 2019 |access-date=February 5, 2019 |via=[[YouTube]] }}</ref> and won the 2019 [[GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series]] for {{lang|es|Vida|italic=yes}}.<ref name="THR 2019-03-28">{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/glaad-media-awards-complete-list-winners-2019-nyc-1206886/item/outstanding-scripted-television-series-spanish-language-1197832 |title=GLAAD Media Awards: ''Boy Erased'', ''Pose'', ''Gianni Versace'' Among Winners |author=Kimberly Nordyke |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=May 4, 2019 |access-date=May 6, 2019 }}</ref>
Saracho was named the Best New Playwright by ''[[Chicago (magazine)|Chicago]]'' magazine,<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/> one of the nine national {{lang|es|Luminarios}} by ''[[Café (magazine)|Café]]'' magazine<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/> and given the first {{lang|es|Revolucionario}} award in theater by the [[National Museum of Mexican Art]].<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="ALTA members emeritus"/> She has also won the Goodman's Ofner Prize,<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="OSF 2012"/> a 3Arts Artists Award<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="3Arts">{{cite web |date=2017 |title=Tanya Saracho |url=https://3arts.org/artist/tanya-saracho/ |access-date=December 23, 2018 |publisher=3Arts}}</ref> and a [[National Endowment for the Arts]] Distinguished New Play Development Project Grant with [[About Face Theater]].<ref name="OSF 2012"/><ref name="Goodman biog">{{cite web |date=April 2011 |title=Artist Bios: Tanya Saracho. |url=https://www.goodmantheatre.org/Artists-Archive/creative-partners/playwrights/Tanya-Saracho/ |access-date=December 2, 2015 |publisher=[[Goodman Theatre]]}}</ref> In January 2019, she was presented with the 2019 [[Final Draft (software)|Final Draft]] New Voice Award for Television<ref name="Latin Heat 2019-02-01"/><ref name="Deadline 2019-01-15">{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2019/01/final-draft-awards-2019-callie-khouri-boots-riley-tayna-saracho-1202535478/ |title=Final Draft Awards: Callie Khouri, Boots Riley, Tanya Saracho To Be Honored |author=Patrick Hipes |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=January 15, 2019 |access-date=February 5, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Final Draft YouTube 2019-02-01">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSiZy117_Q8 |title=2019 Final Draft Awards: New Voice Recipient Tanya Saracho |publisher=[[Final Draft (software)|Final Draft]] |date=February 1, 2019 |access-date=February 5, 2019 |via=[[YouTube]] }}</ref> and won the 2019 [[GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series]] for {{lang|es|Vida|italic=yes}}.<ref name="THR 2019-03-28">{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/glaad-media-awards-complete-list-winners-2019-nyc-1206886/item/outstanding-scripted-television-series-spanish-language-1197832 |title=GLAAD Media Awards: ''Boy Erased'', ''Pose'', ''Gianni Versace'' Among Winners |author=Kimberly Nordyke |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=May 4, 2019 |access-date=May 6, 2019 }}</ref>


In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ [[Pride parade]], ''[[Queerty]]'' named her among the fifty heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people”.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Queerty Pride50 2020 Honorees|url=https://www.queerty.com/pride50/|access-date=2020-06-30|website=Queerty|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Reddish|first=David|date=2020-06-15|title=Meet the entertainment creators fighting the good fight this year|url=https://www.queerty.com/top-entertainment-creators-20200615|access-date=2020-06-30|website=Queerty}}</ref>
In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ [[Pride parade]], ''[[Queerty]]'' named her among the fifty heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people”.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Queerty Pride50 2020 Honorees|url=https://www.queerty.com/pride50/|access-date=2020-06-30|website=Queerty|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Reddish|first=David|date=2020-06-15|title=Meet the entertainment creators fighting the good fight this year|url=https://www.queerty.com/top-entertainment-creators-20200615|access-date=2020-06-30|website=Queerty}}</ref>


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
Saracho identifies as [[queer]]<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/><ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/><ref name="Autostraddle 2018-04-30"/><ref name="them. 2018-05-05"/><ref name="IndieWire 2018-05-10"/><ref name="Glamour 2018-05-06">{{cite news |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/vida-creator-outlander-story |title=I Was Obsessed With ''Outlander''—so I Found My Own Love Story in Scotland |author=Jessica Radloff |work=[[Glamour (magazine)|Glamour]] |date=May 6, 2018 |access-date=December 22, 2018 }}</ref> and has a mainly LGBTQ+ social circle.<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/> She was diagnosed with [[diabetes mellitus|diabetes]] in 2010, of which there is a family history.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> She has also spoken about suffering from [[anxiety disorder|anxiety]] and [[impostor syndrome]].<ref name="50 Playwrights"/>
Saracho identifies as [[queer]]<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/><ref name="THR 2018-05-04"/><ref name="Autostraddle 2018-04-30"/><ref name="them. 2018-05-05">{{cite news |author=Suzy Exposito |date=May 5, 2018 |title=Viva la ''Vida'' — This New Show About Latinx Queer Folks Is Everything |work=[[them.]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |url=https://www.them.us/story/vida-queer-latinx-representation |access-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref><ref name="IndieWire 2018-05-10">{{cite news |author=Michael Schneider |date=May 10, 2018 |title=''Vida'' Creator Tanya Saracho Gives Voice to Latinx Sisters, Brown Queers, and Displaced Neighborhoods — Turn It On Podcast |work=[[IndieWire]] |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/05/vida-creator-latinx-queers-tanya-saracho-1201962846/ |access-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Glamour 2018-05-06">{{cite news |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/vida-creator-outlander-story |title=I Was Obsessed With ''Outlander''—so I Found My Own Love Story in Scotland |author=Jessica Radloff |work=[[Glamour (magazine)|Glamour]] |date=May 6, 2018 |access-date=December 22, 2018 }}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=September 2023}} and has a mainly LGBTQ+ social circle.<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/> She was diagnosed with [[diabetes mellitus|diabetes]] in 2010, of which there is a family history.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> She has also spoken about suffering from [[anxiety disorder|anxiety]] and [[impostor syndrome]].<ref name="50 Playwrights"/>

⚫
By 2008, as a [[lawful permanent residents (United States)|green card]]-holder, she was the only member of her family who had not [[citizenship of the United States#Naturalized citizenship|naturalized to American citizenship]], being unready to renounce her Mexican citizenship.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> But when [[Barack Obama]] won the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]], she realised she wanted to become a U.S. citizen in order to be able to vote for his [[Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign|re-election]].<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/>

While she grew up in the trans-border area between {{lang|es|Tamaulipas|italic=no}} and Texas, and it has been a frequent location for her plays, she considers herself a Chicagoan as an adult: "Chicago is home. I chose her and she chose me. My heart is there."<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/> Despite having spent several years in [[Los Angeles]], she still feels that Chicago is her home: "When I go back I’m like, ‘This is where I belong!’&thinsp;".<ref name="Sun-Times 2018-05-02"/> She has also spoken about having experienced racism in Chicago, however, and more widely.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/>


⚫
By 2008, as a [[lawful permanent residents (United States)|green card]]-holder, she was the only member of her family who had not [[citizenship of the United States#Naturalized citizenship|naturalized to American citizenship]], being unready to renounce her Mexican citizenship.<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/> She has said that in 2008, she chose to become a U.S. citizen in order to vote for [[Barack Obama]] in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]].<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/>
She grew up, went to school and to college with fellow Mexican-American actor [[Raúl Castillo]], who was her first high-school boyfriend at the age of 14,<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/> coincidentally writing a key episode for his character in ''Looking''.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/> She mentioned in a 2014 interview that: "He's like a sibling. I've known him 22 years and almost every male character that I write is a version of Raúl."<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/> When they were in high-school, they ordered Latinx scripts together from [[Samuel French, Inc.]] and treasured scripts from authors such as [[José Rivera (playwright)|José Rivera]], [[Milcha Sanchez-Scott]] and [[Octavio Solis]].<ref name="Samuel French FW1718"/>


Saracho grew up in the trans-border area between {{lang|es|Tamaulipas|italic=no}} and Texas – a frequent setting for her plays – however she considers herself a Chicagoan. She has also spoken out about racism that she has experienced in Chicago.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/>
She has described herself as a fangirl of the Starz show ''[[Outlander (TV series)|Outlander]]'',<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> partly because it caters so well to the [[female gaze]].<ref name="Glamour 2018-05-06"/> Recognising her love for the series, Starz sent her a hamper of show-related items when {{lang|es|Vida|italic=yes}} was [[wikt:greenlight|greenlit]].<ref name="Glamour 2018-05-06"/>


In 2014, she was disowned by her father, who forbade her from attending her grandmother's funeral.<ref name="Glamour 2018-05-06"/> As a result, rather than spending Christmas with family, she decided to take a 2-week trip to [[Scotland]], inspired by her love of ''Outlander''.<ref name="Glamour 2018-05-06"/> She broke up with her girlfriend before leaving, and on the trip, met and began dating a man named Colin Stubbs.<ref name="Glamour 2018-05-06"/>
She grew up, went to school and to college with fellow Mexican-American actor [[Raúl Castillo]], who she was in a relationship with as a teenager.<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/> Castillo is featured in a key episode for his character in ''Looking''.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2014-02-20"/> After being [[Disownment|disowned]] by her father in 2014, Saracho took a 2-week trip to [[Scotland]], inspired by her love of ''Outlander''.<ref name="Glamour 2018-05-06" />


Saracho considers the 17th-century nun {{lang|es|[[Juana Inés de la Cruz]]|italic=no}} as an inspiration: "Some say she was the first writer of the Americas, a long time before there was a North America. And she was a feminist. I think she was queer—she wrote these amazing love poems to women and she was in convent, so you do the math. And she was just a badass."<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29"/> She also found the influence of African-American playwrights and professors [[Lynn Nottage]] and [[Lydia R. Diamond]] useful when she was "forging [her] identity as a Chicago artist".<ref name="Samuel French FW1718"/> She described studying with Cuban-American [[avant-garde]] playwright {{lang|es|[[María Irene Fornés]]|italic=no}}, another LGBT Latina, as a formative influence.<ref name="50 Playwrights"/> She also found studying under British director [[Caroline Eves]] at Boston to be inspirational and described having "learned everything about being a playwright of color and nurturing new work" from {{lang|es|[[Luis Alfaro]]|italic=no}},<ref name="50 Playwrights"/> another LGBT Chicano.
Saracho has cited a number of individuals as influences, including the 17th-century nun {{lang|es|[[Juana Inés de la Cruz]]|italic=no}}, African-American playwrights and professors [[Lynn Nottage]] and [[Lydia R. Diamond]], Cuban-American [[avant-garde]] playwright {{lang|es|[[María Irene Fornés]]|italic=no}}, British director Caroline Eves, and LGBT writer and director [[Luis Alfaro]]<ref name="The Interval 2014-10-29" />


== List of works ==
== List of works ==
Line 93: Line 81:
* {{lang|es|Electricidad|italic=yes}} ("Electricity", 2004, performing as Vecina)<ref name="Goodman: Electricidad"/>
* {{lang|es|Electricidad|italic=yes}} ("Electricity", 2004, performing as Vecina)<ref name="Goodman: Electricidad"/>
* {{lang|es|S-E-X-Oh!|italic=yes}} (2005<ref name="Teatro Luna"/> and reworked in 2006)<ref name="Meridians 2006"/><ref name="Teatro Luna"/><ref name="Performing... 2002"/>
* {{lang|es|S-E-X-Oh!|italic=yes}} (2005<ref name="Teatro Luna"/> and reworked in 2006)<ref name="Meridians 2006"/><ref name="Teatro Luna"/><ref name="Performing... 2002"/>
* {{lang|es|Quita Mitos|italic=yes}} ("Removing Myths", 2006, 3 female characters)<ref name="Teatro Luna"/><ref name="Chicago Reader 2006-11-09"/><ref name="Performing... 2002"/>
* {{lang|es|Quita Mitos|italic=yes}} ("Removing Myths", 2006, 3 female characters)<ref name="Teatro Luna"/><ref name="Chicago Reader 2006-11-09">{{cite news |author=Jen Goddu |date=November 9, 2006 |title=''Quita Mitos'' |work=[[Chicago Reader]] |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/quita-mitos/Content?oid=923617 |access-date=December 24, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Performing... 2002"/>
* {{lang|es|Sólo Tú|italic=yes}} (2007, 4 female monologues, 1 by Saracho)<ref name="Teatro Luna"/>
* {{lang|es|Sólo Tú|italic=yes}} (2007, 4 female monologues, 1 by Saracho)<ref name="Teatro Luna"/>
* {{lang|es|Lunáticas|italic=yes}} (2007)<ref name="Teatro Luna"/><ref name="Performing... 2002"/>
* {{lang|es|Lunáticas|italic=yes}} (2007)<ref name="Teatro Luna"/><ref name="Performing... 2002"/>
* {{lang|es|Machos|italic=yes}} (2007)<ref name="Teatro Luna"/><ref name="IL Humanities 2007-12-11"/><ref name="Performing... 2002"/>
* {{lang|es|Machos|italic=yes}} (2007)<ref name="Teatro Luna"/><ref name="IL Humanities 2007-12-11"/><ref name="Performing... 2002"/>
* {{lang|es|Enfrascada|italic=yes}} (2008, 5 female)<ref name="Bret Adams"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2012-04-19">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ott-0420-on-the-fringe-20120419-story.html |title=''Enfrascada'' finds humor amid heartbreak |author=Kerry Reid |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225005306/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ott-0420-on-the-fringe-20120419-story.html |date=April 19, 2012 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |access-date=December 25, 2018 |url-access=limited |postscript=. (URL not available in the [[European Economic Area]] or Switzerland.) }}</ref><ref name="Sun-Times 2018-05-02"/>
* {{lang|es|Enfrascada|italic=yes}} (2008, 5 female)<ref name="Bret Adams"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2012-04-19">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ott-0420-on-the-fringe-20120419-story.html |title=''Enfrascada'' finds humor amid heartbreak |author=Kerry Reid |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225005306/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ott-0420-on-the-fringe-20120419-story.html |date=April 19, 2012 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |access-date=December 25, 2018 |url-access=limited |postscript=. (URL not available in the [[European Economic Area]] or Switzerland.) }}</ref><ref name="Sun-Times 2018-05-02"/>
* ''Our Lady of the Underpass'' (2009, 2 male, 4 female)<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2009-03-13"/><ref name="Bret Adams"/>
* ''Our Lady of the Underpass'' (2009, 2 male, 4 female)<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2009-03-13">{{cite news |author=Chris Jones |date=March 13, 2009 |title=''Lady of the Underpass'' is the sort of Chicago story we need on stage |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-03-13-0903110238-story.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225004513/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-03-13-0903110238-story.html |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |postscript=. (URL not available in the [[European Economic Area]] or Switzerland.)}}</ref><ref name="Bret Adams"/>
* ''[[The House on Mango Street]]'' (2009)<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Chicago Reader 2009"/><ref name="Steppenwolf: Mango Street"/>
* ''[[The House on Mango Street]]'' (2009)<ref name="Time Out 2010-06-15"/><ref name="Chicago Reader 2009">{{cite news |date=2009 |title=The House on Mango Street |work=[[Chicago Reader]] |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-house-on-mango-street/Event?oid=1229636 |access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Steppenwolf: Mango Street">{{cite web |date=2009 |title=A Conversation with ''The House on Mango Street'' Adaptor Tanya Saracho |url=https://www.steppenwolf.org/articles/a-conversation-with-the-house-on-mango-street-adaptor-tanya-saracho/ |access-date=December 25, 2018 |publisher=[[Steppenwolf Theatre Company]]}}</ref>
* {{lang|es|El Nogalar|italic=yes}} (2011, 1 male, 4 female)<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/><ref name="Goodman: El Nogalar"/><ref name="Bret Adams"/>
* {{lang|es|El Nogalar|italic=yes}} (2011, 1 male, 4 female)<ref name="Windy City Times 2014-12-23"/><ref name="Goodman: El Nogalar"/><ref name="Bret Adams"/>
* ''Song for the Disappeared'' (2012)<ref name="Goodman: Song for the Disappeared"/>
* ''Song for the Disappeared'' (2012)<ref name="Goodman: Song for the Disappeared"/>
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[[Category:Hispanic and Latino American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Hispanic and Latino American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Texas]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Texas]]
[[Category:Showrunners]]
[[Category:American showrunners]]
[[Category:American women television writers]]
[[Category:American women television writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Chicago]]
[[Category:Writers from Chicago]]
[[Category:Writers from Sinaloa]]
[[Category:Writers from Sinaloa]]
[[Category:Queer women]]
[[Category:American queer actresses]]
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[[Category:Queer actresses]]
[[Category:Queer dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Queer dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Queer screenwriters]]
[[Category:Queer screenwriters]]
[[Category:Mexican LGBT actors]]
[[Category:Mexican LGBTQ actors]]
[[Category:American LGBT actors]]
[[Category:Mexican LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Mexican LGBT dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:American LGBT dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Mexican LGBTQ screenwriters]]
[[Category:Mexican LGBT screenwriters]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ screenwriters]]
[[Category:American LGBT screenwriters]]
[[Category:LGBTQ television producers]]
[[Category:LGBT television producers]]
[[Category:American women television producers]]
[[Category:American women television producers]]
[[Category:LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people]]
[[Category:LGBTQ Hispanic and Latino American people]]
[[Category:21st-century American screenwriters]]
[[Category:21st-century American screenwriters]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
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[[Category:LGBTQ women writers]]

Latest revision as of 05:19, 20 November 2024

Tanya Saracho
Born
Tanya Selene Saracho

1976 or 1977 (age 47–48)
Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
Alma materBoston University
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • playwright
Years active1998–present
TitleCo-founder of Teatro Luna

Tanya Selene Saracho is a Mexican-American actress, playwright, dramaturge and screenwriter. With a background in theater before writing for television, she co-founded Teatro Luna in 2000 and was its co-artistic director for ten years. She also co-founded the Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists (ALTA) of Chicago. She is particularly known for centering the "Latina gaze". She developed and was showrunner of the Starz series Vida, which ran for three seasons (2018-2020). Saracho signed a three-year development deal with Starz in February 2018.

Early life

[edit]

Tanya Selene Saracho[1] was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico,[2][3][4] to Ramiro A. Saracho, head customs officer with the Servicio de Administración Tributaria[2][4] and a powerful figure in the conservative Institutional Revolutionary Party,[2] and Rosalina Armenta. After her parents' divorce, her childhood was split between Reynosa, Tamaulipas, where her father lived, and just across the border in McAllen, Texas,[2][5][6] where she and her mother chose to reside together with her two younger sisters Tatiana Saracho and Fresy Saracho.[4][7] Both cities are part of the bi-national Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan area straddling the Rio Grande (Spanish: Río Bravo del Norte). She and her family-members went back and forth between Mexico and the United States often — with her father commuting over the border in 2008.[5] She attended middle and high school in McAllen[2] and enrolled in Boston University College of Fine Arts to study theater, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.[2][4][8]

Career

[edit]

Theater

[edit]

Saracho has said that a goal of her work is to provide representation for Latinx people and address stereotypes.[9] Her career started in 1998 when she moved to Chicago.[10][2][7][5][excessive citations] Saracho initially attempted to work as an actress, but found that her opportunities as a Latina were limited[1] to typecast roles as maids or sex workers.[7] She would form Teatro Luna with Coya Paz in June 2000.[1][5][11][12][13][excessive citations] The group had an original ensemble of 10 Latina women from diverse backgrounds.[tone][1][7]

Saracho took part in the creation of numerous works through Teatro Luna, including Machos, Dejame Contarte (Let Me Tell You), The María Chronicles and S-E-X-Oh!.[1][11] Machos is a play examining "contemporary masculinities",[14] drawn from interviews with 50 men across the U.S.[14][15] and performed by the all-Latina cast in drag,[14][16] which earned 2 Non-Equity Jeff Awards.[16]

Saracho parted with the group in January 2010 to focus on playwriting.[5] The same year, she co-founded The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists (ALTA) of Chicago,[17][18][19][20][excessive citations] which describes itself as "a service organization dedicated to furthering the Chicago Latinx Theater movement by promoting, educating, representing, and unifying Latinx-identified artists and their allies".[21]

Multiple plays that she worked on in this time received nominations for the Jeff Award.[2] She also worked as an outside actor on occasion during her time at Teatro Luna.[2][22]

One of her first works after leaving Teatro Luna was El Nogalar for the Goodman Theatre, co-produced with Teatro Vista, as a reconstruction of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard set in the pecan orchards of Northern Mexico amid the drug wars,[2][3][18][23][excessive citations] which ran at the Goodman Theatre from March 26 to April 24, 2011.[10][24] At that time, she was resident playwright emeritus at Chicago Dramatists, resident playwright at Teatro Vista, a Goodman Theatre Fellow at the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at Columbia College Chicago and an artistic associate with Chicago's LGBTQ-oriented About Face Theatre.[2][3][23] She was also then working on two Andrew W. Mellon Foundation commissions for Steppenwolf Theatre, an adaptation of a Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz play for Oregon Shakespeare Festival called The Tenth Muse,[23][25] and a historical fiction piece for About Face Theatre called The Good Private. The latter, about a transgender soldier in the American Civil War,[2][3] was inspired by the story of Albert Cashier, recognized as female on birth in Ireland but who lived out their life in Illinois as a man after fighting for the Union Army.[2][5] In late 2012, her play Song for the Disappeared about an estranged borderland family brought together by the disappearance of their younger brother, was performed at the Goodman Theatre.[23][26]

Her 2014 work also included Mala Hierba at the Second Stage Uptown[27][28] and Hushabye as part of Steppenwolf's First Look in 2014.[7][29][30] Saracho's additional involvements include being a member of The Kilroys' List[7] and founding the Ñ Project.[31] Saracho is also a member of SAG-AFTRA[31] and the Writers Guild of America West[31] and has worked as a voice-over actress.[2]

Television: In the writers' room

[edit]

In 2012, Saracho began working in television, benefiting from the ABC Diversity program.[7] In her first TV job, as a staff writer at Lifetime's Devious Maids in 2013,[4][8] her office-mate told her she was "the diversity writer" and her agent confirmed that she was not costing the showrunner any budget.[32] In 2014, Saracho wrote a two-hander for the Goodman Theatre,[8] where one character was a first-year TV writer and the other a janitor.[8] The Denver Theatre Center commissioned Saracho to expand that work to create Fade, which premièred there in Winter 2016.[20][33]

After Devious Maids, Saracho wrote for HBO's Girls[4][34] and Looking (in 2013–14),[4][8][34] along with ABC's How to Get Away with Murder.[18][34] Saracho continued writing for theater while also writing for television, including two theater commissions, one set in Red Bank, New Jersey and the other in Costa Mesa, California.[20] Between seasons of Looking, Saracho worked on The Tenth Muse, an all-female play set in a convent in Colonial Mexico.[7]

Television: As showrunner

[edit]

Saracho, working with the production company Big Beach,[17][35][36] created, co-wrote, and co-produced the show Vida.[32][37] She assembled an all-Latinx, "heavily queer" writers' room[37][38][32] and directorial team who are all Latinx or women of color.[37][38] Like much of Saracho's theater work, the dialog in Vida is in Spanglish.[36]

Saracho has said that Starz initially approached her about the show, looking for "a female millennial show about gentefication, which is the gentrification of a Latinx space. The queerness came from me. I identify as queer, and it had to be there."[32]

In February 2018, Saracho signed a 3-year deal with Starz.[19][39][40] She has described season 1 of Vida as a three-hour pilot.

She is also developing another series with Big Beach called Brujas,[17][41] based on her 2007 play Enfrascada,[42][43] which will follow four Afro-Caribbean / Latinx Chicagoans within the brujería counter-culture.[41][17]

Awards and recognition

[edit]

Saracho was named the Best New Playwright by Chicago magazine,[23][17] one of the nine national Luminarios by Café magazine[23][17] and given the first Revolucionario award in theater by the National Museum of Mexican Art.[23][17] She has also won the Goodman's Ofner Prize,[5][23] a 3Arts Artists Award[23][44] and a National Endowment for the Arts Distinguished New Play Development Project Grant with About Face Theater.[23][45] In January 2019, she was presented with the 2019 Final Draft New Voice Award for Television[43][46][47] and won the 2019 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for Vida.[48]

In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named her among the fifty heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people”.[49][50]

Personal life

[edit]

Saracho identifies as queer[10][32][37][51][52][53][excessive citations] and has a mainly LGBTQ+ social circle.[10] She was diagnosed with diabetes in 2010, of which there is a family history.[5] She has also spoken about suffering from anxiety and impostor syndrome.[20]

By 2008, as a green card-holder, she was the only member of her family who had not naturalized to American citizenship, being unready to renounce her Mexican citizenship.[5] She has said that in 2008, she chose to become a U.S. citizen in order to vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.[5]

Saracho grew up in the trans-border area between Tamaulipas and Texas – a frequent setting for her plays – however she considers herself a Chicagoan. She has also spoken out about racism that she has experienced in Chicago.[34]

She grew up, went to school and to college with fellow Mexican-American actor Raúl Castillo, who she was in a relationship with as a teenager.[10][34] Castillo is featured in a key episode for his character in Looking.[34] After being disowned by her father in 2014, Saracho took a 2-week trip to Scotland, inspired by her love of Outlander.[53]

Saracho has cited a number of individuals as influences, including the 17th-century nun Juana Inés de la Cruz, African-American playwrights and professors Lynn Nottage and Lydia R. Diamond, Cuban-American avant-garde playwright María Irene Fornés, British director Caroline Eves, and LGBT writer and director Luis Alfaro[7]

List of works

[edit]

Theatre

[edit]

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role(s) Notes
2013 Devious Maids Staff writer[8][23]
  • Episode 1x07: "Taking a Message"
  • Episode 1x09: "Scrambling the Eggs"
2014–2015 Looking Story editor[8]
  • Episode 1x04: "Looking for $220/Hour"
  • Episode 1x06: "Looking in the Mirror"
  • Episode 1x08: "Looking Glass"
  • Episode 2x05: "Looking for Truth"
  • Episode 2x09: "Looking for Sanctuary"
2015 Co-producer All 10 episodes of season 2
Ceci, Richie's cousin[10] Episode 2x05: "Looking for Truth"
2015–2016 How to Get Away with Murder Co-producer Episodes 2x01–2x06
Writer
  • Episode 2x08: "Hi, I'm Philip"
  • Episode 2x12: "It's a Trap"
2018–2020 Vida Showrunner All 6 episodes of season 1

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sobeira Latorre; Joanna L. Mitchell (2006). "Performing the Generic Latina: A Conversation with Teatro Luna". Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism. 7 (1). Duke University Press: 19–37. JSTOR 40338715.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Kerry Reid (April 1, 2011). "Tanya Saracho catching the wheel: a Mexico-born play wright steps boldly from Teatro Luna into Chicago's larger scene". American Theatre. Retrieved December 21, 2018 – via The Free Library.
  3. ^ a b c d Tanya Palmer (July 1, 2011). "Inside the violence: an interview with the playwright". American Theatre. Retrieved December 21, 2018 – via The Free Library.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Vanessa Erazo (February 6, 2014). "HBO's Looking Writer Tanya Saracho on Creating Latina Roles and Taking on Twitter Haters". Remezcla. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kris Vire (June 15, 2010). "Playwright Tanya Saracho". Time Out. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "Enfrascada, a dark comedy by Tanya Saracho". KMFA. August 25, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Victoria Myers (October 29, 2014). "Tanya Saracho". The Interval. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Matt Pollock (January 15, 2014). "13 Questions for Tanya Saracho". Chicago. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  9. ^ Garrett Anderson (October 31, 2017). "Expanding upon the canon of Latinx plays. Spotlight on Tanya Saracho". Journal of Plays and Musicals (Fall/Winter 2017–2018). Samuel French, Inc.: 24–26.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Jerry Nunn (December 23, 2014). "Nunn on One: Tanya Saracho on her past with the Goodman". Windy City Times. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "History". Teatro Luna. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  12. ^ "Artist Bios: Teatro Luna". Goodman Theatre. July 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Latina Theater Troupe Makes Art of Identity". March 6, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  14. ^ a b c d "Exploring contemporary masculinity in Machos with Teatro Luna on December 19". Illinois Humanities. December 11, 2007. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  15. ^ Jennifer Domino Rudolph (April 30, 2016). Embodying Latino Masculinities: Producing Masculatinidad. Springer. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-137-02288-2.
  16. ^ a b Kenneth Jones (June 10, 2008). "Dr. Moreau, Jerry Springer, Machos Are Among Jeff Award Winners in Chicago". Playbill. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g "Member Emeritus". The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  18. ^ a b c "Tanya Saracho". Goodman Theatre 90 Years. Goodman Theatre. 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  19. ^ a b Cynthia Littleton (February 23, 2018). "Vida Showrunner Tanya Saracho Sets Overall Deal With Starz". Variety. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  20. ^ a b c d "Tanya Saracho". 50 Playwrights. August 1, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  21. ^ "Official website". The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Electricidad". Goodman Theatre. December 10, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Tanya Saracho". Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  24. ^ a b "El Nogalar". Goodman Theatre. December 9, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  25. ^ a b "The Tenth Muse". Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  26. ^ a b "Song for the Disappeared". Goodman Theatre. September 12, 2012. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  27. ^ a b Charles Isherwood (July 28, 2014). "Tangled Romances, in Need of Some Pruning". The New York Times. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  28. ^ a b Marilyn Stasio (July 28, 2014). "Off Broadway Review: Mala Hierba". Variety. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Hushabye". Steppenwolf Theatre Company. 2014. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  30. ^ a b Kerry Reid (August 11, 2014). "REVIEW: First Look Repertory in the Steppenwolf Garage". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2018. (URL not available in the European Economic Area or Switzerland.){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  31. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Tanya Saracho". Bret Adams Ltd Artists' Agency. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  32. ^ a b c d e Pilot Viruet (May 4, 2018). "How Starz's Vida Created a Safe Space to Explore Latinx and Queer Stories". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  33. ^ a b Juliet Wittman (February 23, 2016). "Review: Tanya Saracho's Fade Brings Class Struggle to the Denver Center". Westword. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  34. ^ a b c d e f Nina Metz (February 20, 2014). "Chicago playwright Tanya Saracho lands Girls writing gig". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018. (URL not available in the European Economic Area or Switzerland.){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  35. ^ "Starz Announces Cast for Half-Hour Drama Series Vida from Latinx Showrunner Tanya Saracho". El Diario. November 14, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  36. ^ a b Michael Pickard (May 2, 2018). "Walking the Walk". Drama Quarterly. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  37. ^ a b c d Carmen Phillips (April 20, 2018). "Vida's Non-Binary Latinx Actor Ser Anzoategui Already Knows Their Show Will Be Your New Favorite". Autostraddle. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  38. ^ a b Carmen Phillips (May 3, 2018). "Tanya Saracho Made Vida With, For and About Latinxs — And She's Not Apologizing". Autostraddle. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  39. ^ Dominic Patten (June 19, 2018). "Vida's Tanya Saracho On Starz's East L.A. Drama, Seeing Herself & Having A Vision". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  40. ^ Denise Petski (June 12, 2018). "Vida Renewed For Second Season By Starz". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  41. ^ a b Dino-Ray Ramos (December 5, 2017). "Big Beach Developing Brujas Series With Showrunner Tanya Saracho". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  42. ^ a b Curt Wagner (May 2, 2018). "With Vida ready to air, Chicago TV series may be next for Tanya Saracho". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  43. ^ a b B Hernandez (February 1, 2019). "Gina's Kick Ass Roles, Bardem & Isaac Get Sci-Fi, Castings & Chisme". Latin Heat. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  44. ^ "Tanya Saracho". 3Arts. 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  45. ^ "Artist Bios: Tanya Saracho". Goodman Theatre. April 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  46. ^ Patrick Hipes (January 15, 2019). "Final Draft Awards: Callie Khouri, Boots Riley, Tanya Saracho To Be Honored". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  47. ^ 2019 Final Draft Awards: New Voice Recipient Tanya Saracho. Final Draft. February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019 – via YouTube.
  48. ^ Kimberly Nordyke (May 4, 2019). "GLAAD Media Awards: Boy Erased, Pose, Gianni Versace Among Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  49. ^ "Queerty Pride50 2020 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  50. ^ Reddish, David (2020-06-15). "Meet the entertainment creators fighting the good fight this year". Queerty. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  51. ^ Suzy Exposito (May 5, 2018). "Viva la Vida — This New Show About Latinx Queer Folks Is Everything". them. Condé Nast. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  52. ^ Michael Schneider (May 10, 2018). "Vida Creator Tanya Saracho Gives Voice to Latinx Sisters, Brown Queers, and Displaced Neighborhoods — Turn It On Podcast". IndieWire. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  53. ^ a b Jessica Radloff (May 6, 2018). "I Was Obsessed With Outlander—so I Found My Own Love Story in Scotland". Glamour. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  54. ^ a b c d e f g h Paloma Martínez-Cruz; Liza Ann Acosta (October 9, 2002). "El Macho: A Performance Perspective Which Tells How the Women of Teatro Luna Became Men". In Arturo J. Aldama; Chela Sandoval; Peter J. García (eds.). Performing the US Latina and Latino Borderlands. Indiana University Press. pp. 283–294. ISBN 978-0-253-00877-0. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  55. ^ Jen Goddu (November 9, 2006). "Quita Mitos". Chicago Reader. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  56. ^ Kerry Reid (April 19, 2012). "Enfrascada finds humor amid heartbreak". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2018. (URL not available in the European Economic Area or Switzerland.){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  57. ^ Chris Jones (March 13, 2009). "Lady of the Underpass is the sort of Chicago story we need on stage". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2018. (URL not available in the European Economic Area or Switzerland.){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  58. ^ "The House on Mango Street". Chicago Reader. 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  59. ^ "A Conversation with The House on Mango Street Adaptor Tanya Saracho". Steppenwolf Theatre Company. 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  60. ^ David Rosenberg (November 12, 2013). "About Face Theatre Kicks Off 'Out Front Series' — First Workshop To Feature Tony Award Winner Levi Kreis". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
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