Damian Torres-Botello

Playwright
he/him/his

"Be who you are and be it well."

This quote from St. Francis de Sales serves as the artistic statement of playwright, director, and actor, Damian Torres-Botello(he/him/his), who focuses much of his writing and theatrical endeavors towards the dignity and amplifying experiences and narratives from society's fringes and persecuted. He is a member of the Society of Jesus (aka: Jesuit, a Catholic order of priests and brothers) and has over 30 produced full length, one act, and ten minute plays, has performed twelve solo pieces throughout the Midwest, and has collaborated in various theatrical endeavors using techniques from Theatre of the Oppressed, Theatre for Social Change and Playback Theatre with marginalized communities. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, he was co-founder and producing artistic director of Full Circle Theatre Company, resident artist with Doozer's Theatre Project, and was a founding member and resident artist with The Fishtank Performance Studio. His most recent credits have been with Detroit Mercy Theatre Company where he devised and directed a vignette with college students regarding sexual assault and rape on university campuses called "It Can Happen To Us," he devised and directed “American Privilege” exploring privilege and empowerment through oppression and marginalization, and adapted and directed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” magnifying experiences of love through the play’s characters, highlighting race, gender identity/fluidity, and sexual orientation. He has studied playwriting under Frank Higgins at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, comedy writing at The Second City Training Center in Chicago, solo writing and playwriting at Chicago Dramatists, among various other schools of training in acting (Meisner/Hagan), solo performance, and movement. He is also a spiritual director trained in the Ignatian Tradition accompanying persons struggling with the tensions of identity and their Catholic faith. He is active in engaging dialogue and reflection regarding racism and self-hood and serves as the spirituality editor for The Jesuit Post. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Saint Mary College in Levenworth, Kan., a Master of Arts in Social Philosophy from Loyola University Chicago, and is currently working on his Master of Divinity from Boston College.

Highlights

Artistic Statement

Damian defines theatre as a performative embodied response to the sociopolitical and sociocultural times and places we find ourselves at any given moment, inviting reflection and examination to motivate learning, unlearning, and relearning our social awarenesses, norms, and perspectives. 

Artist Purpose

Damian is a committed activist-artist seeking to interrogate society through inviting opportunities for dialogue, conversation, and shared experience by developing theatrical performances which inspire participation through the use of interviews, narrative, and history to amplify stories that present clear connections between our personal lives and those who are oppressed and marginalized. 

Artist Mission

Employing the Catholic teaching of Social Justice, Theatre of Resistance, and the principles of Theatre of the Oppressed and Theatre for Social Change, Damian aims to collaborate with groups or individuals who share the common desire to create/unite communities while generating awareness about the fundamental responsibility of our self-hood as members of a common world working towards a just society. 

Artist Vision

Damian engages the global search for justice to advocate human rights, promote dignity, motivate cooperation, and encourage understanding and awareness through uncovering the intersectionality of our identities in concert with sociopolitical and sociocultural realities.