Giants Have Us in Their Books
Written by José Rivera
Directed by Rudy Ramirez
March 4-13, 2027
Studio Theatre
Single Ticket Pricing
Adults:$36, $31, $26
Seniors, UConn Faculty & Staff: $31, $26, $21
Students, Children: $12
$5 Student Night: Thursday, 3/11
$18 UConn Faculty & Staff Night: Thursday, 3/11
Visiting faculty member Rudy Ramirez helms these four (4) short plays from José Rivera’s imaginative collection. Rivera’s “fairy tales for grown-ups” explore themes of fear, love, longing, and the stories we tell to make sense of a world that dwarfs us – all crafted in a magical, metaphorical and poetic style. A gorgeous, thought-provoking evening.
“[C]ompelling, entertaining and provocative theater.“
—Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Examiner
Performances:
Thursday, March 4, 7:30pm – Preview
Friday, March 5, 8pm – Opening
Saturday, March 6, 2pm– Talkback
Saturday, March 6, 8pm
Wednesday, March 10, 7:30pm
Thursday, March 11, 7:30pm – $5 Student Night, $18 Faculty/Staff Night, Talkback
Friday, March 12, 8pm
Saturday, March 13, 2pm – Closing
José Rivera
playwright
José Rivera’s full-length plays have been seen nationally and internationally and translated into a dozen languages. Obie Award–winners MARISOL And REFERENCES TO SALVADOR DALI MAKE ME HOT, both produced by The Public Theatre, NY, are taught around the country, as well as his essay “36 Assumptions about Playwriting.” World premieres include THE HOUSE OF RAMON IGLESIA (Ensemble Studio Theatre), THE PROMISE (Los Angeles Theatre Center), EACH DAY DIES WITH SLEEP (Circle Rep/Berkeley Rep), CLOUD TECTONICS (Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of Louisville), MARICELA DE LA LUZ LIGHTS THE WORLD (La Jolla Playhouse), GIANTS HAVE US IN THEIR BOOKS (Magic Theatre), SUEÑO (Hartford Stage Company), SONNETS FOR AN OLD CENTURY (Greenway Arts Alliance), BOLEROS FOR THE DISENCHANTED (Yale Rep), SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS (Public Theatre), MASSACRE (SING TO YOUR CHILDREN) (Goodman Theatre), BRAINPEOPLE (ACT/San Francisco), ADORATION OF THE OLD WOMAN (La Jolla Playhouse), ANOTHER WORD FOR BEAUTY (Goodman Theatre), THE MAIDS (INTAR), THE KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN (Menier Chocolate Factory, London), THE LOVESONG (IMPERFECT) (14th Street Y, directed by the author), YOUR NAME MEANS DREAM (Contemporary American Theatre Festival, directed by the author), THE HOURS ARE FEMININE (INTAR, directed by the author, winner 2024 HOLA Best Production Award). His latest play A LUNAR RHAPSODY was workshopped at Duke U., Northwestern U., DePauw U., and Santa Fe Playhouse, each co-directed (with Sara Koviak) by the author. The screenplay for Rivera’s first produced movie, “The Motorcycle Diaries” (Walter Salles, director) was nominated for 2005 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar — making Rivera the first Puerto Rican writer so honored. Other honors include a BAFTA, a Writers Guild Award, a Goya Award (Spain), and Argentina’s top screenwriting prize. His film “On the Road” (Francis Ford Coppola, producer, Walter Salles, director) premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and “Trade” (Lionsgate Pictures) was the first film to premiere at the United Nations. Other films include “The 33” and “Letters to Juliet.” Rivera co-created and produced “Eerie, Indiana,” (NBC) and was a consultant and staff writer on “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” (Showtime) 2019. Rivera wrote and directed the award-winning short films “The Fall of a Sparrow” and “The Civet,” seen at film festivals around the country. Rivera is a recipient of a Fulbright Arts Fellowship, a Whiting Foundation Award, a McKnight Fellowship, a 2005 Impact Award, and was a playwright-in-residence at the Royal Court Theatre, London. In 1989 he studied with Gabriel García Márquez at the Sundance Institute. He has served on the boards of PEN West, TCG, and Sundance, was a Creative Advisor at Sundance Screenwriting Labs in Utah, Jordan, and India, and currently teaches writing at HB Studio, New York. Most recently, he was head writer and executive producer of the Netflix series based on One Hundred Years of Solitude (winner “Best Series,” 2025 Premios Platino), which the London Telegraph called “a spellbinding adaptation of an unfilmable novel.”
Rudy Ramirez
director
Rudy Ramirez is director, writer and educator focused on shaping the future of theatre by developing new work and new artists. Rudy has directed for numerous companies around the country, including The Lark, Latino Theater Company, National Queer Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Octopus Theatricals, The Playwrights’ Center, Red Bull Theatre, The San Antonio Public, Shrewd Productions, Sky Candy Aerial Arts, Southwestern University, Teatro Audaz, Teatro Vivo, Signature Theatre, and the University of Texas at Austin. They are the founding Artistic Director of Avante Theatre Project and Associate Artistic Director of The VORTEX. They have won 9 directing awards for their work in Austin, TX and were named Best Director in the 2017 Austin Chronicle Reader’s Poll. Nationally, they have been finalists for the NNPN Directors Fellowship and the TCG Alan Schneider Award. They have an MA in Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Giants Have Us in Their Books Design & Production Team
Design & Production Team:
Scenic Design – Claire Cummings
Lighting Design – Tully Goldrick, Will Barr
Costume Design – James Pereya
Sound Design – Jake Neighbors
Production Stage Manager – Alison Savino*
*courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association
2026-27 Season
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