Photo by Matthew J. Lee

Melinda Lopez is a Cuban-American playwright, actress, and educator. She earned a B.A from Dartmouth College, received a M.A in Playwriting from Boston University, and was the first playwright-in-residence at The Huntington Theatre Company as part of the Mellon Foundation’s National Playwright Residency Program. Among her many accomplishments, she is perhaps best known for her award winning play Sonia Flew - a moving examination of family dynamics, and coming to terms with one's past. Outside of her playwriting, Melinda has also served on a variety of panels for the City of Boston, the NEA, and the Cambridge Arts Panel. She was also Drama Editor for the Penguin Anthology for Literature, Pearson (Publication date: 2016). Currently, Melinda teaches playwriting at Boston University, and theatre and performance at Wellesley College. She can be seen in her award winning one women show, Mala, at The Huntington Theatre Company in January 2018.

Sample Activities

These activities can be used for character analysis and to help students address how they can be supportive allies to victims of assault.

Before reading the play:

• Journal: Have students journal and reflect on a time where they shared something with a family member or friend and felt like they weren't believed (making sure they know it should be a time they feel comfortable sharing with classmates). They should answer the following prompts: How did it make you feel? What did you hope to get from the person you shared your story or experience with? Did the way the other person respond affect the way you viewed your experience?

After reading the play:

• Role on the Wall: On two separate pieces of poster paper, the teacher draws an outline of a person for the character of Em, and an outline of a person for the character of Cassie. The teacher asks the students to name some outside/external forces that may have impacted Cassie's actions and decisions in the play and writes them on the outside of the outline. The teacher then asks the class to name some personal/internal forces that may have impacted Cassie's actions and decisions in the play and writes them on the inside of the outline. The teacher repeats this for the character of Em.
• Journal: Have students journal again, but this time writing in role. One entry will be as Em, addressing why she questioned Cassie. A second entry will be as Cassie, addressing why she won't confirm or deny what really happen that night to Em.
• Small Group Discussions: In small groups of 4 or 5, have students discuss the following: 1) If they think it was appropriate for Em to question Cassie in this circumstance? 2) If it was appropriate for Cassie to respond to Em in the way she did, and why? Students can use their journals as support. Each group will share a little about what they talked about to the class.
• Group Poster: Each small group will be given a piece of poster paper and markers. The groups will be asked to make two lists. One list should address what they can do to help address violence and sexual assault in their community, and the second list should address what they can do or say to help support a friend who has been a victim of assault that confides in them. Posters will be presented and shared with the class.

Awards & Nominations

• 2017 Elliot Norton Award, Best New Play - Mala
• 2011 IRNE Award Winner, Best New Play - From Orchids to Octopi: An Evolutionary Love Story
• 2008 Elliott Norton Award Nominee, Best New Play - Gary
• 2004 Elliott Norton Award Winner, Best Production, Best New Play - Sonia Flew
• 2004 IRNE Award Winner, Best Production, Best New Play - Sonia Flew
• 1999 Charlotte Woodard Award - Given by the Kennedy Center for a “promising new voice in American theatre”
• 1999 Elliot Norton Award – Outstanding solo Performance - Midnight Sandwich/Medianoche (previously named God Smells Like a Roast Pig)

Web page compiled by Kaitlin Quinn (2017)