El Bacalao: The Catfish Man

Desi Moreno-Penson is a playwright, actor, dramaturge, and independent theater producer based in NYC. She has an MFA in dramaturgy and theater criticism from brooklyn college. Her plays have been developed/produced at ensemble studio theater (EST), INTAR, multistages, perishable theater (providence, RI), henry street settlement, SPF-summer play festival, terraNOVA collective, downtown urban theater festival (DUTF) @the cherry lane, urban theater company (Chicago), teatro coribantes (san juan, PR), among others. She performed some of her written work at la MaMa experimental theater club as part of their poetry electric initiative, solo artists: solo words, curated by william “electric” black. Her short play, DEAD WIVES DANCE THE MAMBO, was featured as part of the chain one-act festival at the chain theater, directed by KM jones. Her new play, EL BACALAO: The Catfish Man, a latinx retelling of THE BACCHAE by euripedes, was part of the 2021 fall intensive writers group with workshop theater. Another play, SIN AGUA (without water) is part of the 2022-2023 fighting words new script development program with babes With blades theater vompany in chicago. Her play, BEIGE received a staged reading as part of the playwrights/directors unit (PDU) at The actors studio. In addition, BEIGE is the winner of the 2016 national latinx playwriting award sponsored by the arizona theater company; and is a finalist for both the eugene O’Neill national playwrights conference and the bay area playwrights festival (san francisco, CA). She has twice won the multistages new works contest sponsored by multistages theater company for her plays, OMINOUS MEN and COMIDA DE PUTA (F%&king Lousy Food); she has twice been a semifinalist for the princess grace award, and her work has received honorable mention on the kilroys List. Her plays are published by broadway play publishing; her short play, RECONCILE, BITCH is included in the short plays anthology “best ten-minute plays of 2020,” published by applause theater and cinema books; a ten-minute play, SPIRIT SEX: A PARANORMAL ROMANCE, was selected for the short plays anthology, “best ten-minute plays of 2010;” and a scene from her play, COMIDA DE PUTA (F%&king Lousy Food) is included in an anthology featuring plays written by latinx playwrights, “Scenes for Latinx Actors: Voices of the New American Theater,” both published by smith and kraus. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and SAG-AFTRA. Desi lives in the bronx with her wonderful partner, anthony, and their cat, choo-choo.

Opening Night of El Bacalao-The Catfish Man