Each month on The Subtext, Brian speaks with a playwright about life, writing, and whatever itches we are scratching.

This month Brian talks to the Obie-winning playwright of Marisol and References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot (and the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of The Motorcycle Diaries) about his work onstage and in film, about the influence of his religious upbringing on his writing, and about a new play drawing on his own early job as a janitor.

Rivera’s other plays include Cloud Tectonics, Boleros for the Disenchanted, Sueño, Sonnets for an Old Century, School of the Americas, Massacre (Sing to Your Children), Brainpeople, Adoration of the Old Woman, The House of Ramon Iglesia, Another Word for Beauty, The Maids, The Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Each Day Dies With Sleep, Lovesong (Imperfect), Your Name Means Dream, and The Hours Are Feminine. In addition to The Motorcycle Diaries, his film credits include On the Road and Trade, and his TV credits include Eerie, Indiana, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, and One Hundred Years of Solitude. He has served on the boards of TCG and the Sundance Institute and was a Creative Advisor at Sundance Screenwriting Labs in Utah, Jordan, and India.

This episode can also be found here, and is also available on iTunes and Spotify.