Thelma Virata de Castro

San Diego, California

Thelma Virata de Castro is a Filipinx dramatist based in San Diego whose plays explore identity and belonging. She looks to Nature for inspiration and studies with Writing theWild. She was a commissioned artist for The Old Globe and has been awarded grants from The William Male Foundation, California Humanities, Far South/Border North, and San Diego Foundation. Selected productions, festivals, and readings include Asian Story Theater, Playwrights Project, Southwestern College, CIRCA-Pintig’s Chicago Filipino American Theatre Festival, Loud Fridge Theatre Group’s New Year, New Draft, Magnolia Theatre Company’s Femme Artisan Series, and The Old Globe’s Powers New Voices Festival. Thelma’s interview-based work with Asian Story Theater investigated history and race within specific communities, with subjects ranging from the incarceration of Japanese Americans to contemporary mixed racial identity. She acted as a playwright and Community Liaison for Halo-halo, which centered San Diego’s Filipinx stories. Access Inc. awarded her the Esperanza Award for extraordinary commitment to eradicating domestic violence in San Diego County for “The Fire in Me,” which examined domestic violence in the Filipinx community. She was a 2022 finalist for the AGE Legacy Playwright grant from Advance Gender Equity in the Arts. She received three Hedgebrook residencies and attended the A Room of Her Own Foundation retreat. She serves on the San Diego Writers, Ink Board of Directors and the Dramatists Guild National Affairs Committee. She works as a teaching artist and dramaturg. The San Diego Union-Tribune included her in its list of Phenomenal San Diego Women: Creators and Performers.

Instagram:@tvdecastro