Theatre Arts Major

Hope Villanueva

Hope Villanueva

Adjunct Professor
Areas of Specialization - Dance and Movement Studies

Hope Villanueva (she/her) is an AEA stage manager by profession, but her writing explores the humanity of characters in their most challenging moments. She believes that art is intended to make ourselves better as a result of self-reflection.
 
Her new musical, Under the Tree, which reimagines The Nutcracker from the view of the rats, was produced at NextStop Theatre in VA for the 2025 holiday season. BUZZ, selected for the Valdez Theatre Conference and AGE Legacy Playwright Grant, was produced in 2025 at Northern Arizona University. Atrium had readings at Latinx Playwright’s Circle in NYC and Vanishing Girl (a musical with William Yanesh, book and lyrics), had multiple readings at NYC’s Latiné Musical Theatre Lab and a workshop at Flying V in Washington, DC in 2023. 
 
Her work has been presented by Theatre Alliance’s HotHouse, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Next Act! New Play Summit at Capitol Rep, Baltimore Playwrights’ Festival, The Black and Latino Playwrights’ Conference, The Kennedy Center Page to Stage Festival, The Discovery New Play Festival, The Kitchen Dog New Play Festival. The Women’s Voices Festival, and WTF Occupy the Space Festival, Rapid Lemon, NextStop Theatre Company, and Wayward Artist. Her plays have been an O’Neill Conference Finalist (2020) and Semi-Finalist (2022, 2024, 2025).
 
Ms. Villanueva 2025 Kennedy Center Local Artist Residency recipient, and a 2024 Dramatists Guild Foundation National Fellow. She holds an MA in Writing for Stage and Screen (Lesley University) and a MA in Education (Loyola University). She is represented by IPEX Artists’ Agency.
 
A highly esteemed AEA stage manager, Hope’s NYC credits include PSM on Mexodus (Off-Broadway, Berkeley Rep, Baltimore Center Stage), The Fires (SoHo Rep), Who’s Your Baghdaddy (Off-Broadway), and Once Upon a Pastime (WPPAC). She holds a bachelor's in playwriting from UC Santa Barbara, and a second master’s degree in writing for stage and screen at Lesley University.