Chris Leyva (he, him, his) is a playwright and director based in Columbus, OH.
Chris’ plays grow from curiosity. He uses humor to ask big questions and to foster empathy. He focuses on creating entertaining, meaningful and lasting experiences for audiences. His plays take place in heightened worlds and are grounded by authentic characters.
Chris was awarded an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award and his plays have been commissioned and developed by the Contemporary American Theatre Company, CLIMB Theatre, MadLab Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Curtain Players New Play Initiative, Great Plains Theatre Conference, and the Columbus School for Girls, among others.
He received an MFA from the Playwrights Workshop at The University of Iowa, a B.A. in Directing from Coe College, and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. Chris received a GCAC Personal Development grant in 2020 and was a finalist for GCAC’s prestigious Artists Elevated award in 2021 and 2022.
How do you describe your art?
I consider myself a theatrical storyteller. Sometimes it’s as a director, communicating a story alongside designers and actors. Other times, it’s as a playwright, crafting a story from fragments of personal discoveries and fiction.
How do you describe your creative process?
When I’m writing a play, ideas can emerge from literally anywhere. I can’t always explain it, but an idea will spark and crackle with possibility for me. I’ll start to see images flashing, questions will begin bubbling and blossoming, and I’ll know there is something worth exploring as a play.
I’m not afraid to revise or completely reinvent a moment or an entire relationship, or throw out something entirely if it makes the play clearer, better, richer for the audience.
I try to use the stylized and theatrical world to my advantage as much as possible. When I write, I imagine tiny, intimate, black box theaters. I write for the immediacy of those spaces. I don’t care if the audience can see how magic is created, as long as they can feel the magic. See the strings, see the puppeteer, see the costume change. I am constantly thinking about how an audience will experience and engage with the play. What do they see, how are they being included in the action, how can I slow something down to direct their attention, how can I help them feel something?
I want to stir a response. I want to leave them with hope, which doesn’t mean comedies or fluff. I’m not out for creating sugary sentimentality, but a resilient hope that shines brightly. I want audiences to be engaged, surprised, delighted, shocked, active, moved. I want them to have conversations about the play a week after seeing it. I want my plays to linger.
What is something about yourself that other people may not know?
Music is integral to my process as an artist. I’m always listening to music before I write and while I write. Each play has to have a theme song before I can write. I’ll listen to the theme song to get me in the world of the play or the mindset of the character. Then, when I write I listen to instrumental music by Imogen Heap. Only Imogen Heap! I can’t write with any other music, believe me, I’ve tried!
Do you write from an outline?
I do sometimes write from an outline. I find that writing from an outline can be very freeing. It gives me a structure to work from, and it allows me to know where a story is going. I allow some surprise because I still don’t exactly know how a character will act, or what they will say, so make sure you have flexibility in the outline. Allow yourself and your characters the freedom to diverge from the outline if it makes sense.
Do you write full time?
I don’t write full time. I have a full-time day job, which gives me health insurance and provides stability for me and my family. That takes a load of stress off of me, so I can create.