Myrna Casas


Myrna Casas is a Puerto Rican experimental playwright, director, actress and theatre scholar. She is the co-founder and artistic director of the company Producciones Cisne.

Early life

Casas was born in San Juan to Carmen Busó Carrasquillo and Sixto Casas Semidei. She studied Drama at Vassar College, graduating in 1954, and earned a master's degree in acting at Boston University in 1961. She went on to study at New York University where she obtained a doctorate in Theatre education in 1974.

Professional life

A member of the sixties generation, Casas's work addresses Puerto Rican national identity through both absurdist and realist plays. She also explores the themes of women in patriarchal societies, as in her play Eugenia Victoria Herrera. Her 1988 play The Great Ukrainian Circus has been performed regularly and examined by scholars.
Casas has for many years taught at the University of Puerto Rico in the drama department, which she directed for several years. She acted in the 1950s and served in the San Juan municipal assembly from 1996 to 2000.

Works

Casas has written more than 30 plays, including:
She also wrote an opera libretto, El mensajero de plata.

Honors

Casas has received honors from the Center for Advanced Studies on Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, Ateneo Puertorriqueño, the University of Tennessee, the Puerto Rican Senate, and SOGEM .
In 2019 the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón dedicated the celebration of World Theatre Day to Casas.