Rose Portillo (she/her/hers) is an accomplished Theater Artist: actor, writer, director, educator.
Rose is a 40 yr Veterana of theater, film and television. Her career began with a lead role in Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit creating the role of Della (original L.A. production, Broadway, and film), and more recently appeared in its LA revival as Mama Reyna. Other highlights in a long career include starring in the award winning film …and the earth did not swallow him based on the ground-breaking novel by Tomás Rivera; performing in the San Francisco Symphony’s production Peer Gynt, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas; performing at Disney Hall with the LA Philharmonic in the 2-character play Mother Goose, and performing the lead role in Cherrie Moraga’s The Mathematics of Love at Brava Theater in San Fransisco. Her voice-over work includes narrating the award-winning documentary Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle by Phillip Rodriguez. She is currently gaining notoriety for her role in a Subaru commercial and her voice will appear role in an upcoming Disney feature animation.
As Associate Director of LA’s acclaimed theater company About…Productions (1992-2016), Rose partnered with Theresa Chavez on more than 9 critically acclaimed theater productions as co-author/co-director and actor. Other collaborators included Alejandro Escovedo, Luis Perez of Los Lobos, and many other well-known artists.
A respected master teaching artist, Rose also founded About…Production’s Young Theaterworks, creating programs which target youth in Continuation/Options schools and which have been featured in the LA TIMES and on NPR. In addition, she has developed program content for Shakespeare Center LA’s Will Power to Youth and Veterans in the Arts programs, and the California Institute of the Artsʼ Community Arts Partnership (CAP) at Plaza de la Raza, and LACER – all received the Nation’s Coming Up Taller Award.
At the invitation of Pomona College (2007-present), Rose designed, and continues to teach and direct ‘Theater with Young Audiences’ in which college students engage with middle and high school students from the city of Pomona to create original work and witness the power of theater to transform. She has also created devised work with youth through Pomona College’s P.A.Y.S. program and Pitzer College’s Native Youth to College program.
She has been a California Arts Council Artist-in-Residence recipient, Writer-in-Residence at the William Inge Center for the Arts and was the first Artist-in-Residence (with Theresa Chavez) at the University of California, Merced.
Honors include: The Los Angeles Womens Theater Festival’s Maverick Award;
La Opinionʼs Mujeres Destacadas Award; Playwrightsʼ Arena Lee Melville Award for outstanding contributions to the L.A. Theater Community; Recognitions by the City of Los Angeles for various artistic contributions.
Rose’s home and visual art work have been also been featured in the LA Times, local television, and on the podcast Home: Stories From LA.
RP is a renowned theater artist – actor/writer/director/collaborator/educator;
A 40+ year veterana of stage and screen (large and small); a community-builder; an art-maker of altars and mosaics (rosaics); an innovator, initiator, intuit; a maverick; dedicated to breaking new ground and smashing stereotypes.