Ivan R. Lopez is a Cuban-American theatre artist born and raised in Miami. He has worked as a playwright, director, actor, producer, and hospital clown in Miami, New York, Atlanta, Denver, and Connecticut with the Denver Center Theatre Company, New Theatre, City Theatre, Main Street Players, O Miami Poetry Festival, Orchestra Miami, Artistic Vibes, White Rose Miami, Microteatro, aMios, among others. His play, THE LION TAMER, was a winner of Gulfshore Theatre's New Works Festival in 2023 and has been workshopped at the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis. His comedic one-act, I FOUND THIS ON THE WEB, premiered at City Theatre's Summer Shorts. He is a fellow in Miami-Dade County's Playwright Development Program. Ivan also recently directed the world premiere of SWINDLERS by Chris Anthony Ferrer at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, Georgia. For over a decade, Ivan worked with Healthy Humor as a hospital clown, making rounds at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital as Dr. Purple. He has also worked at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut, a camp founded by Paul Newman to provide a “different kind of healing” to seriously ill children and their families. Ivan is the recipient of an Excellence in Teaching Award from FIU's Faculty Senate. www.ivanrlopez.com