Santiago Guzmán (he/they) is an award-winning writer, performer, director, dramaturge, and producer for theatre and film originally from Metepec, Mexico, now calling St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador home.
Santiago is the Artistic Director of TODOS Productions, an organization that seeks to promote, produce, and support work of under-represented artists in Newfoundland and Labrador. They are also the Artistic Director for Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre in Halifax, NS.
He is a proud member of The Quilted Collective, whose first anthology, Us, Now, has been published by Breakwater Books in 2021.
His work is very brown, very queer, and very real.
Santiago is the Artistic Director of TODOS Productions, an organization that seeks to promote, produce, and support work of under-represented artists in Newfoundland and Labrador. They are also the Artistic Director for Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre in Halifax, NS.
He is a proud member of The Quilted Collective, whose first anthology, Us, Now, has been published by Breakwater Books in 2021.
His work is very brown, very queer, and very real.
Core Values
His work as an artist is rooted in community:
He cares to foster, celebrate, and advance community.
Often, he pursues ways of ‘opening’ his creative processes to community, striving to work with these core values of his in mind.
His hope is that anyone observing one of his creative process can take away something new or be provoked/inspired to try applying something into their own craft.
This is a very small step he takes as a creator to deconstruct/disrupt/decolonize his art practice and share it with community.
He cares to foster, celebrate, and advance community.
Often, he pursues ways of ‘opening’ his creative processes to community, striving to work with these core values of his in mind.
His hope is that anyone observing one of his creative process can take away something new or be provoked/inspired to try applying something into their own craft.
This is a very small step he takes as a creator to deconstruct/disrupt/decolonize his art practice and share it with community.
Santiago defines “community” as a group of like-minded people that he feels he shares something in common. He identifies as a queer, brown, immigrant artist, and he feels a deep connection to those, like him, who have been historically oppressed/silenced.
Awards/Recognitions
2023
- NL 2024 Arts & Letters Award Winner (Senior Dramatic Script) for Seis Grados en Mayo.
- YWCA’s St. John’s Circle of Distinction - Inspired Innovation Award
- Playwrights Guild of Canada Inaugural's 2022 John Palmer Award.
- NL 2022 Arts & Letters Award Winner (Senior Dramatic Script) for Urn.
- Short-listed for the NLCU 2022 Fresh Fish Award for Urn.
- “Best Short Film” at The Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival in Halifax, NS for Express Checkout
- Runner-up for the Highland Arts Theatre’s Rita Joe Canadian Playwriting Award 2021 for his play La Tlanchana (Working Title).
- Due to his work with TODOS Productions, he was listed in 2019 as an innovator in Atlantic Business Magazine's edition of "30 under 30: Newfoundland and Labrador".
Acting Credits
Selected acting credits include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Neptune Theatre/Mirvish Productions) & A Midsummer Night's Dream (Neptune Theatre); ALTAR (RCA Theatre); Urn (TODOS Productions); I Forgive You and The Other Side of This (Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland); Hunger and The Tales of Dwipa (White Rooster Theatre); Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley and S.T.O.P. (Theatre New Brunswick); Private Eyes (Power Productions); No Man’s Land and The New Found Lande Trinity Pageant (Rising Tide Theatre).
As a screen actor, Santiago has worked with film companies and festivals like Blue Pinion Films (We Are Here, Te Quiero), Pope Productions (Hudson and Rex, Season 3), NIFCO (Spin) and CNA Digital Filmmaking (The Impossible Dream, Because We Were). Santiago is an ACTRA Member.
As a screen actor, Santiago has worked with film companies and festivals like Blue Pinion Films (We Are Here, Te Quiero), Pope Productions (Hudson and Rex, Season 3), NIFCO (Spin) and CNA Digital Filmmaking (The Impossible Dream, Because We Were). Santiago is an ACTRA Member.
Writing Credits
-THEATRE-
Santiago’s work as a writer aims to put local, under-represented narratives and characters on the frontlines, whilst inviting audiences to appreciate the vibrancy of Newfoundland and Labrador from a diverse perspective.
Their work has been supported, developed and/or produced by theatre companies and festivals such as TODOS Productions (NL), RCA Theatre Company (NL), White Rooster Theatre (NL), Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland (NL), Poverty Cove Theatre Company (NL), Rising Tide Theatre (NL), Neighbourhood Dance Works (NL), Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Eastern Front Theatre (NS), PARC (pan-Atlantic), Ship's Company Theatre (NS), Theatre New Brunswick (NB), Paprika Festival (ON), Stratford Festival (ON), Lemontree Creations (ON), Boca Del Lupo (BC), Banff Playwrights Lab (AB) and the National Theatre School of Canada’s Art Apart Program (QC).
His one-person show, ALTAR, world-premiered in 2021 with the Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company and toured across high schools in Newfoundland and Labrador as a digital offering, as well as national presentations at Prismatic Arts Festival, (NS) and Aluna Theatre’s RUTAS Festival (ON). This same production received a summer presentation at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival with TNL in 2023, an Atlantic Canadian tour in 2024, as well as a performance at the SpotOn Festival in Lancashire (UK). ALTAR received a second production by Theatre New Brunswick in the winter of 2023 and toured their province alongside the world premiere of his new TYA play, S.T.O.P. Santiago co-wrote NewfoundLanded, a documentary theatre piece about immigrants and refugees to Newfoundland and Labrador with Nabila Quershi and Vanessa Cardoso-Whelan, which premiered to a sold-out run in November 2024 in St. John’s, produced by TODOS Productions in association with White Rooster Theatre.
Writing Residencies & Creative Units
2024
-TV / FILM-
-(NON) FICTION-
-DRAMATURGY-
As a dramaturge, Santiago has focused on supporting equity-seeking, emerging writers to tell their stories, as there is a need in our community to see these stories on stage. Through his theatre company, TODOS Productions, he has supported several pieces in development alongside Robert Chafe in the 2020 and 2021 TODOS’ Writing Unit. They have participated as lead and assistant dramaturge at PARC’s 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 (upcoming) Playwrights’ Retreat (pan-Atlantic), and has offered dramaturgical support through PARC’s Home Delivery program. Santiago was the dramaturge for the Fundy Fringe Festival in NB in 2020 and Plain Site Festival (NB) in 2021 and has offered dramaturgical support to Theatre New Brunswick (NB). He co-dramaturged with Natércia Napoleão CAHOOTS Theatre’s Playwrights Unit (ON), Hot House Crossing in 2022, and recently was a dramaturge of the 2023 Women’s Work Festival (NL). Santiago worked with Halifax Theatre for Young People as a dramaturge on Newcomers: Stories of Refugee and Immigrant Children.
Santiago’s work as a writer aims to put local, under-represented narratives and characters on the frontlines, whilst inviting audiences to appreciate the vibrancy of Newfoundland and Labrador from a diverse perspective.
Their work has been supported, developed and/or produced by theatre companies and festivals such as TODOS Productions (NL), RCA Theatre Company (NL), White Rooster Theatre (NL), Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland (NL), Poverty Cove Theatre Company (NL), Rising Tide Theatre (NL), Neighbourhood Dance Works (NL), Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Eastern Front Theatre (NS), PARC (pan-Atlantic), Ship's Company Theatre (NS), Theatre New Brunswick (NB), Paprika Festival (ON), Stratford Festival (ON), Lemontree Creations (ON), Boca Del Lupo (BC), Banff Playwrights Lab (AB) and the National Theatre School of Canada’s Art Apart Program (QC).
His one-person show, ALTAR, world-premiered in 2021 with the Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company and toured across high schools in Newfoundland and Labrador as a digital offering, as well as national presentations at Prismatic Arts Festival, (NS) and Aluna Theatre’s RUTAS Festival (ON). This same production received a summer presentation at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival with TNL in 2023, an Atlantic Canadian tour in 2024, as well as a performance at the SpotOn Festival in Lancashire (UK). ALTAR received a second production by Theatre New Brunswick in the winter of 2023 and toured their province alongside the world premiere of his new TYA play, S.T.O.P. Santiago co-wrote NewfoundLanded, a documentary theatre piece about immigrants and refugees to Newfoundland and Labrador with Nabila Quershi and Vanessa Cardoso-Whelan, which premiered to a sold-out run in November 2024 in St. John’s, produced by TODOS Productions in association with White Rooster Theatre.
Writing Residencies & Creative Units
2024
- Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 Winter 2024/25 Artist in Residence
- Stratford Festival Foerster Bernstein New Play Development Program
- Banff Centre for the Arts Playwrights' Lab
- bCurrent's Thought Residency.
- Poverty Cove Theatre's Playwrights Unit
- lemontree Creations' Digital Residency.
- Neighbourhood Dance Works' Virtual Festival Residency.
- Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre's 2022 Playwright's Retreat.
- Ship's Company Theatre's Masstown Market Shipwright Residency.
- Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre's 2021 -online- Playwright's Retreat.
- Neighbourhood Dance Works' Virtual Festival Residency.
- Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre's 2020 -online- Playwright's Retreat
- Eastern Front Theatre and Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre's RBC Emerging Playwrights Program (NS)
- 2019 Paprika Festival (ON)
- Eastern Front Theatre and Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre's RBC Emerging Playwrights Program (NS)
-TV / FILM-
- Making NewfoundLanded: a documentary film on the making of TODOS Productions' NewfoundLanded, a verbatim theatre play about immigrants and refugees to NL (2022/2023).
- We Are Here: A documentary investigation TV show for Bell 1 Fibe about immigrants in St. John's, NL. (September 2021)
- Te Quiero: Short Film screened at the Nickel Independent Film Festival (2019), St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (2019), Sound Smith Film Festival (2019), Corner Brook’s Rotary Arts Centre (2019), NIFCO and ArtsNL’s Art in the Time of COVID (2020), through the AAMP - Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl (2020), and the newly created Open Film Festival (2021).
- Express Checkout: Short Film premiered at the Nickel Independent Film Festival (2021), screening at the Sound Smith Film Festival (September 2021).
-(NON) FICTION-
- Santiago's short story Vanity is included in the recently published int The Quilted Collective’s Anthology “Us, Now” by Breakwater Books LTD.
- He occasionally writes articles for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador.
-DRAMATURGY-
As a dramaturge, Santiago has focused on supporting equity-seeking, emerging writers to tell their stories, as there is a need in our community to see these stories on stage. Through his theatre company, TODOS Productions, he has supported several pieces in development alongside Robert Chafe in the 2020 and 2021 TODOS’ Writing Unit. They have participated as lead and assistant dramaturge at PARC’s 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 (upcoming) Playwrights’ Retreat (pan-Atlantic), and has offered dramaturgical support through PARC’s Home Delivery program. Santiago was the dramaturge for the Fundy Fringe Festival in NB in 2020 and Plain Site Festival (NB) in 2021 and has offered dramaturgical support to Theatre New Brunswick (NB). He co-dramaturged with Natércia Napoleão CAHOOTS Theatre’s Playwrights Unit (ON), Hot House Crossing in 2022, and recently was a dramaturge of the 2023 Women’s Work Festival (NL). Santiago worked with Halifax Theatre for Young People as a dramaturge on Newcomers: Stories of Refugee and Immigrant Children.
Directing Credits
Selected acting credits include New Canadian Curling Club (Neptune Theatre - Upcoming); NewfoundLanded & 76 Centimeters (TODOS Productions), Aya and the Masquerades & The Tales of Dwipa (White Rooster Theatre), Saudade (Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador), City of Stories (Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland) .
Teaching
He has guest-taught the period study at George Brown Theatre School (ON), and facilitated acting workshops at Memorial University of Newfoundland (NL), taught a playwriting workshop at Mount Allison University (NS) and a screenwriting workshop at Grenfell Campus (NL) in the Winter of 2021. He has facilitated numerous workshops with Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (NS), The Ruby Project (NS), TODOS Productions (NL), Halifax Fringe (NS).
They were a guest instructor at Highlight Arts Theatre's (NS) Theatre School Intro to Playwriting Class.
They were a guest instructor at Highlight Arts Theatre's (NS) Theatre School Intro to Playwriting Class.