José Casas is a playwright, director, and Assistant Professor who heads the Playwriting Minor in the Department of Theatre & Drama at the University of Michigan. He has a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a M.A. in Theatre Arts from California State University, Los Angeles, a M.F.A. in Playwriting from Arizona State University, as well graduate work in the Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities graduate program at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and TYA/USA. He is also a board member of The Children’s Theatre Foundation of America. His plays include aDoBe, the vine, 14, la ofrenda, Desvelado, a rose grows beyond the wall, jj’s place, a million whispers in the wind, somebody’s children, Pedro y El Lobo, Desvelado, and Flint. His plays, la ofrenda and somebody’s children were recipients of both the Bonderman National Playwriting for Youth Award and the American Alliance of Theatre and Education’s Distinguished Play Award. His book, Palabras del Cielo: An Exploration of Latina/o Theatre for Young Audiences, edited with Christina Marín, was a recipient of an AATE Distinguished Book Award. He is currently working on the book, Every Great Dream: Visioning African American Theatre for Young Audiences (2022), to be published by Dramatic Publishing.