Francine Torres

EDUCATION

BA, Theatre, San Francisco State University
MFA, Acting, University of California, San Diego/La Jolla Playhouse Professional Training Program

Francine Torres is an Associate Arts Professor in the Department of Drama’s New Studio on Broadway at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she teaches acting.

She began her career under the tutelage of Luis Valdez, founder of the iconic El Teatro Campesino. Steeped in the Teatro lifestyle of performing and touring, she began work with El Teatro de la Esperanza, and played the protagonist, Ana, in the inaugural production of Real Women Have Curves. Since then, she has been committed to educating, performing, and directing theatre exploring the Chicanx experience. She has mentored and taught underrepresented students of color at historically classical theatres such as the American Conservatory Theatre, the American Repertory Theatre, and the La Jolla Playhouse. Francine has directed at Stanford University’s Casa Zapata program, dedicated to the promotion of Latinx works. Her work also includes nearly 20 years at the American Conservatory Theatre, where she taught acting, improvisation, and clown work, transitioning between street and classical theatre. She has directed more than 50 plays with student actors, with genres ranging from the Neo Futurists to Molière, mashing up classical theatre with contemporary context. As a professional actor, she has created many indelible characters during her time as company member at El Teatro Campesino and the American Repertory Theatre; performed in repertory houses including Berkeley Rep, ACT, Dallas Theatre Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Theatresports, and Killing My Lobster; and has toured the country and overseas.

Torres’ most passionate interest is the intersection of diversity in theatre—gender, sexuality, color, neurodiversity, and physical differences—and her experiences are published in the anthology Gravity Pulls You In. She has a substantial library of films and videos produced by Killing My Lobster and El Teatro Campesino, and plays the titular role in Bitten (Bad Dog Productions), currently winning independent film festival awards across the country.