“Somos como la planta que crecen sin agua”
Yo whats up! Welcome!
I’m Satya Jnani Chávez, a Chicago based, queer, curvy, Mexican-American actor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and intersectional feminist
Inspired by, my ancestors, my Duranguense father, and the people of this earth who managed to survive and thrive despite being “plants told to grow without water,”
Creating with radical acceptance of all my identities to honor those who came before me, impeded by Eurocentric social constructs to fully express the breadth of theirs.
As an Actor, you may have seen her in: American Mariachi (Dallas Theater Center, South Coast Rep, Arizona Theatre Comp); Empanada (The Public SA); Where Did We Sit On The Bus?, Soul of the World, A Christmas Carol, Evocation to Visible Appearance, All of this Togetherness, and You Across From Me (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Undesirables (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center); Life On Paper (Jackalope Theatre Company); The Happiest Song Plays Last (Curious Theatre); Othello and Twelfth Night (Colorado Shakespeare Fest); Ghost Of Lote Bravo, Shoe, and Undesirables (John F. Kennedy Center); Jesus Christ Superstar (Arvada Center); Black Elk Speaks, and Arabian Nights (The Aurora Fox).
Additional credits: Chávez received their B.F.A. in Acting from The University of Colorado, completed the 17/18 acting apprenticeship at Actors Theatre of Louisville. and is the recipient of the 2014 Kennedy Center National Irene Ryan Award for Acting.
As a Composer and Musician, their work includes; Refuge, co-created with Andrew Rosendorf, which has received an Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, a Venturous Theater Fund Grant, and a MAP Fund Grant and getting its NNPN backed, Rolling-World-Premiere this year (Curious Theatre, Theatre Lab FAU, Unicorn Theatre), an original score for the virtual, Drama League Nominated, Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, by Brian Quijada (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Hamlet and Ophelia (The Artistic Home), Life on Paper (Jackalope Theatre Comp.), Late, A Cowboy Song (Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts), and you may have even caught them on Season 1 of ABC’s American Idol (Hollywood Week).
Now Running: Refuge (curioustheatre.org)
Now Streaming: Where Did We Sit On The Bus? (actorstheatre.org)
Up Next: American Mariachi (Alabama Shakespeare Festival July 2022); Where Did We Sit On The Bus? (San Diego Repertory LatinX New Play Festival September 2022); Refuge (Theo Ubique October 2022; Unicorn Theater January 2023; Theatre Lab FAU March 2023)
Satya is proudly represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.
As an educator, Chavez began her career as a private voice and music instructor in 2010. Her mission is to empower artists of all ages and experience levels through developing their craft and embracing their individuality. Influenced by years of experience as an actor, musician, voice instructor and teaching artist, with various companies including Parlando: School of Musical Arts and The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, in her teaching, Chavez not only focuses on technique but also, empowering artists to embrace their voice, their individuality, and discover the stories they were meant to tell.
During her time at the University of Colorado, Chavez created the a cappella group On That Note, an inclusive co-ed a cappella group tailored for students pursuing their careers in the arts. Since then, she’s worked in collaboration, as actor, musical director, and diversity and inclusion consultant, with The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, and Safe 2 Tell to further their mission of preventing violence in schools through theater, education and engagement. In working with these organizations, she appeared in The Taming of the Shrew (Lucentio/Baptista), Twelth Night (Viola/Feste), and Much Ado About Nothing (Hero/Don Jon/Friar Francis).