Laura Susana Tapia (she/her) is an early career director, producer, and innovator passionate about sharing stories of the Latine experience and centering women’s point of view.
Laura graduated from Oklahoma City University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre (directing emphasis) and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. During her time at OCU, Laura worked on several projects that developed her love for socially engaged theatre that gives back to the communities that are represented on stage.
One of her favorite credits was assistant directing “In the Heights” under Broadway veterans Luis Salgado and Claudia Mulet. To give back to the community, Laura organized a pre-show vendors fair of local Latine owned businesses. This event rallied people of all backgrounds together in a celebration of Hispanic food, music, and art.
Another one of Laura’s passions is drama therapy for children. Laura directed a prdouction of “Tomás and the Library Lady” for a city-wide Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. This show celebrated the true story of Tomás Rivera and was performed to hundreds of immigrant children.
The free performances were followed by a group drama therapy session, created and led by Laura, that allowed the kids to talk about their struggles as children from non English speaking families in the US through the lense of the show in a comfortable and empowering environment. Laura later based both of her Capstone projects on her experience with this show.
More recently, Laura has been developing her producing practice by working at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival– the largest live arts festival in the world! She first started as a production assistant in 2023 where she hit the ground running working on 4 shows a day and managing a team of flyerers. Since then she has returned to the Festival as an associate producer, and has PA’ed on standout (and sell out!) shows like Ian Dale: All Talk, In Pour Taste, and 1 Hour of Insane Magic.
Outside of the theater, Laura has been working as a live events producer in Oklahoma City for city wide festivals, galas, VIP receptions, and the like. She loves dancing (especially to salsa and bachata music!), going out with friends, building puzzles with her sister, and soaking up the sunshine!