“Somos como la planta que crecen sin agua” 

Yo whats up! Welcome!

I’m Satya Jnani Chávez, (They/She/He) a Chicago-based, queer, Latiné, multidisciplinary artist, whose work as a composer, actor, musician, director, and music director, has been developed and produced across the country.

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.

Their border play, Refuge, co-created with Andrew Rosendorf, which received an NNPN Rolling World Premiere, Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, a Venturous Theater Fund Grant, and a MAP Fund Grant, has been produced at Curious Theatre (True West Award), Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre (Non-Equity Wing Jeff Awards: Best Original Music in a Play, Best Ensemble, and Artistic Specialization), Unicorn Theatre, and Theatre Lab FAU. Chávez also made their directorial debut with Refuge at Theo Ubique, Unicorn Theatre, and Theatre Lab. 

Their other compositional credits include: an original score for Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, a one-person live-looping musical written by Brian Quijada, produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville (Drama League Award nominated), Cleveland Playhouse, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Marin Theatre Company, The Denver Center for Performing Arts and Steppenwolf 1700 (November 2024); an original score for ¡Bernarda! produced with Teatro Vista at Steppenwolf 1700 (Jeff Award Nominated); an original score and sound design for Corduroy at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; their Theater For Young Audience musical, Brighter Futures, co-created with Gabe Ruiz and J. Godwin, which premiered at Paramount Theatre;  Seattle History Remix, a live-looping TYA play with music developed with Idris Goodwin as Seattle Children’s Theater’s first Artist in Residence. Their work also includes original music for Late, A Cowboy Song (Wirtz Center); Hamlet and Ophelia (The Artistic Home); Empanada (The Public San Antonio); Life on Paper (Jackalope Theatre Company); and Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night (Colorado Shakespeare Festival).

Commissioning institutions include: Goodman Theatre, The Denver Center for Performing Arts, Paramount Theatre, TheatreSquared, Seattle Children’s Theater, Curious Theatre, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. 

As a music director their credits include; Refuge (Curious Theatre, Theo Ubique, Unicorn Theatre, and Theatre Lab FAU), American Mariachi (Dallas Theater Center), Xmas Cuento Remix (16th Street Theater), Life on Paper (Jackalope Theatre Company), The Happiest Song Plays Last (Curious Theatre), Taming of the Shrew, and Twelfth Night (Colorado Shakespeare Festival)

As an actor their work has been seen of the stages of The Goodman Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, The Denver Center for Performing Arts, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Cleveland Playhouse, John F. Kennedy Center, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Marin Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, Arizona Theatre Company, Arvada Center, Curious Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and The Public San Antonio and more.  On TV, Chávez made it to Hollywood week on ABC’s first season of American Idol.

 With a few singles released on all streaming platforms, including “.burn.” and “.honey.” Chávez is working toward fulfilling a life long dream to release an album. Piscinas de Sonido and the original cast recording of Refuge are scheduled to release in the winter of 2025.

Additional credits: Chávez is the inaugural recipient of the Jeff Impact Fellowship, 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.