Manuel Ortiz and Rachel Shuey, the team behind American Dream (Teatro LATEA September 2022) return to LATEA to premiere the second dark comedy in Ortiz’s American Mythology Trilogy, Manifest Destiny. Inspired by the classics, Ortiz takes a page from Hamlet and its central dilemma: “What do you do when your father’s ghost appears and demands that you avenge him?”

Part documentary theater, part memory play, Manifest Destiny tells the story of Miguel, a Chilean immigrant whose father was ‘disappeared’ by the Pinochet regime and who debates whether to take his revenge when he runs into his father’s murderer – double agent Michael Townley – on the streets of New York City. 

In Manifest Destiny, Ortiz uses the real history of Michael Townley as a contemporary lens by which to explore the complicated involvement of the United States in Latin America. Manifest Destiny opens in March 2025 as a co-production between LATEA and split/decision, the company Manuel and Rachel run together. 

Rachel Shuey

Rachel Shuey is a Brooklyn-based producer who is originally from New Orleans. Rachel has a keen eye for detail and has brought captivating and innovative projects to life across a broad range of artistic disciplines – from the Ukrainian Cultural Festival with Razom for Ukraine, to anything Manuel writes (including American Dream at Teatro LATEA and soon Manifest Destiny) to a festival honoring composer Gustav Mahler at the New York Philharmonic and much more. In New York, she has produced work at Ars Nova’s ANT Fest, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, and LAByrinth Theater. She has also worked in film – In France Michelle is a Man’s Name (Grand Jury Prize at Outfest, 2020, Slamdance, 2021.) Rachel received her MFA in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama.

Manuel Ortiz

Manuel Ortiz is a queer Latin director, playwright, and producer based in Brooklyn. He has directed sixteen plays, ten of which were original works, including Pichanga (published in Spain, 2019). His shows have been presented in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, México and the US. Ortiz’s path in production started when he worked for the International Animation Festival CHILEMONOS, as a producer in charge of international attendees. In 2014, Ortiz founded the Corredor Latinoamericano de Teatro, an international collaborative platform that works to bring Latin American theater to new audiences across the world. Since then, he has directed seven international theater festivals, participated as a speaker in festivals in Latin America, Europe and the US, and worked as a consultant for artists and organizations in New York, London, and Santiago. In 2019, Manuel moved to New York, where he has directed two shows for American theater companies and staged a full production of his play American Dream in Manhattan. He currently works as Associate Producer at Mercury Store.