ABOUT
Letícia Monteiro (she/ela) is a multi-hyphenate artist with Brazilian roots and a clowny heart.
Letícia (pronounced leh-TEA-see-ah) began her artistic journey in São Paulo, Brazil, performing silly (and sometimes stunty!) one-girl plays for an eager audience of two: her parents. When she asked them if she could join the Circus and they said, “Hell no,” she decided she’d be a theater clown instead and trained in acting, writing, movement, and singing. In 2019, she dusted off two old suitcases, paid ridiculously expensive baggage fees, and traveled across the continent to get a B.A. in Theatre and Gender, Women’s, & Sexuality Studies at Grinnell College.
Surrounded by endless cornfields in Iowa, Letícia recognized the importance of sharing space and breath with others and doubled her efforts to create work centered on collaboration, experimentation, and play. As a multi-hyphenate artist, Letícia is passionate about using art to unearth the forgotten, invisible narratives of her peoples. She is particularly interested in developing new works by women, queer folks, and people of color, and more broadly, in exploring how marginalized communities use theater as a tool to practice transformative justice.
She has studied and performed at The Second City and The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and is currently a Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellow.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"Letícia is stunning all-around. Beautiful performer, collaborator, director, and writer. Her writing packs a profound punch, and always pierces through with powerful love. Big fan!"
- Ren Dara Santiago, Inaugural Recipient of The Cornelia Street American Playwriting Award
"Exciting to witness Letícia's movement and ideas. Engaged, generous... She delves into the tasks at hand with groove and heart."
- Khadijah Griffith, Dancer (Fuerza Bruta, KING KONG, The Wiz Live!)
"Letícia's enthusiasm and relentless pursuit of fun in all things is an absolute delight to work with, and a marvel to watch. Her generous presence and rigorous work ethic would be a gift to any room lucky enough to have her in it."
- Gabriel Levey, Adjunct Faculty at the NYU Tisch School of The Arts
"Letícia is an absolute delight to work with. I have witnessed her grow into a powerful artist full of compassion and deep curiosity about the human experience. She brings with her an honoring of her culture and advocacy for BIPOC experiences into the foundation of her artistry. She's a go getter, courageous and fiercely dedicated to everything she does. She is undoubtedly a rising artist and leader in theatre."
- Chalia La Tour, 2020 Tony-Award Nominee
"Committed. Devoted. Professional. And what a rich imagination! Letícia is one of the easiest people to work and collaborate with because you can immediately tell she understands that telling stories is important. That it requires the ethics mentioned above. She sees the value in what it means to be an actor. She understands that acting is for something beyond ourselves."
- Sebastian Arboleda, Founding Artistic Director of Iron Butterfly Studio
WHAT'S BEEN UP
First Gig in NYC!
October–December 2023
Letícia recently took part in a 10-week new play development workshop at Clubbed Thumb, a downtown incubator of new works and resident company of Playwrights Horizons. Overseen by Anne Kauffman and Daniel Aukin, the program paired up-and-coming director Lauren Zeftel with New Dramatists Resident Julia Izumi to develop her newest one-act play, “My Six Therapists.”
Miranda Fellows' Summit
June 2023
In June, Letícia participated in the 2023 Miranda Fellows’ Summit in Washington Heights, New York! She met Lin-Manuel Miranda for the first time, got new headshots (thanks, Julianna McGuirl!), and ate some delicious Latine food. She is beyond excited for the collaborations that are cooking up for next year!
Farewell, Grinnell!
January–May 2023
Letícia spent her last semester at Grinnell involved in multiple theater productions. Notably, she served as Dramaturg and Assistant Director on the Co-World Premiere of Caridad Svich’s Arbor Falls and as a Dramaturg and Light Board Operator on the Regional Premiere of At Water Edge / Al Filo del Agua (commissioned by the National Performance Network Creation Fund). She graduated in May (on her mom’s birthday, no less!) with a B.A. in Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies and Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies, with honors.
Comedy Studies
September–December 2022
Letícia spent 16 weeks studying improvisation and comedy at The Second City, Chicago's center of comedy and satire. She presented her work for the general public at a brand-new, entirely-devised comedy revue at the UP Comedy Club and had the opportunity to work closely with Second City legends such as Anne Libera, Norm Holly, and Tania Richard.
The Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellowship
June 2022
During her time at the O'Neill, Letícia received a generous scholarship from Lin-Manuel Miranda's philanthropic fund, the Miranda Family Fund. After graduating from the program, she became a Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellow, joining a selective cohort of approximately 60 young artists from historically underrepresented communities. For the next two years, the Fellowship will provide Letícia with opportunities for artistic and professional development.
The National Theater Institute
February–May 2022
Letícia studied Acting, Playwriting, Directing, and Design at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. During a six-day NYC residency, she was invited to sing at the 21st Monte Cristo Awards, joining Joshua Henry, Tom Kitt, Michael Douglas, and many other artists in honoring O'Neill founder George C. White.