ABOUT

Mercedes Isaza Clunie (she/her), or Meche to those in the know, is a queer, Chilean-Canadian playwright, poet, actor, and theatre practitioner based in Toronto. Her work explores community, identity, language, philosophy, sexuality, girlhood, and culture through a queer Latine lens. 

Meche’s plays travel across universes, warp time, and pull heart strings. They are complete with love stories, mental despair, humour, wit, and friendship. Her writing looks to the future while staying rooted in the past, capturing catharsis alongside deep philosophical and social dilemmas. A relentless and generous artist, she leads creative spaces with passion, humour, and kindness.

Her debut full-length play Gringas is a six-time award-winning work that has been showcased at Toronto and Hamilton Fringe, Calgary’s IGNITE! Festival, and Aluna Theatre’s RUTAS Festival. In 2024, Mercedes received the Tom Hendry RBC Emerging Playwright Award. She is an alum of the Paprika Festival’s Playwriting Unit, where she began developing her second play, Pablo and Bill Make a Baby, and she recently participated in Factory Theatre’s Training Enhancement Program. She is currently Tarragon Theatre’s RBC Playwright-in-Residence.

Mercedes holds a BFA in Acting from York University and is the Artistic Director of First Born Theatre, a queer, Latine-led company dedicated to amplifying the next generation of Canadian theatre. Through a community-based practice rooted in kindness and social change, she is committed to challenging outdated practices and creating stories and spaces that push boundaries while celebrating the essence of theatre.