Exal Iraheta (he/his) is a Salvi-American playwright & screenwriter based in Chicago, IL. Sometimes humorous and often uncomfortable, his writing explores the intersections of innocence, queerness, Latinx realities, violence, and sex. Exal earned his MFA from Northwestern University’s Writing for the Screen and Stage program in 2019, and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Film & Video Production in 2009. Recently, his full length play They Could Give No Name was curated as part of Victory Gardens' 2019 Ignition Festival of New Plays, and his short play Open Venas received a production as part of the 2019 Take Ten New York Short Play Festival. His full length play Rules of a Closed Door was a semi-finalist for the 2019 Activate: Midwest New Play Fest, with an excerpt reading at The Goodman Theater the previous year. For more please visit: exaliraheta.com Exal is a 2018 Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar, 2018 Fornés Playwriting Workshop participant, and 2019 Theater Masters Playwright.