Juan Barrera López

Artist Statement
I'm passionate about works of art that explore the breadth of human culture, and my work demonstrates so. I grew up with the belief that meeting and seeing each other are fundamental to promoting international and intercultural understanding.
I am also passionate about blurring the edges of realism in our plays. I am inspired by Gabriel García Marquez' yellow butterflies and aim to create liminal spaces onto which audiences and performers can project themselves while learning something new about the world around them.
Growing up in a war-torn country, I gravitate towards stories that explore how communities endure, survive, and overcome great violence. At its core, I believe to survive violence we must rely on our ability to love and understand each other.

Photography by: Melanie Ahn
IG: @melahntine
October 2022
Antigone - Director
Northwestern University
A contemporary staging of Paul Woodruff's translation of the Greek classic. To me, Antigone is a play about a community tring to build and understand peace. It's about people trying to do the right thing, even when they're not sure what that is. The ancient question remains relevant today: How and when do we question power?

January 2024
Selling Kabul - Asst. Director
by Silvia Khuory
Northlight Theatre - Directed by Hamid Dehghani
The American military leaves behind a trail of broken promises and dreams. The day Taroon's son is born, he must find a way to flee from the Taliban. Selling Kabul shows the ways war directly impacts the lives of all of us who have to live through it. Love for each other and hope for the future are what keep us going when all else fails.


Photography by: Michael Brosilow

March 2023
新源 (New Spring) - Lighting Designer
by XinYuan Pu
Northwestern University
A semi-autobiographical play. Xinyuan weaves the stories of people she has met in her travels - a Cameroonian migrant, an Amazigh family - with her own. An exploration of human love, suffering, and oppression, I wanted to highlight the raw emotional and physical feeling of oppression. By using sharp edges and strong, contrasting colors, I aimed to create conflict between the world of oppressive power structures with the softer, natural tones of the Amazigh encompment.


Photography by: Justin Barbin