BIOGRAPHY

Chris Garcia Peak is a director, teacher, and writer in Chicago, IL. He is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Cock and Bull Arts in Chicago since 2009. Called "The Bad Boy" of Chicago Theatre by The Huffington Post, Cock and Bull produces original, devised, and contemporary new plays, digital media and the performing arts festival Sessions in Chicago, IL. Cock and Bull has been funded in part by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Foundation of Contemporary Arts and completed two residencies with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events as a part of their In The Works Series at The Chicago Cultural Center.  Cock and Bull received two development grants to work with Tony Winner Rachel Chavkin on devising practices and development for Cock and Bull's original piece Voyage directed by Chris Garcia Peak. 

For Cock and Bull Chris has directed The Legend of Ginger Bred, Axe Lizzie (Prop Theatre), The Possession of Alice (Prop Theatre), Titanic (Athenaeum Theatre), Peter The Wolf (Gallery 37 Theatre), Voolf (Berger Park), Voyage (Chopin Theatre), the world premiere of the immersive production Lecherous Honey by Megan Breen, a contemporary adaptation of Ibsen's Ghosts at Berger Park (The Gunder Mansion), the narrative podcast series The Children of Nyx and the hybrid digital game The Octopus.  Chris has also directed Catastrophe (Prop Theatre), As You Like It (2nd Stage), Titus Andronicus (2nd Stage) Mac Wellman's Dracula (Collision Theatre/Mary Arrchie Theatre), Shotgun Wedding (American Past Time),  Revenging Ophelia (Bailiwick), Cabaret, Rocky Horror Show (Dorothy Menker Theatre) and more. He has been a guest director for The Rover (Illinois State), The Laramie Project (Barat College), The Seagull (The Theatre School DePaul), Original Recipe (The Theatre School DePaul), Malpractice (The Theatre School at DePaul University) The School for Scandal (The Theatre School DePaul University), the devised musical -The Boy Who Hates Everything (Hope College-KCACTF).

Chris is one of the recipients of The Michael Maggio Directing Fellowships from the Goodman Theatre. He directed Mariela in the Desert by Karen Zacarias at first annual Goodman Theatre: New Stages Festival.  Chris served as the assistant director to Henry Godinez on the world premiere of Luis Alfaro's Electricidad at The Goodman Theatre in Chicago. He has worked at Next Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and The Dallas Theatre Center.

Chris has also written several plays, including The Legend of Ginger Bred, Revenging Ophelia, House, and Home, The Possession of Alice, a contemporary adaptation of Aphra Behn’s The Rover (The Rover: Love at First Fight).  He has also created the solo performance pieces; Snapped Dragon, El Macho, El Dragón and El Diablo performed in Los Angeles and Chicago at the Viaduct, Gallery 37 and 2nd Street Theatre.

Chris is the former Executive Director of the national non-profit Theatre for Young Audiences, USA (TYA/USA), where he created professional development programming and coordinated the national festivals One Theatre World (Seattle), One Theatre World (Cleveland). At TYA/USA, Chris developed and led programming committees, grant writing, and financial and international committees. Including receiving grant funding from The National Endowment of The Arts and sponsorships from Kaiser Permanente and The Kennedy Center. He has also worked with Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Theatrical Historical Society of America, Pride Youth Players, and SAG/AFTRA on various arts administration, community engagement, board development, arts marketing, fundraising, and grant writing projects.

Chris holds an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University and a Post-Graduate Degree in Acting and Musical Theatre from The Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London, UK. During his time at Mountview, Chris studied under South African theatre artist Brian Astbury and director, Jonathan Chadwick. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Texas Christian University, where he studied under Anne-Lynn Kettles -HB studios. He has also trained with the LA improvisation group The Groundlings, SITI Company, performance artist Rachel Rosenthal , Anne Wakefield, Moscow Art Theatre, Pig Iron Theatre, Tim Webb and Oily Cart , Lisa Portes, Royal Shakespeare Company, Rachel Chavkin and Ruth Zaporah. He has trained in Laban Movement Analysis, Viewpoints, Action Theatre, Neutral Mask. He recently completed workshops with The Black Acting Methods studio, The United States Institute for Peace on Community Based Dialogue and Media, Media and The Arts for Peace, Gender and Inclusivity in Peacebuilding. He has also completed workshops on Body and Space, Making Immersive Work With Young Audiences with PunchDrunk (Sleep No More, Drowning Man)UK.

In 2020 Chris developed and curated Sessions-Isolation, an international online virtual arts festival featuring digital artists, performers, and theatre-makers from the U.S, London, Israel, Berlin, and Portugal showcasing work created during Lockdown in their own countries. Sessions/Isolations served as a virtual space for community arts peace-building and reflection during the Pandemic.

Currently, Chris co-directed and co-created The Octopus, a choose-your-own-adventure digital story and game premiering in 2022. Featuring actors from Chicago, London, Germany, and China, The Octopus combined live actors, digital media, and sound design in an interactive story-based game developed with the company Typeform.

In 2024, Chris received recognition at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) National Production Awards for Outstanding Devised or Original Work for The Boy Who Hates Everything, and a distinguished Director award, a play devised at Hope College with music and lyrics by Nathan Streifel. Cock and Bull Arts is now developing the piece for production in Chicago.

Chris has been an adjunct faculty member at The Theatre School at DePaul University from 2005-2018 and an Instructional Assistant Professor at Illinois State University. Additionally, he has taught at various institutions including Columbia College Chicago and has led workshops in Devised Theatre, Directing, and Acting at numerous universities and colleges across the country.

He is a member of SDC (Society of Directors and Choreographers), National Network of Ensemble Theatres, Dramatists Guild, and NALAC (National Association of Latino Arts and Culture)

To view plays available for production visit New Play Exchange