Benjamin Gonzales

is an assistant professor teaching in the areas of theatre history and literature, playwriting, and directing at Viterbo University. He is proud to have received the Teacher of the Year at Viterbo for the 2024–25 academic year. This is his 23rd year as an instructor/professor (4th at Viterbo), directing, designing plays, and teaching classes in playwriting, lighting, sound, directing, theatrical literature, theatre history, and design fundamentals and aesthetics. Gonzales earned an MA in teaching from Washington State University, and an MFA in Theatre Arts (focused on dramatic writing) from the University of Idaho. He specializes in writing verbatim plays that highlight the stories of communities who have in some way been marginalized. He currently serves as the national chair of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival's (KCACTF) National Playwriting Program (NPP) and has previously served as the inaugural Representation, Equity, and Diversity (RED) Chair/Coordinator for KCACTF. Plays written by Gonzales include: The Lion and Lamb (2016), Memoria de Oaxaca (2017), Up Chimacum Creek (2018), VOUCHer (2018), The Good Soldier (2018), Sour Mash (2019), and An Enemy of the People (2025).