Welcome to another heartfelt and hilarious episode of *Entre Acts* with host Linedy Genao! This week, Linedy welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, author, and *In the Heights* book writer Quiara Alegría Hudes into the salita for a conversation about creativity, community, and the beauty of living between projects. Fresh off their time together on *In the Heights* at New York City Center, the two kick things off with a game of dominoes, debating the unforgivable crime of putting Swiss cheese on a Philly cheesesteak, the suspicious existence of store-bought coquito, and what Quiara would do with a surprise $96,000. Spoiler alert: she'd rather put it into the hands of artists who need it.

Moving into the heartfelt middle of the sándwichito, Quiara challenges the idea that artists aren't working when they're between gigs. For her, living is an essential part of writing, whether that means reconnecting with family, disappearing into a creative bubble for months, or letting ideas simmer while washing dishes and walking along the Hudson River. She opens up about her unconventional writing rituals, her preference for freedom over deadlines, and why the blank page doesn't scare her nearly as much as sending finished work into the world. Quiara also looks back on the financial realities of her early career, revealing how she juggled temporary typing jobs and even paid rent with a credit card to make time for rewrites of *In the Heights.*

The conversation takes a powerful turn as Quiara shares the inspiration behind MENAFEE, a play she's been developing for a decade about Corey Menafee, the Yale dining hall worker who shattered a racist stained-glass window. She also reflects on co-founding Emancipated Stories with her cousin Sean, whose handwritten letters and experiences with incarceration helped inspire a prison writing initiative rooted in connection and community. Through it all, Quiara offers a refreshing reminder that creativity doesn't have to be forced. Sometimes the best thing an artist can do is daydream, listen, take notes, and trust that an idea from ten years ago might finally be ready to grow. And yes, Linedy finally gets to find out what Quiara was scribbling in her notebook during *In the Heights* rehearsals.

Finally, the chisme takes over with an extremely opinionated defense of raisins in savory food, the proper amount of olives in a pot of beans, and a chaotic round of "Bed, Wed, Dead" featuring Philly cheesesteaks, pastelillos, and beloved *In the Heights* songs. Quiara reveals her dream of breathing underwater after an unforgettable encounter with an octopus in Puerto Rico, shares her devotion to good pen and paper, and describes the next chapter of her life through friendship, motherhood, sisterhood, and reflection. Between the laughter and wisdom, this episode is a celebration of the stories we gather while we're busy living our lives.

Quiara Alegría Hudes is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and memoirist whose work explores family, identity, language, and community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for *Water by the Spoonful* and wrote the book for the Tony Award-winning musical *In the Heights.* Her literary work includes the memoir *My Broken Language* and the novel *The White Hot,* while her screenwriting credits include *In the Heights* and *Vivo.* Born and raised in Philadelphia, she is also the co-founder of Emancipated Stories, a prison writing initiative that supports storytelling and connection through the written word.

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