Richard Montoya is an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, and co-founding member of the San Francisco based performance troupe Culture Clash.^[1][2][3][4] His work in theatre is largely comedy-based and centers around ideas of racism, immigration, discrimination, and identity in Latin-American communities.^[4] He follows in the steps of his father, famous activist José Montoya, and is known for creating social and political change through a variety of artistic expressions.^[4][5]

Richard Montoya was born in San Diego, CA^[6] in 1959 to parents actively involved in the United Farm Workers Movement of the 1970s and 1980s. He was influenced by his family's involvement in matters of civil rights to pursue a career in political and social activism, and chose to accomplish these goals mainly through writing original works and acting in plays and films concerned with matters of culture, racism, and Latino identity in the United States. He attended California State University, Sacramento in addition to studying at the American Conservatory Theater.^[4][7] Montoya has also spent time working with Luis Valdez's famed El Teatro Campesino, as well as with the Sundance Institute's Writers and Directors Lab.^[4][8] He has been awarded two Annenberg Fellowships through the Sundance Institute. He used his 2007 grant to transform Water & Power, what was originally created as a play by Culture Clash, into the 2013 film of the same name.^[4][9]

Works created through Culture Clash have received mixed reviews from critics and audience members. According to the LA Times, the 2003 production of the group's Chavez Ravine lacked depth^[14] and others said it was too long to hold audience's attention,^[15] even though audience members touted the work as "the group's most important play".^[16] The troupe revived the play in 2015 and received more positive, but still mixed, reviews.^[16][17]

Montoya's individual creations, such as American Night: The Ballad of Juan José, which originally debuted at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2010, were generally well received by critics, being called "fun and thoughtful".^[18] Water & Power, the 2013 film written and directed by Montoya has an average rating of 3.6/5 based on 152 ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, with 67% of audience members liking the film.^[19]

Montoya's personal and professional papers are housed at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Special Collections and Archives in the University Library.^[20]

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• Culture Clash
• José Montoya