River Ruiz is a theatre and screen actor from Humboldt Park, Chicago. On stage, River has worked with Free Street Theater, has performed at Steppenwolf’s 1700 theatre as a part of their LookOut series, and has performed professional play-readings at Goodman Theatre and Fonseca Theatre. On screen, River has appeared in Netflix’s Easy and most recently took on the role of Carlos in the independent film The Mixtape.

Beyond acting, River has contributed to Free Street Theater as a teaching artist and co-director. River also conducts research aimed at generating greater financial security and real economic opportunity for Chicago communities harmed by disinvestment and segregation.