Rafael Santiago Casal (born August 8, 1985) is an American writer, rapper, producer, director, actor, musician, and showrunner originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.
[1] Casal later designed and served as creative director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s First Wave Spoken Word and Hip Hop Arts Programme while earning a sociology degree at night.
[3] At 18, Casal appeared on 3 seasons of HBO's Def Poetry Jam while touring, performing, and teaching nationwide with YouthSpeaks.
[6] The workshops serve as a platform for artists to explore and enhance their craft by merging contemporary verse with theatre.
[10] Casal has also appeared in supporting roles in Bad Education, The Good Lord Bird and the second revival of Are You Afraid of the Dark?