parachute men

Ricardo Gutiérrez
Executive Artistic Director
José Antonio Cruz
Development & Managing Director
present
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
PARACHUTE MEN
By Mando Alvarado
Directed by Ricardo Gutiérrez
WITH
J. Salomé Martínez*, Eddie Martínez*, Tommy Rivera-Vega*^,
Maggie Scrantom, Adam Bitterman, and Elisabeth Del Toro.
Stage Manager
Production Manager
Assistant Director
Scenic Design
Set Construction
Lighting Design
Costume Design
Sound Design
Fight Choreographer
Master Electrician
Running Crew
Amanda J. Davis*
Jennifer Aparicio^
Xavier Custodio
Raúl Abrego¨
Andrei Onegin, Seagull Works
Richard Norwood
Uriel Gómez
Nick Gajary
Barbara Charlene
Martha Templeton
Danielle Tortolani
September 10 – October 16, 2016
The Richard Christiansen Theater at The Biograph 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60614
This play was developed by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater residency at SPACE on RYDER FARMS;
The Lark Play Development Center, New York City; and The Latina/o Theater Commons Carnaval.
*Denotes a member of Actors’ Equity Association,
the union of professional actors and stage managers.
^Denotes a Teatro Vista Ensemble Member or Artistic Associate
¨Denotes a member of United Scenic Artists
Parachute Men is part of the Latina/o Theatre Commons El Fuego Initiative
Parachute Men
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SPECIAL THANKS
Chay Yew, Victory Gardens’ Box Office and Front of House Personnel,
Lisa Portes, The Latino Theater Commons, HowlRound,
Association of Latino Theater Artists (ALTA), Joel Maisonet, The Saints,
Laura Lodewyck, Jennifer Anglin, and Colleen Shinn,
Manager of Community Outreach Midwest, Autism Speaks Chicago (autismspeaks.org).
CAST
Eric....................................................................................................................................J. Salomé Martínez*
Andrew................................................................................................................................... Eddie Martínez*
Eli.....................................................................................................................................Tommy Rivera-Vega*
Cori.......................................................................................................................................Maggie Scrantom
Angel...................................................................................................................................... Adam Bitterman
Linda McFeely.................................................................................................................. Elisabeth Del Toro
*Denotes a member of Actors’ Equity Association,
the union of professional actors and stage managers.
SETTING:
Palm City, Texas
TIME:
Present
THERE WILL BE A 15 MINUTE INTERMISSION
T E AT R O V I S TA WO U L D L I K E TO T H A N K I T S G E N E R O U S S U P P O R T E R S
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Teatro Vista
WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST
Raphael
Díaz
J. Salomé
Martínez
Eddie
Martínez
Tommy
Rivera-Vega
Maggie
Scrantom
Adam
Bitterman
Elisabeth
Del Toro
Felipe
Jorge
Tracey
Green
Hillary
Jiménez
Parachute Men
3
CAST BIOGR APHIES
J. SALOMÉ MARTÍNEZ (Eric) is excited
to be making his Teatro Vista debut with
Parachute Men. Chicago theater credits
include Cascabel and Big Lake Big City
(Lookingglass Theatre Company), A
Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre) This
is Modern Art and How Long Will I Cry?
(Steppenwolf Theatre Company), and After
(Profiles Theatre). Regional credits include
As You Like It, Man of La Mancha and The
Seagull (Constance Theatre), and The War of
the Worlds (Hippodrome State Theatre). His
television and film credits include Sirens;
Law & Order; Castle; Chicago Fire; Generation
Kill; NYC Underground; New York, I Love You
and The Messenger. He received his BA in
theater from Barat College and his MFA in
acting from the University of Florida.
EDDIE MARTÍNEZ (Andrew) Chicago
Theatre credits include: In the Time of
The Butterflies (Teatro Vista), Big Lake Big
City (Lookingglass Theatre), Cascabel
(Lookingglass Theatre), Our Lady of 121st
Street (Steppenwolf Theatre Company),
The Sins of Sor Juana (Teatro Vista), and
Stylin’ and Racial Profilin’ (The Second City).
Denver Theatre credits: FADE and As You
Like It (Denver Center Theatre Company).
His film credits include The Dilemma, The
Break Up, The Weatherman, Nothing Like the
Holidays, Let’s Go to Prison, Ossobucco, and
Elsewhere. TV credits include Boss, Chicago
Fire, Sense8, and Sirens.
TOMMY RIVERA-VEGA (Eli) is very excited
to be back at Teatro Vista where he was
last seen in A View From The Bridge and
Between You, Me, and the Lampshade, and
Momma’s Boyz! Born and raised in Puerto
Rico, Tommy now proudly calls Chicago
his new home. Credits include: Mother
Road (Goodman Theatre); West Side Story
(Drury Lane); Barney the Elf (The Other
Theatre Company; Latino Theatre Festival
in Los Angeles and Chicago); In the Heights
(Skylight Music Theatre); In the Heights,
My Fair Lady (Paramount Theatre); Three
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Teatro Vista
Sisters (Steppenwolf Theatre); Kiss of the
Spiderwoman (BoHo); Pippin (Music Theatre
Company); CATS (Theo Ubique); AIDA
(Bailiwick Chicago). Puerto Rico credits
include: Spring Awakening and Footloose
(Black Box Theatre). Tommy is a proud
Teatro Vista and The Other Theater Company
Ensemble Member. He would like to thank
his family, friends and Paonessa Talent for
their support.
MAGGIE SCRANTOM (Cori) most recently
appeared in Fraud and Phony’s Troll and
Strawdog Theatre’s After Miss Julie. She has
also had the privilege to play with Victory
Gardens Theater, Provision Theater, Lifeline
Theatre, Two Pence Theatre Company,
Shattered Globe Theatre, The Waltzing
Mechanics, The Runaways Lab Theater,
The Backroom Shakespeare Project, and
The Livingroom Playmakers. Maggie is an
educator with Catharsis Productions and
is represented by the awesome women at
Paonessa Talent.
ADAM BITTERMAN (Angel) is excited and
very grateful to be making his debut on
the Teatro Vista stage. He is a company
member at Redtwist Theatre where he
has appeared in The Seedbed, The Drawer
Boy, and The American Clock. Additionally,
Adam was seen as “Dr. Watson” in both
City Lit’s The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and
Holmes and Watson. TV credits include The
Exorcist, Chicago Fire, Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, Early Edition, Scrubs and recurring
roles in Veronica Mars and Showtime’s Look.
Film credits include David Mamet’s Things
Change and Homicide, and Curtis Hanson’s
Lucky You. Adam is also a voice actor and
has been heard in several films, animated
series, and video games.
ELISABETH DEL TORO (Linda) is an actor
and playwright from Friendswood, Texas.
She recently appeared at Madison St.
Theater in Big Fish: The Musical. This June,
she graduated from the University of
CAST BIOGR APHIES
c o n t.
Chicago where favorite credits include
By the Bog of Cats, SubUrbia, This Is How
It Goes, Closer, and House of Yes. She also
performed in Victory Gardens College
Night’s Trigger Finger. She also wrote
Famous, an original play for Victory
Gardens College Night. More about
Elisabeth’s production history and updates
can be found at elisabethdeltoro.com.
RAPHAEL DÍAZ (Understudy, Andrew &
Eric) is thrilled and humbled to be making
his Teatro Vista debut. Previously he
understudied the role of Tony in Savage
in Limbo with The Poor Theatre. Other
credits include, Bus Stop, Uncle Vanya,
and Italian American Reconciliation. He
would like to thank all of his friends,
family and teachers who helped him get
here. Raphael dedicates his work to his
beautiful and empowering mother Aida,
and his late abuela Adriana. “One never
reaches home, but wherever friendly
paths intersect the whole world looks like
home for a time.”
FELIPE JORGE (Understudy, Eli) moved to
Chicago in early 2015 from his hometown
of São Paulo, Brazil, where he attended
conservatory Teatro-Escola Célia Helena.
Since then, he has contributed to three
short films, a sitcom pilot, and the
comedic web-series Unconditionally.
Felipe has appeared in four original plays
in Chicago, including a satire titled Our
Christian Nation at the Waukegan Theatre
Festival. He will soon appear in Porchlight
Music Theatre’s Fall production of End
of the Rainbow. He would like to thank
Ricardo for this opportunity to work
with Teatro Vista and his family for their
support.
TRACEY GREEN (Understudy, Cori)
is incredibly excited to be back in
Chicago and extremely grateful for the
opportunity to explore this thoughtful
new work in the company of such
inspiring artists. She was previously
living in Louisville, Kentucky, where
she completed a nine-month acting
apprenticeship with Actors Theatre
of Louisville, where she understudied
the role of Miss Sullivan in Dracula.
She also appeared in the 40th Humana
Festival production of Wondrous Strange.
Past Chicago credits include Smash!
(Piccolo Theatre), All My Sons (Eclectic
Theatre), Hello Failure (The Side Project—
understudy), and The Glass Protégé
(Glitterati Productions). She would like to
extend her sincerest thanks to Ricardo for
this opportunity. She would also like to
express her continued gratitude towards
her family (John, Jeanne, and Erin), Gail
Shapiro, and Kevin Viol for their unending
love and support. She is represented by
Johnson McKay Talent.
HILARY JIMÉNEZ (Understudy, Linda)
is very excited to be joining the cast
of Parachute Men! A recent grad from
Western Michigan University’s BFA
Theatre Performance Program, Hilary
has been doing theatre since the age
of 12. Favorite credits include Tony N’
Tina’s Wedding (Tina), The King Stag
(Smeraldina), and Macbeth (Witch). Many,
many thanks to the cast and crew, Joan,
Mark, and to my family for the constant
love and support, especially Mom, Dad,
and Sam. I love you!
Parachute Men
5
PRODUCTION TEA M BIOGR APHIES
MANDO ALVARADO (Playwright) is an
award-winning playwright/screenwriter
from South Texas. His play Basilica
premiered Off-Broadway at the famous
Cherry Lane Theater in NYC. His play Post
No Bills received its Off-Broadway premiere
at Rattlestick Playwright’s Theater. His new
play, Diablo Love, had its world premiere
at Central Park’s Summer Stages. They
also produced A King of Infinite Space, a
Hamlet/Pearl Jam mash-up and Sangre, an
adaptation of Blood Wedding. He also cowrote the book for the bilingual musical A
Yellow Brick Road, an adaptation of Wizard
of Oz for Theaterworks USA which received
its critically acclaimed Off-Broadway
premiere at The Lortel. His short play, Up
the 405, premiered as a part of LA Views for
Company of Angels in Los Angeles. He is
a contributing writer for Theater 167’s You
Are Now the Owner of This Suitcase. He also
participated in the Freight Project where
he developed his play (O)n THE 5:31 which
was commissioned for Rising Phoenix
Rep’s Cino Nights at the Seventh Street
Small Stage. His first feature film, Cruzando,
which he co-wrote and co-directed with
Michael Ray Escamilla is available on DVD
and was distributed by Vanguard Cinema.
He is a member of Rising Phoenix Rep,
alum of INTAR’s Hispanic-Playwright-inResidence Laboratory 2006 – 2008, and
a graduate of The University of North
Carolina School of the Arts. He worked on
Tyrant for FX and is currently working on
Greenleaf for the OWN Network.
RICARDO GUTIÉRREZ (Director) is the
Executive Artistic Director of Teatro Vista
where he recently directed In The Time of
the Butterflies. Other Teatro Vista directing
credits include Between You, Me and
The Lampshade, A View From The Bridge,
Momma’s Boyz, i put the fear of mexico
in’em, and La mágica posada. Gutiérrez
served as the artistic director of Nosotros
in Los Angeles and The Canterbury Theatre
in Indiana. He is the co-founder of the
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Teatro Vista
Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists Chicago
(ALTAchicago) a service organization
dedicated to promoting and fostering
Latino/a theatre artists in Chicago. As an
actor, Gutiérrez most recently appeared
in In The Heights at The Paramount
and in the world premieres of Song For
The Disappeared and Fish Men at the
Goodman Theatre. Later this year, he will
be appearing in Destiny of Desire at South
Coast Rep. and at The Goodman Theatre.
Gutiérrez has appeared on stage at the
Actors Theatre in Louisville, The Denver
Center Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre,
Victory Gardens and Lookingglass Theatre.
Recent television credits include Chicago
PD, Sirens and Boss.
JOSE ANTONIO CRUZ (Development &
Managing Director, Teatro Vista) worked
as Associate Producer for New York’s
Repertorio Español for 12 years until
2014. During his time with Repertorio,
José championed the company’s mission
to present the best of Latin American,
Spanish and Hispanic-American theatre
through the production of numerous plays
and musicals. In this role, he made major
operational, strategic, and marketing and
fundraising improvements. These include
creating and implementing short-term
strategic plans, forging new artist relations,
and developing innovations to improve the
audience experience. Cruz also played key
roles in the implementation of an extensive
education program that reached over
18,000 public school students per year.
Cruz holds a Master of Arts in Performing
Arts Administration and a Bachelor of Arts
degree, both from New York University
and has served in panels for the National
Endowment for the Arts, the New York
State Council on the Arts, the Department
of Cultural Affairs of the City of New York,
the Lower Manhattan Development
Corporation and Theatre Communications
Group. He lives in Chicago’s Goose Island
neighborhood with his wife, Christine.
PRODUCTION TEA M BIOGR APHIES
AMANDA J. DAVIS (Stage Manager) is
excited to be working with Teatro Vista
again after her stage management debut
with the company for Where Did We Sit
on the Bus? Previous Chicago credits
include A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol, The
Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare in the
Parks: The Comedy of Errors, and Murder
for Two at Chicago Shakespeare Theater;
The Humans and Bruise Easy at American
Theater Company; 42nd Street at Theatre
at the Center; A Life of Galileo, Grounded
and The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs
with the ETOPiA project; Fugitive Songs
at The Music Theatre Company; Rose and
the Time at The House Theatre of Chicago;
and The Marriage of Figaro at Remy
Bumppo Theatre Company. She is a proud
Northwestern graduate.
JENNIFER APARICIO (Production
Manager) has been working in the Chicago
theater scene for the past few years as a
production manager and stage manager.
Previous production manager credits
include work with Teatro Vista (In the Time
of the Butterflies, Where Did We Sit on the
Bus?, My Mañana Comes, Between You, Me,
and the Lampshade, Tamer of Horses, A View
from the Bridge), Pegasus Players (Blacula,
The Youth Playwright’s Festival), and 16th
Street Theater (Book Club Play, Living Large
in a Mini Kind of Way). As a stage manager,
credits include work with 16th Street
Theater (Carroll Gardens, Book Club Play,
Mariposa Nocturna, Graveyard of Empires,
The Gun Show, Empanada for a Dream),
Lifeline Theatre (Sparky!, The True Story of
the Three Little Pigs, Arnie the Doughnut, Last
of the Dragons), and Teatro Luna (Machos,
S-E-X Oh!). She is also an Artistic Associate
with Teatro Vista and 16th Street Theater.
XAVIER M. CUSTODIO (Assistant Director)
is honored to be working with Teatro
Vista on the World Premiere of Parachute
Men. Xavier is Co-Founder and Artistic
Director of Visión Latino Theatre Company,
c o n t.
as well as the Fine and Performing
Arts Department Chair at South Shore
International College Preparatory. Acting
credits include The Scarecrow (Minster
Dodge), Rent (Benny), Godspell (John the
Baptist), Man of La Mancha (Juan), Nine
Lives: A Musical Web Series (BFPS Manger),
Etude The Musical, Evita, Ragtime, and The
Wiz. His directing credit includes: Yellow
Eyes, Fame, and In the Heights. Raúl is also
a freelance trumpet player playing with
different Latin Bands in the Chicagoland
area. He has played at Ravinia, St. Louis,
Indiana, and Wisconsin. He trained with
Randy Buescher (Your True Voice Studio)
and Janet Louer (Acting).
www.visionlatino.com
RICHARD NORWOOD (Lighting Design)
Designs for Hershey Felder Presents at
the Royal George Theatre: Irving Berlin,
Louis and Keely ‘Live’ at the Sahara, Jamaica
Farewell, Monsieur Chopin, and Beethoven,
As I Knew Him. Richard’s other most recent
designs include How to Explain the History
of Communism to Mental Patients, The
Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls for Trap
Door Theatre, and Twisted Melodies for
Congo Square. Richard is the Production
Manager for the theatre at the Museum of
Contemporary Art.
RAÚL ABREGO (Scenic Design) is a
set designer for Opera, Theatre and
Television and has designed for the
Juilliard Opera Center, The Spoleto Opera
Festival in Italy and the Manhattan
School of Music. Recent credits include
La Barbería at New World Stages,
Underneathmybed by Florencia Lozano,
Post No Bills by Mando Alvarado for
Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and
Production Design for the film Cruzando.
NICK GAJARY (Sound Design) has
been working as a Sound Designer
and Engineer with various Chicago
companies for the past six years. Favorite
Parachute Men
7
PRODUCTION TEA M BIOGR APHIES
credits include Remy Bumppo Theatre
Company’s You Never Can Tell and Chimes,
Theatre Mir’s Beautiful City, and Stage
Left’s LeapFest.
ANDREI ONEGIN - SEAGULL WORKS
SCENE SHOP (Set Construction) During
the 35 years of Andrei’s theater career he
has participated in, built or designed sets
for more than 130 productions. He has
worked for legendary companies including
Moscow Art Theater, Kabuki and ComédieFrançaise. He received his MFA in 1992
from The Moscow Art Theater School with
a concentration in set design, engineering
and production. Andrei is a 2014 NonEquity Wing Jeff Award Winner for Best Set
Design, 2013-14 Equity Wing Jeff Award
Nominee for Best Midsize Set Design,
2013-14 Black Excellence Award Winner for
Outstanding Technical Support (set), and
2013-14-15 Black Theater Alliance Award
Winner for Best Set Design. He is the owner
of Seagull Works Chicago Scene Shop, an
independent design and construction
company serving the Chicago theater
community since 1999. Andrei and Seagull
Works Scene Shop are extremely excited to
be working for Teatro Vista again.
URIEL GÓMEZ (Costume Design) is ecstatic
to be working on his third Teatro Vista
production. Recent design credits include
the Chicago premieres of In the Time of the
Butterflies, My Mañana Comes (Teatro Vista);
The Black Slot, The Women of Lockerbie, The
Lyons (Aston Rep); Mary Kate Olsen is in Love
(The Comrades); and Men on the Verge of a
Hispanic Breakdown (Pride Films & Plays).
He would like to thank Matt; as well as his
friends, and family for all their support.
For more information and designs please
visit ugomez.com
MARTHA TEMPLETON (Master Electrician)
is overjoyed to be a part of the team for
Parachute Men. She is a freelance master
electrician and stage hand based out of
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Teatro Vista
c o n t.
Chicago, as well as the lighting supervisor
for the Logan Center Performance Hall.
She has a BA in mathematics from the
University of Chicago. Recent credits
include The Bachelors, Los secretos de
Santa Mónica and The Temp.
BARBARA CHARLENE (Fight
Choreographer) is a violence and intimacy
designer, Certified Teacher and Certified
Theatrical Firearms Instructor with the
Society of American Fight Directors,
and a Certified Movement Analyst in
Laban and Bartenieff Fundamentals.
She is also an actor, director, stage
manager, and producer. In Chicago:
good friday (Oracle), The Room (A Red
Orchid), Hand to God (Victory Gardens,
as Assistant Fight Choreographer), Fefu
and her Friends (Halcyon Theatre), Bad
Jews (Theatre Wit), Mr. Burns: A PostElectric Play (Theatre Wit, as Assistant
Fight Choreographer), Twelfth Night,
Macbeth (Gary Shakespeare Company),
The Nightmare Room (Towle Theatre).
Adjunct at Roosevelt University,
Instructor at Vagabond School for the
Arts, Arts Conservatory Instructor at
Chicago High School for the Arts.
www.barbaracharlene.com. DANIELLLE TORTOLANI (Assistant Stage
Manager) is very excited to be working
on her fourth Teatro Vista show! She grew
up in northern California, but moved to
Chicago for school. This is her third year
at Columbia College Chicago and she will
be graduating in the spring of 2017 with
a BA in Musical Theatre.
DONORS
Producer’s Circle ($1,000 and above)
Zeek & Jessica Agosto
Bhuvana Badrinathan
Cheryl Lynn Bruce & Kerry James Marshall
Betty Cleeland
Edgar Delgado
Rodrigo García
Ricardo Gutiérrez & Jennifer Anglin
Karena Fiorenza Ingersoll & Emrys Ingersoll
Laritza López
Rosanna A. Márquez
Jonathan Medow
Joan Pantsios
Goodman Theatre
Thomas & Goya Vega-Byrnes
Playwright’s Circle
($500-$999)
José Antonio Cruz &
Christine Weible-Cruz
Robert Frankel
Tadeo García
Nancy Juda & Jens Brasch
William & Shelley Weible
Director’s Circle
($250-$499)
Richard Callahan
Sergio Camargo
Deb Davis
Sara Ellis
Roberto Escalante
Manuel & Barbara Galvan
Tom & Oliva Greensfelder
Douglas Hoodack
Doug Hopkins
Arnold Jirasek &
Rita Arias Jirasek
Jolanta Kozakiewicz
Carl (Ben) Lenz
Gregg Lindemuth
Bill Mathesius
Susan Matyus-Ehrlich
Steve Meier
Juan & Alice Morado
Michael & Mary V. Noonan
Mary Ann O’Connor
Richard & Cathy Pearlman
Eric Ronano
Roche Schulfer & Mary
Beth Fisher
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B.Young & E. Hays
Backers
($100-$240)
DJ Alwattar
James Akers
Michelle Banks
Margaret Blondis & Bob
Krzeminski
Lauri Dahl
Jake Ehrenberg
Adam Frint
Yolanda Hardy
Camilla Hawk
Nicole Hollander
Thomas Lembo
Jack Meyer
Patricia Pelletier
Mary Santana
Juan Villa
Supporters
Ira P. Abrams
Christopher Acevedo
Mayra Alba
Tom Alderson
Charín Álvarez & Richard T.
Cassin
Angélica Anaya
Benita Arguellez
Tom Arnold
Carolina Ávila
Mario R. Barrios
René Calzada
Ramón Camín
Josue Canchola
Jasmín Cardenas
Cecilia Carman
Carla Casas
Sindy Castro
Beatriz Cervantes
Lawrence Choate
Christine Contreras
Militzie Cruz
Shelley Daniels
Tania Del Rio
Sandra Delgado
George Dempsey
Maria M. Dipaolo
Martha Duran
Soledad García
Cruz González-Cadel
Elizabeth González
Betzaida & Robert
González-Rico
Mandel Goodkin
Joe Gracia
Parachute Men
9
DONORS
c o n t.
Claire Greensfelder
Leonardo Guerrero
Oscar Hernández
Angel & Vanessa Herrera
Ben Hodge
Katherine Ingold
Robert S. Joseph
Laura Lodewyck
Cesar Lostanau
Shirley Maldonado
Beatrice Martínez
Jessica Martínez
Anne V. McGravie
Maribel Miranda
Yazmín Morales
Ayssette Muñóz
Vidal & Associates
Tom Greensfelder
Lizbeth Muro
Mike Oquendo
Krystal Ortíz
Julio Pérez
Johanna Pérez
Liliana Ponce
Merril Prager
Jen Prewitt-Zingg
Wilson Quiles
Matthew Rebro
Andrew Reyes-Burkholder
Yolanda Riegler
Marisol Rivera
Tommy Rivera-Vega
Regina Rodríguez-Martín
Elaine Romero
Juan (Gabe) Gabriel Ruiz
Anna Sandoval
Gabriela Sierra
Patricia M. Sullivan
Evonne Thompson
Rick Tivers
Dorothea & Michael Tobin
Mark Tolentino
Mark Ulrich
Joy Valdez-Pappas
Juan Vásquez
Jose Arturo &
Melissa Peralez Vázquez
Andy White
Elaine Winer
Amazon Smile Foundation
In Kind Contributions Provided by:
Tom Vega-Byrnes
Dot Press
Ricardo Gutiérrez
List last updated on August 18, 2016
SUPPORT TEATRO VISTA
HELP US TO CONTINUE BRINGING
THE BEST LATINO THEATER TO CHICAGO
Proceeds from ticket sales account for less than 30%
of Teatro Vista’s annual income. The rest comes from
contributions from individuals, foundations, and
corporations. Please help us to produce high-quality Latino
theater year-round, employ dozens of Latino actors, and
introduce thousands of students to Latino culture.
MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TODAY:
TEATROVISTA.ORG
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10
Teatro Vista
T E AT R O V I S TA
HISTORY & MISSION
Teatro Vista produces, develops and commissions plays that explore the wealth and
variety of the human experience from a Latino perspective for all Chicagoans to enjoy.
The company provides work and professional advancement opportunities for Latino
theater artists, with special emphasis on utilizing the talents of the company’s Ensemble
Members. Furthermore, Teatro Vista seeks to enhance the academic performance of
Chicago students through its Educational Outreach program which serves over 3,000
students annually.
The company was founded in 1990 by Edward Torres and Henry Godinez with the goal
of bringing a diverse repertory of plays to Chicago as well as to address the lack of
opportunities available to Latino actors. Torres and Godinez sought to cast Latino actors
in roles that they have not traditionally been offered by other theaters.
With these goals as organizational principles, Teatro Vista has become one of the nation’s
leading Latino Equity theater companies. It has produced over 60 productions including
16 World Premieres, 14 Chicago Premieres and commissioned numerous plays.
Today, the company is led with great vitality by Executive Artistic Director, Ricardo
Gutiérrez and Managing Director, José Antonio Cruz. The company was recently named
one of “Chicago’s Cultural Leaders” by the Arts & Business Council and received the
League of Chicago Theatre’s Artistic Leadership Award.
T E AT R O V I S TA S TA F F
Ricardo Gutiérrez.............................................................................. Executive Artistic Director
José Antonio Cruz............................................................Development & Managing Director
Tom Vega-Byrnes................................................................Financial Director, Board Member
Rae Shuman........................................................................................................ Graphic Designer
Cruz González-Cadel........................................................................ Social Media Coordinator
Ramón Ybarra.................................................................................................Education Outreach
Press & Media Relations............................................... Jay Kelly, L.C. Williams & Associates,
jkelly@lcwa.com, 312.565.4623
Charín Álvarez
Max Arciniega
Desmín Borges
Cheryl Lynn Bruce
Ramón Camín
Ivonne Coll
Lauri Dahl
Deb Davis*
ENSEMBLE
Sandra Delgado
Liza Fernández
Khanisha Foster
Ricardo Gutiérrez
Erick Juárez
Jon Lyon
Sandra Márquez
Joe Minoso
Marcela Muñóz
Christina Nieves
Marvin Quijada
Tommy Rivera-Vega
Gabriel Ruíz
Tony Sancho
Cecilia Suárez
Edward Torres
*Ensemble Member Emeritus
Parachute Men
11
T E AT R O V I S TA S TA F F
c o n t.
Jennifer Aparicio
Brian Sidney Bembridge
Rinska Carrasco Prestinary
Steve Casillas
Isaac Gómez
Cruz González-Cadel
ARTISTIC ASSOCIATES
Ilana Faust
Mikhail Fiksel
Regina García
Jesse Klug
Kristen Leahy
Gabi Mayorga
Ayssette Muñóz
Remy Ortíz
Yunuen Pardo
Ron OJ Parson
Christine Pascual
Jesse David Pérez
Kristoffer Díaz
RESIDENT PLAYWRIGHTS
Cándido Tirado
Martín Zimmerman
T E AT R O V I S TA B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S
Teatro Vista’s Board of Directors is composed of a diverse group of individuals that are
passionate about Latino culture and its development in the City of Chicago. Its members
are committed to serving as ambassadors to the organization’s mission in the community
at large, as well as to ensure fiscal stability, transparency and responsibility.
Zeek Agosto, President
Rodrigo García, Vice President
Rosanna Márquez, Vice President
Tom Vega-Byrnes, Treasurer
Joan Pantsios, Secretary
Anthony Avarca
Betty Cleeland
Juan Morado
Enrique López
HONORARY BOARD
Bhuvana Badrinathan
José Antonio Cruz
Edgar Delgado
Ricardo Gutiérrez
Yolanda Hardy
Laritza López
Tom Greensfleder
Edgar Delgado
T E AT R O V I S TA’ S PA R T N E R S
TEATRO VISTA IS A MEMBER ORGANIZATION OF:
League of Chicago Theaters
Forefront (formerly Donors’ Forum)
Theatre Communications Group
Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists (ALTA)
Choose Chicago
TEATRO VISTA
www.teatrovista.org | 773-599-9280 | 2936 N. Southport Ave. Ste. 210 Chicago, IL 60657
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Teatro Vista
T E AT R O V I S TA E N S E M B L E
Teatro Vista strives to promote Latino theatre artists. Below are updates of what Teatro
Vista’s Ensemble Members have been up to lately:
CHARÍN ÁLVAREZ was last seen in Teatro
Vista’s In the time of the Butterflies and
appeared on the films En algún lugar and
Signature Move.
MAX ARCINIEGA can be seen in Full
Circle: Miami (Season 3) on Direct TV/AT&T
U-Verse’s AUDIENCE Network premiering
September 7th, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT.
Currently, he is shooting a recurring role on
Colony (Season 2) for USA and a recurring
role on Bosch (Season 3) for AMAZON, both
are set to premiere in 2017.
DESMÍN BORGES stars as Edgar, on FXX’s
critically-acclaimed relationship comedy
You’re The Worst, now in its third season.
Additionally, he can be seen in Carrie Pilby,
which will premiere at the 2016 Toronto
International Film Festival, as well as the
indie drama DriverX.
CHERYL LYNN BRUCE recently directed
Steven Sapp’s Before the Pop, Pop, Pop
for the city’s first Peacebook Festival, a
joint venture between Collaboraction
Theatre and the Chicago Park District. She
is co-writing Urban Search, a short play,
with husband artist Kerry James Marshall
for Victory Gardens’ Chicago Stories Gala
on October 28. Bruce will be seen in the
winter premiere of Marcus Gardley’s A
Wonder in My Soul at Victory Gardens and
will direct Teatro Vista’s World Premiere of
Sandra Delgado’s “La Havana Madrid” in the
spring of 2017.
RAMÓN CAMÍN was recently seen on The
Matchmaker at The Goodman Theatre and
in Halcyon Theatre’s production of The Wild
Duck. Ramón is Teatro Vista’s Educational
Outreach Program Coordinator, a program
that serves over 2,000 Chicago students
every season.
SANDRA DELGADO just finished
her 2015/2016 season as part of the
Goodman’s Playwright’s Unit. She will be
at Ox-Bow this Fall as a writer-in-residence.
Her play La Havana Madrid will premiere
in Spring 2017 with Teatro Vista. Watch out
for her on FOX’s The Exorcist this Fall.
LIZA FERNÁNDEZ plays a sassy-pants
nurse on The Affair. She is now “bi-coasta”l!
As she set up shop in Los Angeles, she
joined the cast of Galactic Galaxy, a new
sci-fi series of which the teaser short was
accepted into this year’s Dances With Films
Film Festival. www.lizafernandez.com RICARDO GUTIÉRREZ see bio.
ERICK JUÁREZ lives in Los Angeles. He
recently wrapped his second independent
film titled Ma Donna, which will be hitting
the festival circuit soon. He is working with
getheadstrong.org, an organization that
provides free mental health care to Iraq
and Afghanistan war veterans, a mission
that is very close to his heart.
SANDRA MÁRQUEZ was recently inducted
into the Steppenwolf Theater acting
ensemble. In the coming season she will
be reprising the role of Clytemnestra
(in Electra) at Court Theater and she will
appear in Teatro Vista’s production of The
Wolf at the End of the Block. Next summer,
she will play Clytemnestra (in Iphigenia at
Aulis) at the Getty Villa in Malibu, Ca.
JOE MINOSO currently stars as Joe Cruz in
NBC’s Chicago Fire.
MARCELA MUÑÓZ recently directed Lolita
de Lares at Urban Theatre in Chicago. She
is the Managing and Co-Artistic Director at
Aguijón Theater.
Parachute Men
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T E AT R O V I S TA E N S E M B L E
c o n t.
CHRISTINA NIEVES is currently based in
New York City. She can next be seen as Lulu
in Between Riverside and Crazy at Pittsburgh
Public Theater.
MARVIN QUIJADA is currently working
on a silent solo clown/mime show that
incorporates live electronic musical
looping, as well as a silent version of
Romeo and Juliet. He’s also an iOS musician
and you can follow him on sound cloud at
Silent Marvin.
TOMMY RIVERA-VEGA see bio.
GABE RUÍZ was recently seen in Company
at Writers Theatre and can be seen this
fall in Man in the Ring and Electra, at Court
Theatre. This winter he will be seen in the
Teatro Vista world premiere of The Wolf at
the End of the Block by Ike Holter.
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Teatro Vista
CECILIA SUÁREZ is currently performing
in the play HERMANAS and will be shooting
in Colombia a feature film titled Mariposas
Verdes in September. Her work can be seen
in the upcoming films Kubo (animation
feature, October 2016), La vida inmoral de
la pareja ideal (Manolo Caro’s new feature
film, October 2016) and Macho (Antonio
Serrano’s new film, November 2016).
EDWARD TORRES recently appeared
on episodes of The Get Down and Luke
Cage, both for Netflix. He is directing “La
canción” by Cándido Tirado featuring music
composed by Grammy Award Winner
Vico C at Repertorio Español in New York
City to premiere in September 2016.
T E AT R O V I S TA’ S R E C E N T AWA R D S A N D N O M I N AT I O N S
2015
Broadway World Chicago Awards – Nomination Best Theater Production for Young
Audiences – Romeo & Juliet
Ayssette Muñóz - One of the Hottest Faces in Chicago Theater by Chicago Tribune
2014
Jeff Award – Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Sandra Márquez in A View From the Bridge
2013
Jeff Award Nomination – Solo Performance Juan Francisco Villa in Empanada for a
Dream
Jeff Award Nomination – Lighting Design – Mac Vaughey for Empanada for a Dream
2012
Jeff Award Nomination – Best Production – Fish Men*
Jeff Award Nomination –Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Howard Witt in Fish Men*
Jeff Award Nomination – Best Lighting Design – Jesse Klug for Fish Men*
Jeff Award Nomination – Best Sound Design – Mikhail Fiksel for Fish Men*
2011
Arts & Business Council of Chicago’s Cultural Leaders – Teatro Vista
League of Chicago Theatres’ Artistic Leadership Award – Teatro Vista
Jeff Award Nomination – Best Actress in a Principal Role – Sandra Márquez in 26 Miles
2010
Jeff Award – Best Production The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity**
Jeff Award – Best New Work Kristoffer Díaz for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity**
Jeff Award – Best Director Edward Torres for The Elaborate Entrance…**
Jeff Award – Best Actor in a Principal Role Desmín Borges for The Elaborate Entrance…**
Jeff Award – Best Fight Choreography David Woolley for The Elaborate Entrance…**
2009
Jeff Award Nomination – Best Production Our Lady of the Underpass
Jeff Award Nomination – Best New Work Tanya Saracho for Our Lady of the Underpass
Jeff Award Nomination – Best Lighting Design Jeremy Getz for El Grito Del Bronx***
*Co-Production with The Goodman Theater
**Co-Production with Victory Gardens Theater
***Produced in association with Collaboraction and The Goodman Theater
Parachute Men
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T E AT R O V I S TA’ S P R O D U C T I O N H I S TO R Y ( 2 0 0 6 - 2 016 )
For full production history from 1991 to date, please visit www.teatrovista.org
2014 - 2015 SEASON
In the Time of the Butterflies
by Caridad Svich, based on Julia Álvarez’s
novel, Chicago Premiere
Where Did We Sit on the Bus?
by Brian Quijada, World Premiere
My Mañana Comes
by Elizabeth Irwin, Chicago Premiere
2014 - 2015 SEASON
Tamer of Horses
by William Mastrosimone, World Premiere
The Upstairs Concierge
by Kristoffer Díaz, Produced by The
Goodman Theatre, Co-Commissioned by
Teatro Vista
Between You, Me & The Lampshade
by Raúl Castillo, World Premiere
2013 - 2014 SEASON
White Tie Ball
by Martín Zimmerman, World Premiere
A View From The Bridge
by Arthur Miller
2012 - 2013 SEASON
I Put the Fear of México in ’Em
by Matthew Paul Olmos, World Premiere
Empanda For A Dream
written and performed by Juan Villa, coproduced with 16th Street Theatre
The Happiest Song Plays Last
by Quiara Alegría Hudes, World Premiere in
association with The Goodman Theatre
2011 - 2012 SEASON
Momma’s Boyz
by Cándido Tirado, Midwest Premiere
Fish Men
by Cándido Tirado, co-produced with The
Goodman Theatre, World Premiere
Yo Solo
Festival of Latino Solo Shows, co-produced
with Collaboraction
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Teatro Vista
2010 - 2011 SEASON
Freedom, NY
by Jennifer Barclay, World Premiere
El Nogalar
by Tanya Saracho World Premiere, coproduced with The Goodman Theatre
2009 - 2010 SEASON
26 Miles
by Quiara Alegría Hudes, Midwest
Premiere
Our Lady of the Underpass
by Tanya Saracho
2008 - 2009 SEASON
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
by Kristoffer Díaz, World Premiere, coproduced with Victory Gardens Theater
El Grito del Bronx
by Migdalia Cruz, co-produced with
Collaboraction and The Goodman Theatre,
Midwest Premiere
Our Lady of the Underpass
by Tanya Saracho, World Premiere
2007 - 2008 SEASON
La Posada Mágica: The Magical Journey
by Octavio Solís
Dreamlandia
by Octavio Solís, Midwest Premiere
2006 - 2007 SEASON
La Posada Mágica: The Magical Journey
by Octavio Solís
A Park in Our House
by Nilo Cruz co-produced with Victory
Gardens Theatre, Midwest Premiere
Massacre: Sing to Your Children
by José Rivera co-produced with the
Goodman Theater, Midwest Premiere