Alma Martinez
Actor, Director, Chicana/o and Latin American Theater, El Teatro Campesino and Luis Valdez, Chicana/o and Latina/o Representation in Theater, Film, and Television

Phone:909-607-4382
Fax:909-621-8780
E-mail: alma.martinez@pomona.edu

Education and Training
Ph.D., Directing and Critical Theory in Drama, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
M.F.A., Acting, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
B.A., Theater, Whittier College, Whittier, CA

Dartmouth College (Cesar Chavez Dissertation Fellowship)
La Pontificia Universidad Católica de Peru, Lima (Fulbright Grant)
Universidad Autónoma de México, Centro Universitario de Teatro (CUT)
Universidad Ibero-Americana, México
Universidad de Guadalajara, Artes Plásticas, México

PROFESSIONAL ACTING EXPERIENCE

Broadway
IN THE SUMMER HOUSE, Joanne Akalaitis, Vivian Beaumont, Lincoln Center

Off Broadway
GREEN CARD-World premiere, Joanne Akalaitis, Joyce Theatre

Theater (partial list)
ELECTRICIDAD, Lisa Peterson, Mark Taper Forum (CA)
ELECTRICIDAD – Premiere, Barclay Goldsmith, Borderlands Theatre (AZ)
BOCÓN - World premiere, Peter Brosius, Mark Taper Forum  (CA)
SWEET FIFTEEN – Premiere, Sam Woodhouse, San Diego Repertory (CA)
ANNA IN THE TROPICS, Robert Kelly, Theater Works (CA)
THE SEAGULL, Risa Brainin, Shakes Santa Cruz (CA)
MACBETH, Jerry Turner, Oregon Shakespeare Festival
THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH, Fontaine Syer, Oregon Shakespeare Festival
HELLO DOLLY, David Bell, Long Beach Civic Light Opera(CA)
A CHRISTMAS CAROL, John David Keller, South Coast Repertory (CA)
HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, Tony Abatemarco, Pasadena Playhouse (CA)
SHADOW OF A MAN - Premiere, Maria Irene Fornes, Eureka Theatre (CA)
FUENTE OVEJUNA, Sharon Ott, Berkeley Repertory Theatre (CA)
TWELFTH NIGHT, Michael Butler, San Jose Repertory Theatre (CA)
BURNING PATIENCE, Doug Jacobs/Jorge Huerta, San Diego Repertory Theatre (CA)
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, David Goldstein, Arizona Theatre Company
SONS OF DON JUAN - Premiere, Margaret Booker, Asolo Theatre (FL)
WAIT UNTIL DARK, Stephen Rothman, Pennsylvania Stage Company

Feature Films (partial list)
UNDER FIRE - Co-Star, Roger Spottiswoode, Orion Films
BORN IN EAST L.A. - Star, Cheech Marin, Universal
BARBAROSA - Co-Star, Fred Schepisi, Universal
ZOOT SUIT - Co-Star, Luis Valdez, Universal
SHATTERED IMAGE - Co-star, Fritz Kiersch, Rysher Productions
DOLLIE DEAREST - Co-Star, Maria Lease, Trimark Pictures
TRIAL BY TERROR - Co-Star, Hilde Brooks, Crawford Lane Productions
MARIA’S STORY - Narrator , Pam Cohen, Camino Films
FOR A LOVED ONE - Lead, Diana Contreras, Diosa Productions

El Teatro Campensino
Work written and/or directed by Luis Valdez
ZOOT SUIT - Premiere, Center Theater Group (CA)
CORRIDOS, Variety Arts Theater (CA)
CORRIDOS: TALES OF PASSION AND REVOLUTION , PBS- TV (Peabody Award)
MUMMIFIED DEER–Premiere, San Diego Repertory Theatre (CA)
MUMMIFIED DEER, El Teatro Campesino (CA)
BALLAD OF A SOLDIER – Film, dir. Kinan Valdez, Chicanos on the Run Prods.
IDON’T HAVE TO SHOW YOU ANY STINKING BADGES, Marines Memorial Theater (CA)
IDON’T HAVE TO SHOW YOU ANY STINKING BADGES, El Teatro Campesino (CA)
LA CARPA DE LOS RASQUACHIS, dir. Socorro Valdez, El Teatro Campesino (European Tour)
EL FIN DEL MUNDO, dir. Socorro Valdez (US Tour)

Television (partial list)
THE NEW ADAM 12 (Series Regular), Chuck Bail, Universal TV
NASH BRIDGES - Guest star, Robert Ginty, Don Johnson Productions
QUIET KILLER - MOW, Sheldon Larry, NBC/Kenny Rogers Productions
IN A CHILD’S  NAME - MOW, Tom McLoughlin, CBS
THE BOYS - MOW, Glenn Jordan, CBS
DRESS GRAY - MOW, Glenn Jordan, ABC
THE GAMBLER RETURNS-MOW, Dick Lowry, CBS
TOUGH LOVE - MOW, Glenn Jordan, CBS
SEGUIN - MOW, Jesus Trevino, PBS/American Playhouse
TWILIGHT ZONE – Guest Star, Wes Craven, CBS
GENERAL HOSPITAL - Recurring, Soap Opera, ABC
SANTA BARBARA – Recurring, Soap Opera, CBS

Professional Actor's Unions
Screen Actors Guild
Actor’s Equity Association
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Asociación Nacional de Actores (Mexican Actor’s Union - eligible)

Professional Affiliations - Film, Theater & Television
Artistic Associate/Company Member, El Teatro Campesino, San Juan Bautista, CA
American Academy of Television Arts and Sciences: Emmy Awards – Acting Peer Group
National Theater Conference
Theater Communications Guild

Professional Affiliations – Academic
American Theater and Drama Society
Association for Theater in Higher Education               
Latin American Studies Association
Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cultura          
National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies
National Association of Latina/o Independent Producers

Board Of Directors/Trustee
Central America Refugee Center, Los Angeles, CA (former)
El Teatro Campesino, San Juan Bautista, CA
Latinas Partners in Health, Washington, DC
The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA (former)           
National Theatre Conference, New York, NYC (rotated off)
National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (Honorary Advisory Board)  

Awards & Recognition - Creative
Zoot Suit (1978) Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, “Best Production”, (Joined the company for the nine-month run at the Aquarius Theater, Hollywood on 12/27/1978.)
Zoot Suit (1981) Golden Globe Nomination, “Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical”
Corridos: Tales of Passion & Revolution (1987) Peabody Award (Excellence in TV)
Under Fire (1984), David di Donatello Award (Italian Oscar) Best Producer; Oscar
nomination “Best Original Musical Score”; British Academy of Film and Television
Award, nomination “Best Editing”; Golden Globe nomination “Best Original Motion
Picture Score”
Born in East LA (1987) Havana Film Festival, “Grand Coral Award” - Third Place, “Best Production Design”, “Best Screenplay”, “Glauber Rocha Award” (Special Recognition)
Maria’s Story (1990) Sundance Film Festival, Runner-Up Grand Jury Award
In The Summer House (1994) Tony Award  (New York Drama Desk Award) nomination “OutstandingDirection of a Play”,  “Outstanding Set Design”
Mummified Deer (2000) Back Stage West, “Garland Award”, Honorable Mention, Actor
Ballad of a Solider (2001) “Special Jury Award “ San Antonio Film Festival,  “Best Film” El Paso Latino Film Festival

Awards & Recognition – Academic & Social Service
2003 Porter College Faculty Advisor of the Year, University of California Santa Cruz
2000 Barrio Station, Quarter Century Achievement Award, San Diego, CA
1979 Barrio Station, Special Recognition Zoot Suit, San Diego, CA
1985 Outstanding Hispanic Alumni Award, Whittier College, Whittier, CA
1986 Alumni Hall of Fame, El Rancho High School, Pico Rivera, CA
1987 Hispanic Entertainer of the Year, The Equitable Company, New York, NY

Academic Grant Awards
Fulbright Grant – Lima, Peru (Spring 2006)
University of California Santa Cruz, Porter College, Hitchcock Poetry Fund
University of California Santa Cruz, Academic Committee on Research Grant
University of California Santa Cruz Arts Division Research Grant
University of California Santa Cruz Center for Excellence in Teaching Grant
University of California Santa Cruz Porter College Research Assistantship Grant
University of California Santa Barbara, Chicana Dissertation Fellowship (declined)
Dartmouth College, Cesar Chavez Dissertation Fellowship
Smithsonian Research Fellowship
American Society of Theatre Research Dissertation Fellowship
Stanford University, Humanities & Sciences Graduate Research Grant
Stanford University, Latin American Studies Graduate Research Grant
Stanford University, El Centro Chicano Graduate Scholar in Residence
The Latino Academy: William C. Velasquez Institute, San Antonio, TX
National Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Smithsonian Institute Latino Graduate Seminar
Stanford University, Dorothy Danforth Compton Research Assistantship
John Dales Scholarship, Screen Actors Guild
Nosotros/Buchanan Scholarship

Biography
Alma R. Martinez is an Associate Professor of Theater Arts at the University of California Santa Cruz. She holds a BA in Theater from Whittier College, an MFA in Acting from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. in Critical Theory and Directing in Drama from Stanford University where she was the first Mexican born graduate, and only the second Latina, or Latino, to receive a Ph.D. in the department’s 50 year history. She attended the prestigious conservatory Centro Universitario de Teatro (CUT) at the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and with master teachers Jerzi Grotowski, Lee Strasberg, Arianne Mnouchkine, Augusto Boal and Anna Deveare Smith.

A professional actor for over 27 years, Ms. Martinez’s work spans film, television and stage where she has appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway and in regional theaters across the country. As a 27 year member of El Teatro Campesino (ETC) founded by Luis Valdez, she has appeared in the landmark ETC productions of; Zoot Suit, both the play (1979 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award – Best Play) and the film (1981 Golden Globe nomination); Corridos, both the TV version (1987 Peabody Award) and play; I Don’t Have to Show You Any Stinking Badges; and Mummified Deer (Back Stage West “Honorable Mention” for her role as Mama Chu), all written and directed by Valdez.  On Broadway she performed opposite Diane Weist in In the Summer House and in the Off Broadway premiere of Green Card both directed by Joanne Akalaitis. Regional theatre productions include Electricidad, Green Card and Bocón, Mark Taper Forum; House of Blue Leaves, Pasadena Playhouse Fuente Ovejuna, Berkeley Rep.; Christmas Carol, South Coast Rep Berkeley Rep.; the Scottish play and Skin of Our Teeth, Oregon Shakes; The Seagull, Santa Cruz Shakes, The Marriage of Figaro, Arizona Theatre Company; Twelfth Night, San Jose Rep. Shadow of a Man (world premiere), Eureka Theatre, San Francisco; Man of the Flesh and Burning Patience, San Diego Rep, among others.

For National Public Radio and LA Theater Works Ms. Martinez has performed in the radio versions of Zoot Suit and Nilo Cruz’s Pultizer Prize winning play Anna in the Tropics opposite Jimmy Smits.

Research Interests
Dr. Martinez’s scholarly research undertakes a comparative analysis of performance practices within Chicano and Latino popular/political theater across the Americas. The examination focuses on the impact of shared indigeniety, mestizaje, post colonialism and third world economics on national identity formation within the Chicano and Nuevo Teatro Popular theater movements between 1965-1975.