“I appreciate the honor and opportunity I was given to lead Teatro Vista. It has been a remarkable experience working with an abundantly talented group of artists. I am proud of the work we have done and goals we have accomplished in pursuit of our mission,” said Gutiérrez.
“I had planned to step down after our 2019-2020 season but Covid-19 dramatically altered the timetable. It has become apparent that the safety of resuming theater productions is still a long way off. Stepping down at this moment will give the company time to identify new leadership during this ‘down time.’”
“Teatro Vista has been so fortunate to have had Ricardo’s experienced leadership and creative vision,” said Teatro Vista Board President Adela Cepeda. “Although he is stepping aside as Artistic Director, we are thankful that he will continue to be a key ensemble member.”
Ushering in a new chapter for Teatro Vista, ensemble and board members are working diligently to shape the creative mission moving into the future.
Gutiérrez has been Artistic Director since 2012. During his tenure, Teatro Vista premiered La Havana Madrid, the most successful production in company history, written by and starring Sandra Delgado, and directed by Cheryl Lynn Bruce, both members of the ensemble. Additionally, the company earned long-sought recognition from Chicago’s theater community during his tenure, including a 2019 Special Equity Jeff Award for providing an outstanding platform for depicting Latino voices and experiences within the Chicago theater community for the past 30 years.
Director Ricardo Gutiérrez (left) in rehearsal for Teatro Vista's world premiere of Stephanie Allen Walker'sThe Madres in January 2018. Photo credit: Joel Maisonet
In addition to artistic oversight, Gutiérrez recently directed Teatro Vista’s world premieres of The Abuelas and The Madres, two interconnected plays by Stephanie Allen Walker, the latter winner of the 2020 Francesca Primus Prize from the American Theater Critics Association. He also staged Arthur Miller’s classic play A View from the Bridge reimagined with an all-Latino cast in 2014 and the 2017 world premiere of Ike Holter’s The Wolf at the End of the Block, which Teatro Vista commissioned. His other directing credits include Hope: Part II of a Mexican Trilogy (with Cheryl Lynn Bruce), Parachute Men, In The Time of the Butterflies, Between You, Me & The Lampshade, Momma’s Boyz, i put the fear of mexico in ’em and La Mágica Posada.
Teatro Vista: What's on tap
Teatro Vista ensemble member Gabriel Ruiz has completed the principal writing of his new radio play The 5th World, which features Gabe and other ensemble members delving into a world of mystery and suspense. The 5th World, told in five episodes, will be presented in late October, just in time for the haunting Halloween season.
Once it’s safe to present live theater again, Teatro Vista has two exciting world premieres on tap: The Dream King, a stunning new work of physical theater created by and starring ensemble member Marvin Quijada, directed by ensemble member Sandra Márquez, and Somewhere Over the Border, by Brian Quijada, writer and star of his one-man solo play Where Did We Sit on the Bus?
For more, visit teatrovista.org, or follow the company on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
About Teatro Vista
Teatro Vista, Chicago’s only Equity-affiliate Latino theater company, shares and celebrates the riches of Latinx culture with Chicago audiences. The company provides work and professional advancement opportunities for Latinx theatre artists, with special emphasis on the company’s ensemble members, and seeks to enhance the curricular goals of Chicago students through theater.
Teatro Vista’s primary focus is producing new works by Latinx theatre artists and presenting classic plays featuring artists of color. Its artistic vision is shaped by the company’s ensemble members, a group of multi-generational, multi-ethnic and multi- disciplinary artists.
Teatro Vista was founded in 1990 by Edward Torres and Henry Godinez. As Teatro Vista’s first Artistic Director, Godinez guided the company during the formative years. When Godinez stepped down, Torres was appointed Artistic Director. Under his direction, Teatro Vista used the stage to engage, connect and challenge audience members using the company’s mission as his guide.
In 2012, Torres moved to New York and the Board of Directors promoted Associate Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez to the position of Executive Artistic Director. In 2017, Sylvia Lopez joined as Managing and Development Director.
Teatro Vista ensemble members include Charín Álvarez, Max Arciniega, Desmín Borges, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Ramón Camín, Ivonne Coll, Laura Dahl, Sandra Delgado, Liza Fernández, Khanisha Foster, Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, Issac Gomez, Ricardo Gutiérrez, Erik Juárez, Jon Lyon, Sandra Márquez, Eddie Martinez, Salome Martinez, Joe Minoso, Ayssette Muñoz, Christina Nieves, Marvin Quijada, Tommy Rivera-Vega, Gabriel Ruíz, Nate Santana, Cecilia Suarez and co-founder Edward Torres.
Teatro Vista’s Board of Directors is Adela Cepeda, President; Joan Pantsios, Secretary; and Bhuvana Badrinathan, Edgar Delgado, Kelly Jones, Sylvia Lopez, Kareem Mohamednur, Carina Sanchez, Angel Torres and Jose Vasquez.
Teatro Vista is supported by the Joyce Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity, and the Arts at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Illinois Arts Council, The Shubert Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, CLATA (Chicago Latino Theater Alliance) and Vidal & Associates.