Henry Godinez
HENRY GODINEZ is the resident artistic associate at the Goodman and curator of the Goodman's Latino Theatre Festival. At the Goodman he has directed the world premieres of Karen Zacarías' Mariela in the Desert, Regina Taylor’s Millennium Mambo and Luis Alfaro’s Straight As A Line. Also at Goodman, he has directed The Cook by Eduardo Machado, Electricidad by Luis Alfaro, Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez, Sam Shepard’s Red Cross (one of the five short plays in Regina Taylor’s Transformations), the Goodman/Teatro Vista co-production of Jose Rivera's Cloud Tectonics and the Goodman’s production of A Christmas Carol from 1996-2001.
Other productions include Esperanza Rising and A Year with Frog and Toad for Chicago Children’s Theatre, the Apple Tree Theatre/Teatro Vista co-production of Nilo Cruz’s Two Sisters and a Piano and the Victory Gardens Theater production of Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize winner, Anna in the Tropics.
Mr. Godinez is the co-founder of Teatro Vista and served as artistic director for its first five years. With Teatro Vista he directed Broken Eggs, El Paso Blue, Journey of the Sparrows, Santos & Santos and The Crossing. Other directing credits include the world premiere of Jose Rivera's Boleros for the Disenchanted at Yale Repertory Theatre, True West at Portland Center Stage, Urban Zulu Mambo at Signature Theatre in New York City (starring Regina Taylor), The Winter’s Tale at Missouri Repertory Theatre, Macbeth for the Oak Park Festival Theatre, Romeo and Juliet at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and several seasons of Stories on Stage for WBEZ Chicago Public Radio.
As an actor Mr. Godinez appeared most recently in the Goodman/Teatro Vista world premiere of José Rivera’s Massacre (Sing for Your Children). Film and Television appearances include The Beast, Above the Law, The Fugitive, The Package, Lady Blue, Amerika, and thirtysomething. His stage appearances include Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Court Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre and The Old Globe.
Born in Havana Cuba, Mr. Godinez is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University and has served as a sight evaluator and panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, The Illinois Arts Council and the Evanston Arts Council. He is the recipient of the 1999 TCG Alan Schneider Directing Award, the Distinguished Service Award from the Lawyers for the Creative Arts and was recognized as the 2008 Latino Professional of the Year by the Chicago Latino Network.