Summary
Roberta Colindrez is a Mexican-American actor and writer. She is best known for originating the role of Joan in the musical Fun Home. Additionally, Colindrez is known for roles in the TV shows I Love Dick, Vida, and Amazon Prime's A League of Their Own, as well as the films Cassandro and Ms. White Light. Her main contributions to the film industry include portraying queer Latine characters and adapting them as her own to avoid stereotypes.
Roberta Colindrez | |
|---|---|
 Colindrez at the 2019 Montclair Film Festival | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Mexican-American |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, playwright |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Known for | |
Early life edit
Colindrez was born on May 28, 1986 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico with Argentinian and Honduran heritage,[1][2] Colindrez migrated from Mexico to Houston when she was 5 years old. Colindrez lived in Houston for six years then moved to Austin, Texas[3] when she was 10 years old.[4] She first realized she wanted to become an actor at age 12, when she and her brother took a theater class together.[5] She went to Westwood High School, and went on to the Texas State University in San Marcos where she graduated with bachelor's in acting.[6] She later moved to New York City. [7] While trying to find work as an actress, she also worked in restaurants and once as a janitor in a church. Colindrez eventually joined the New York Neo-Futurists. [8]
Career edit
Colindrez made her off-Broadway debut in 2006, in the Neo-Futurist revue Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. She appeared in several short films and regional theatre productions after that, and in 2011 she wrote and starred in the film Otis Under Sky. In 2013, she began playing Joan, a "confident young lesbian",[5] in the musical Fun Home off-Broadway.[5] The show closed in early 2014, and after a cameo in the Academy Award-winning film Birdman, Fun Home opened on Broadway in 2015, where it won 5 Tony Awards and was nominated for 7 more.[5]
Colindrez has also made guest appearances on several television series and her performance on I Love Dick as a butch artist was described as a "breakout" in an interview with Vanity Fair;[7] showrunner Joey Soloway described Colindrez's performance as "masterful", portraying "a queer cowboy masculinity".[7]
In 2018, Colindrez joined the cast of HBO's The Deuce about the life of sex workers in New York City in the 1970's to 1980's as the character Irene.
In 2019, Colindrez joined the cast of Latino TV drama Vida as Nico, a mixologist. Although Colindrez had some reservations about joining the show, she was ultimately excited to have this role to be celebrated as queer, and show queer Latin American experiences.[9]
She also does voice acting work, most notably in the podcast Alice Isn't Dead.[10][11]
In 2020, Colindrez joined the cast of Amazon's comedy pilot A League of Their Own[12] about the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940's as the character Lupe. To prepare for this role, Colindrez trained with Justine Siegel, and thought she was "pretty good" at playing baseball during training.[13]
Colindrez also originated the role of the farmer in a 2022 workshop of the first act of the Césaire José Carroll-Domínguez's epic historical play Spreckles which premiered in the 2022 Beyond The Box performance festival in Marfa, Texas with the group 'Marfa Live Arts' in the Crowley Theater.
Colindrez also writes for the stage, preferring "dark, heavy, comedic nuance".[5]
Personal life edit
Colindrez identifies as queer[5][14] and butch.[15]
Colindrez became close friends with Bobbi Salvör Menuez on the set of I Love Dick, which she found helpful when filming a sex scene with Menuez.[7] Menuez gave Colindrez a stick and poke tattoo as a memento of their friendship.[7]
Credits edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | One Dollar Poem | Short | |
| 2011 | Otis Under Sky | Ursula | Also writer |
| 2013 | Beautiful Dreamer | Catherina | Short |
| 2014 | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Broadway Woman on Street | |
| 2019 | Ms. White Light | Lex Cordova | [4] |
| 2023 | Cassandro | Sabrina |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–14 | Girls | Tako | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | F to 7th | Baby | Episode: "Down to Zero" |
| 2014 | Gotham | Female Detective | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014 | Unforgettable | Pam Lisotta | Episode: "Throwing Shade" |
| 2014 | Boardwalk Empire | Episode: "Golden Days for Boys and Girls" | |
| 2015 | Late Night with Seth Meyers | Self/Joan | Episode: "Ed Helms/Alison Bechdel/Fun Home/Brad Wilk" |
| 2017 | I Love Dick | Devon | 8 episodes[5][16] |
| 2018–19 | The Deuce | Irene | 12 episodes |
| 2018 | The Good Fight | FBI Agent Grace | Episode: "Day 492" |
| 2019–20 | Vida | Nico Silva | 14 episodes |
| 2019 | Mr. Robot | Happyhardonhenry806 | Episode: "404 Not Found" |
| 2020 | Interrogation | Detective Boyd | Episode: "Det. Dave Russell vs Chris Keller 1983"[17] |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Jules | Episode: "Phyllis & Fred & Brenda & Marc" |
| 2020 | Monsterland | Shawn Greene | Episode: "Plainfield, Illinois"[18] |
| 2021 | The Harper House | Tonya Acosta (voice) | 5 episodes |
| 2022 | A League of Their Own | Lupe Garcia | 8 episodes |
| TBA | Eric | TBA | [19] |
Theatre edit
- Water, NPR Playhouse
- The Complete and Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O'Neill: Vol. 2
- Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, off-Broadway, 2006
- Song for the Disappeared, Sundance Theatre Lab
- Fun Home, Joan, off-Broadway, Sep. 30, 2013 – Jan. 12, 2014
- Mala Hierba, Maritza, Second Stage Theatre, 2014
- Fun Home, Joan, Broadway, Apr. 19, 2015 – September, 2016
- Hamlet, Rosencrantz, off-Broadway, 2017
- Spreckles, Marfa Live Arts, 2022
Podcasts edit
- Alice Isn't Dead, 6 episodes, 2016–2017[11]
- It Makes a Sound, Pam Orland, 1 episode, 2018[20]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Yohana Desta (May 12, 2017). "I Love Dick Breakout Roberta Colindrez Is Raising Eyebrows and Breaking Barriers". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Alex Velázquez (July 31, 2018). "Queer Latinx Heartthrob Roberta Colindrez Joins the Cast of Vida". Into. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Leonelli, Elisa (2020-04-22). "Roberta Colindrez". Cultural Weekly. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
- ^ a b Leonelli, Elisa (2020-04-22). "Roberta Colindrez". Cultural Weekly. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Roberta Colindrez". Change Makers. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Wakeman, Gregory (2022-08-22). "Roberta Colindrez: From Class Clown to the Baseball Diamond". The Texas Observer. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ a b c d e Yohana Desta (May 12, 2017). "I Love Dick Breakout Roberta Colindrez Is Raising Eyebrows and Breaking Barriers". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Wakeman, Gregory (2022-08-22). "Roberta Colindrez: From Class Clown to the Baseball Diamond". The Texas Observer. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ "Roberta Colindrez on Vida's Legacy, Depiction of Butch Bodies on TV". www.advocate.com. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ Alex Velázquez (July 31, 2018). "Queer Latinx Heartthrob Roberta Colindrez Joins the Cast of Vida". Into. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "Alice Isn't Dead". Night Vale Presents. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ Petski, Denise (2020-02-14). "'A League Of Their Own' Adds Chanté Adams, Roberta Colindrez, Melanie Field As Amazon Firms Up Pilot Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
- ^ Escobar, Cristina (2022-08-25). "Roberta Colindrez Defies and Inhabits the Gay-Latina Label in "A League of Their Own"". Popsugar. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ Gwen Aviles (May 24, 2019). "Team behind Vida wants to 'complicate' queerness on TV". NBC News. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Kerry Manders (April 13, 2020). "The Butches and Studs Who've Defied the Male Gaze". New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ I Love Dick at IMDb
- ^ "Interrogation" Det. Dave Russell vs Chris Keller 1983 (TV Episode 2020) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-11-01
- ^ "Monsterland Season 1, Episode 5 explained: 'Plainfield, Illinois'". Show Snob. 2020-10-04. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (February 3, 2023). "Benedict Cumberbatch-Led Netflix Limited Series 'Eric' Rounds Out Main Cast". Variety. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "It Makes a Sound". Retrieved March 4, 2019 – via YouTube.
External links edit
- Roberta Colindrez at IMDb
- Roberta Colindrez at the Internet Broadway Database
- Roberta Colindrez at Playbill Vault (archive)