Elmer Martinez

Elmer Martinez is a Puerto Rican-Dominican American interdisciplinary working theater artist, poet and dancer. Born in Lowell, MA he developed in the spoken word, theater and street dance communities before completing his BFA in Theater Studies focused on Lighting Design with a minor in Dance in 2019 at Emerson College. Boston based, Elmer has traveled the world for 15 years as a guest artist, educator, events producer, lighting designer, poet, DJ and dancer.

His stage work centers around aesthetically, authentically bridging street art and theater cultures. He is the founder/producer of “Rebirth Jam” a weekend long Street and Social Afro-Diasporic Arts festival in Boston. Rebirth busses artist ambassadors from New York to Boston to spend a weekend cross pollinating with Boston social arts culture bearers.  

Inspired by his vision to continue the work of the “Rebirth Jam” festival, Elmer founded and curates the “Rebirth Listening Bar” - his latest social project series based around immersive music therapy and public art inspired by the Japanese listening bar tradition and the New York club scene.

Alongside his other projects, Elmer is the  co-founder and curator of “The Amplify’d Series”- as well as serving as a DJ in residence. “Amplify’d” serves self expression at the intersection of social dance and intergenerational open format club music. This afro-centric club arts series lives at the legendary Middle East Nightclub in Cambridge Ma. 

As a community serving mission based events producer- He worked with “Moonbox Productions” from 2021 -2025, as the Collaborative Arts Coordinator producing “The Breaking Bread Project”. For years the project brought together artists to practice craft, provide space for and address community needs. Breaking bread also elevated and provided paid opportunities for local culture bearers while providing shared meals and promoting in person fraternization via diverse, invigorating and reflective third space experiences.  

Some of Elmer’s recently featured Lighting Design Credits Include:

Actors Shakespeare Project: Macbeth The Theater Offensive: Queer Republic Festival, Isabel, The Best Part of Night is Black  Boston Conservatory at Berklee: She Kills Monsters Company One: The Meeting Tree, Haunted, Black Super Hero Magic Mama, Interrobangers Lyric Stage: The Light, Art  Northeastern University: Twelfth Night, Everybody, The Bacchae SpeakEasy Stage Company: Case for the Existence of God Brandeis University: Everybody, Wolf Play New Repertory Theater: Nina Simone and Hip-Hop Greater Boston Stage Company: Popcorn Falls VLA Dance: In the space between, For Nina Connecticut College: The Moors, Ophelia The Boston Globe: Globe Live Passion Fruit Dance Co: Dance Within Your Dance, Trapped, Dimensions 

Elmer currently enjoys teaching advanced lighting design with Brighter Boston and is multi-award nominated in his field.