About

Martinez's work has been produced, workshopped, and commissioned by theaters across the United States including the Public Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Atlantic Theater Company, Arden Theater, Asolo Repertory, TheaterWorks, Ojai Theater Company, South Coast Repertory, En Garde Arts and others.

He is a co-producer on Billion Dollar Whale, created by David Henry Hwang and Anchuli Felicia King, based on the book by Tom Wright & Bradley Hope. Martinez has written for children's television on Nickelodeon and worked on a 2021 television project for Tom Fontana based on the book Year of Dangerous Days.

Martinez arrived in this country on the Mariel Boatlift. A self-described "child of the Cold War," Martinez is known for his interest in the period. After being awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation New Science and Technology Initiative Grant by the Denver Center Theatre Company, Martinez wrote When Tang Met Laika, a post-Cold War space exploration play, which was subsequently produced by the Denver Center. Martinez later said this experience inspired him to bring the Cold War itself to the stage, and he wrote a three-play cycle about the time period.

The trilogy's first play is Ping Pong, about U.S. Chinese relations during the Nixon administration, which was presented at the Public Theatre and later published by Broadway Play Publishing. The second play, Born in East Berlin, examines the impact of a Bruce Springsteen concert on East Germans just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The play was first performed at the Stasi Museum, Berlin, in English and German; was workshopped at the Atlantic Theater Company; had its world premiere at the San Francisco Playhouse in February 2020; and translated into Hungarian and Romanian.

The trilogy's conclusion is Blind Date, initially commissioned by the Denver Center Theatre Company, which dramatizes the Geneva Summit where President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev first shook hands. Blind Date was featured at the 2017 Colorado New Play Summit and later produced at the Goodman Theatre under the direction of Tony Award nominee Robert Falls featuring Tony Award-winning actress Deanna Dunagan, whose performance as Nancy Reagan received a Joseph Jefferson Award nomination. 

Martinez worked on a project for Miami New Drama titled The Seven Deadly Sins, created and directed by Michel Hausman. The project was the largest theatrical production allowed by Actors' Equity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It won the Drama League Award for Outstanding Interactive or Socially Distanced Theater. 

Miami New Drama commissioned Martinez to write a new play about Elián Gonzalez. The play, Elián, opened to rave reviews in the fall of 2022. Martinez has been commissioned by Miami New Drama to write a play about the making of Scarface. The play will be part of the 24-25 season.

Syracuse Stage commissioned Martinez to write a new play. The National Pastime deals with both the Houston Astros cheating scandal and Havana Syndrome. The play will be part of Syracuse Stage's 24-25 season.

 As a translator, Martinez has translated the work of both Mexican and Cuban playwrights.