Renita Martin — Artist · Poet · Performer
Renita Martin
Multimedia Artist · Poet · Performer
Kennedy Center Performer · Amazon Bestselling Poet
Renita
Martin
Interdisciplinary storyteller. Creating at the intersection of art, justice & the human spirit.
Music & SongSpoken Word & PoetryTheatre & PerformancePlaywrightActing & Vocal CoachDirectorJingle WriterSAG-AFTRAActors’ Equity
Discover
“Renita Martin has developed an understandable reputation… She is riveting to watch onstage. Her work is by turns brash, lyrical, and funny.”Bay Windows
“Her wordsmithing is choreographic, a kaleidoscopic dream that dances across the pages to distinctly Black American rhythms and melodies — down home blues, urban jazz, sweet soul, and hallelujah shouts.”Elmo Terry-Morgan · Associate Professor, Brown University
About Renita Martin
The magic
is in her creativity.
Renita Martin is an interdisciplinary storyteller creating at the intersection of music, theatre, spoken word, film, and academia. A Kennedy Center performer, Amazon bestselling poet, and one of the most fearless creative forces working at the intersection of art, justice, and the human spirit.
Her work has been featured on Good Morning America, in The New York Times, Ebony Magazine, and The Boston Globe. She has performed Off-Broadway, in regional and international theater, and at the United Nations, Harvard University, Brown University, and the Kennedy Center.
As a dedicated academic collaborator, Renita works with students and emerging artists to develop devised work, find their creative voice, and build their musical and choral practice — bringing the full depth of her artistry into the classroom and beyond.
Founder & CEO of Rhythm Visions Production Company for 30 years — connecting artists to economic opportunity across Washington DC, Brooklyn, Boston, Maryland, and Mississippi.
SAG-AFTRAActors’ EquityMFA · BrandeisMA Audio Technology · AUArt Matters Fellow · 2021Acting & Vocal CoachDirectorJingle WriterDramatists GuildDelta Sigma Theta
“As an actor, writer and publisher, I have had the distinct pleasure of being familiar with Renita Martin’s work over the past 20 years… Renita’s attention to detail as both a writer and as an actor is what signifies her excellence. She is able to evoke the most sublime expression of character with both such subtlety and force that it is mesmerizing.”Colleague & Collaborator · Boston, 1993–Present
Featured In
Good Morning AmericaThe New York TimesEbony MagazineThe Boston Globe
Coaching & Craft
Train with someone who lives it.
On stage, in the studio, in the classroom, and in the recording booth — every session draws from a full creative life.
Acting & Vocal Coaching
“Every body holds a story. Your voice is your instrument — let’s tune both.”
- Audition Preparation
- One-Person Show Development
- Scene Study & Character Work
- Individual Vocal Training
- Breath, Range & Resonance
- Devised Work & Finding Your Voice
- Academic Collaboration & Student Development
Producing & Direction
“A director’s job is to hold the vision — and set the artist free inside it.”
- Theatrical Direction
- Choir & Ensemble Direction
- Music Direction & Choral Work
- Performance Direction for Film & TV
- Showcase & Production Direction
- Academic Program Development
Jingle Writing
“A great jingle doesn’t just sell — it stays.”
- Brand & Campaign Jingles
- Podcast Theme Music
- Government & Transit Campaigns
- Multi-Genre Production
- Concept to Final Mix
Music & Recording
Songs that linger
long after the silence.
Grammy Considered · 2026 Cycle · Best Traditional R&B Performance
Latest Single”Gift of Love”feat. Daniel Alexander Jones & Tiffanie Cross
A soulful celebration of kindness, human connection, and the radical power of love — produced, written, and edited by Renita Martin. A testament to what happens when great artists collaborate with pure intention.
🎵 Buy on Apple MusicSpotifyAmazon Music
18K+YouTube Views
2026Grammy Cycle
6Artists
∞Hearts Moved
02
Single”These Hands”Available on all streaming platforms
A powerful meditation on labor, legacy, and the hands that have shaped history — characteristic of Renita’s gift for weaving the deeply personal into the universally resonant.
🎵 Buy on Apple MusicSpotifyYouTube
03
Commissioned Work · MBTA”Safety Bounce”Covered by The Boston Globe · R&B, Rap & Rock versions
Original songwriter and composer for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority safety campaign — three distinct versions demonstrating Renita’s extraordinary range across genre and form.
04
Coming 2026
Visual Album”Standing on Business”Original music · Spoken word · Visual storytelling · Live tour
A cinematic, multimedia journey through artistic rebirth and reclamation — Renita Martin’s defining creative statement, combining original songs, poetry, and film in a single unified vision.
MusicSongs
FilmVisual
PoetrySpoken Word
TourLive
Theatre & Performance
Award-winning plays
that demand
to be seen.
Renita Martin is most well-known for her one-woman shows. Her plays have earned awards, critical acclaim, national publication, and international performance. Every work carries her signature: brash, lyrical, funny, and fearless.
01Most Performed · One-Woman ShowFive Bottles in a Six-Pack
Renita’s signature and most celebrated work. A riveting one-woman show in which several distinct characters — all inhabiting the mind of a woman whose sanity has been challenged — must learn to coexist, heal, and integrate. Renita shifts seamlessly from voice to voice, often in mid-sentence, in a performance critics describe as mesmerizing. Won the Eta Phi Beta Sorority Award for Community Service Through the Arts and the All Out Arts Fruitee Award for Outstanding Play.Eta Phi Beta Award · All Out Arts Fruitee Award for Outstanding Play
02Lo She Comes
An evocative meditation on arrival, identity, and the moment a woman steps fully into her own power. Lyrical and theatrical, Lo She Comes moves through the emotional landscapes of women who have been overlooked, underestimated, and ultimately unstoppable. A staple of Renita’s touring repertoire.Award-Winning · Touring Repertoire
03Blue Fire on the Water
Elemental, urgent, and poetic — this play explores Black experience through the paradox of fire and water: destruction and renewal, grief and power. Recognized alongside Renita’s full catalog by the 2021 Art Matters Foundation Artist2Artist fellowship.Art Matters Foundation · Artist2Artist Fellow 2021
04Shotgun Wedding
Originally developed through the celebrated Boston Theater Marathon playwrights festival, Shotgun Wedding earned the rare distinction of national publication — first in a Boston Theater Marathon anthology, then as a standalone volume through Samuel French/Concord, one of the most prestigious theatrical publishers in the world.Published · Samuel French / ConcordBoston Theater Marathon
05Rhythm Visions Never Do Be Finished
A meditation on creative legacy, community, and the work that outlives the worker. Part autobiography, part manifesto — a theatrical reckoning with 30 years of building an arts organization and the artists it has shaped.Published Work
06In Development · 2026Make Me a Blessing
A new play centering civil rights icon Myrlie Evers Williams — widow of Medgar Evers, former NAACP chair, and one of the most formidable voices in American history. A portrait of grace, perseverance, and the radical courage it takes to outlive your grief and still choose hope.Development in Progress
Stages & Institutions
Kennedy CenterWashington, DC
Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA
Brown UniversityProvidence, RI
United NationsStatus of Women
Emerson CollegeBoston, MA
Tougaloo CollegeJackson, MS
University of MumbaiMumbai, India
Off-BroadwayNew York City
Poetry & Writing
Words that hold
the weight of witness.
Amazon Bestselling Poetry Collection
“She merges her passion for language, music, and Black love — inviting you to view the world through diverse eyes.”
It is the Seeing is Renita Martin’s landmark poetry collection — a work that refuses to look away. Bestselling simultaneously in three Amazon categories:
American PoetryAfrican American PoetryRegional & Cultural Poetry
Buy on Amazon↗Request a Reading
Writing Across Forms
Published Work
Contributing author to multiple anthologies. Work featured in national literary journals, cultural publications, and collaborative community texts spanning 30+ years.
Commissioned Jingle Writing
Prolific commissioned jingle writer. Creator of the “Who Yo People Is?” podcast jingle. MBTA “Safety Bounce” songwriter across R&B, rap & rock. Corporate and institutional jingles from concept to final mix.
Theatrical Scores
Original music composed for Five Bottles in a Six-Pack, Lo She Comes, Blue Fire on the Water, and Rhythm Visions Never Do Be Finished — every play a fully realized sonic world.
Recognition & Awards
A life’s work
recognized nationally.
A career of artistic excellence, institutional recognition, and community transformation.
2026
Grammy Considered
“Gift of Love” — Best Traditional R&B Performance, 2026 Recording Academy cycle. 18,000+ YouTube views.
2021◆Amazon Bestselling Poet
It is the Seeing — bestseller in American Poetry, African American Poetry, and Regional & Cultural Poetry simultaneously.
2021◆Art Matters Foundation Fellow
Artist2Artist fellowship recognized her entire work catalog — a rare honor acknowledging the breadth and impact of a creative life.
◆Two-Time Telly Award Winner
National recognition for excellence in music and video production — the industry benchmark for broadcast, government, and documentary media.
◆Kennedy Center Performer
Performer at America’s National Cultural Center — among the most prestigious stages in the country.
◆NPN Creation Fund Grantee
National Performance Network Creation Fund grant — recognizing the national significance of her artistic work.
◆Ebony / Pine-Sol Unsung Hero
Unsung Hero Award honoring decades of service, artistry, and transformative community leadership.
◆All Out Arts Fruitee Award
Outstanding Play for Five Bottles in a Six-Pack — recognizing excellence in LGBTQ+-inclusive artistic storytelling.
◆Samuel French Published Playwright
Shotgun Wedding published by Samuel French/Concord — the most prestigious theatrical publisher in the world.
Community & Leadership
Art that builds community.
“The arts are not a luxury. They are the infrastructure of community — the scaffolding on which we build who we are and who we’re becoming.”
As Founder and CEO of Rhythm Visions Production Company for 30 years, Renita has connected artists to economic opportunity and communities to the transformative power of the arts — across Washington DC, Brooklyn, Boston, Maryland, and Mississippi.
From directing youth choirs to producing multi-generational showcases, from mentoring emerging artists to leading national panels — Renita’s community work is inseparable from her artistry. Every stage she builds for others is a stage she has walked herself.
Full Biography
The story
behind the art.
Renita Martin possesses a unique blend of talent and competency that has made her one of the most compelling creative voices of her generation. Her breadth of artistry ranges from professional playwriting to corporate newsletter writing, from directing choirs to crafting commercial jingles — each discipline informed by the same commitment to truth, craft, and community.
A proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Renita has appeared in Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater, as well as independent films and broadcast television. Her performances span four continents — including the United Nations, Harvard University, Brown University, the University of Mumbai, and Emerson College.
As Founder and CEO of Rhythm Visions Production Company — a 30-year nonprofit arts organization — Renita has connected artists with economic opportunity across Washington DC, Brooklyn, Boston, Maryland, and Mississippi, achieving 75%+ job placement rates among program graduates.
“Gift of Love,” featuring Daniel Alexander Jones and Tiffanie Cross, earned Grammy consideration for Best Traditional R&B Performance in the 2026 cycle. Her upcoming visual album “Standing on Business” is among the most anticipated multimedia projects of 2026. And It is the Seeing — her Amazon bestselling poetry collection — reads like music and lands like truth.
Based In
- Washington DC Metro Area
- Available Nationally & Internationally
Education
- MFA · Brandeis University
- MA Audio Technology · American University
- BA · Tougaloo College
Professional Memberships
- SAG-AFTRA
- Actors’ Equity Association
- Dramatists Guild of America
- National Performance Network
- Alternate Roots
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
- Phi Beta Theta Int’l Honor Society
Current Projects
- “Standing on Business” Visual Album
- “Make Me a Blessing” New Play
- Rhythm Works Creative Pathways Academy
- Acting & Vocal Coaching
Booking & Inquiries
Bring Renita
to your stage.
Renita Martin is available for performances, lectures, workshops, coaching, and residencies. Every engagement is led personally by Renita, shaped by her commitment to artistic excellence and community impact.
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Live PerformanceOne-woman shows, concerts, spoken word & multi-artist events
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Theatre & Arts FestivalsFull productions, readings, and festival programming
📖
Poetry Readings & LecturesAcademic institutions, cultural organizations, literary events
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Musical CollaborationsFeatured artist, choir direction & studio work
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Acting CoachingIndividual sessions, audition prep, one-person show development
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Vocal CoachingIndividual artists, choirs & ensembles — studio or stage
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Jingle Writing & CommissionBrand jingles, podcast themes, campaign music — all genres
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Residencies & WorkshopsUniversities, arts organizations, community programs
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Keynote & Panel Speaking: Arts, justice, education, and creative entrepreneurship
Send an Inquiry
✦
Inquiry Received
Thank you for reaching out. Renita will be in touch with you personally — usually within 2–3 business days. First NameLast Name Organization / Venue Email Address Type of Engagement Select type… Live Concert / Performance One-Woman Show Poetry Reading / Lecture Theatre Production Acting & Vocal Coaching Jingle Writing / Commission Workshop / Residency Keynote / Panel Musical Collaboration Recording / Studio Other Event Date / Timeline Tell Me About Your Vision Send Inquiry→
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Follow the journey.
Music, performances, poetry, and updates — as they happen.
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