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Meet Marlene Luna

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlene Luna.

Marlene, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a kid, I loved to perform for anyone who’d pay attention. If I wasn’t singing ‘Contrabando y Traicion” by Los Tigres Del Norte or mastering impressions of Disney characters, my cousin Cindy and I were using her Dad’s camcorder to recreate scenes from Wayne’s World and film our choreographed dance routines.

Growing up in South Gate as the youngest of 4 and being raised by a single mom, I learned how to be resourceful and get my creative kicks wherever I could. The age gap between my siblings and I is wide so I had to learn how to entertain myself as well. My Mom worked hard for us and I spent a lot of time with my Abuelita who lived at Pico Projects in Boyle Heights. She was my first audience. I’d sing and dance for her all the time, even on the bus for passengers when we’d get around the city, she taught me how to be fearless.

Artistry runs in my family. My father was the master of ceremonies for Club Social Acaponetense, a social club for Mexicans who migrated from Acaponeta and Tecuala, Nayarit, Mexico. He was the life of every party, a powerful singer, passionate storyteller and had a gift of making people laugh till they cried. I knew from an early age that I wanted to be just like him. Unfortunately his vices got the best of him and by the time I was 3 my Mom set out to give us a better life and we left San Diego for South Gate. She raised us to be proud of who we are regardless of circumstances and set an example of the importance of hard work. She’s the strongest person I know and one of my strongest sources of inspiration.

By middle school, I discovered Drama class and it was exactly what I needed in my life. In 9th grade, I attended my first theater festival and all-state competition. Out of 1400 students who auditioned for the all-state show, I had the honor of being one of the 40 selected. This was the moment I knew my purpose in life. By senior year I had been involved in over 15 theater productions, solidified 2 years in a vocal performance team as well as Comedy Sportz, became of President of my Thespian Society and even had the chance to travel to the theatre capital of the world and take a workshop at William Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, England.

I started training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu  (BJJ) at Gracie Barra under Marcio Feitosa and Master Carlos Gracie Jr. when I started college at Irvine Valley and became heavily involved in the local BJJ and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Community. By the time I transferred to CSULB to study journalism and anthropology, I started working at OnTheMat.com (OTM), one of the first BJJ/MMA online shops and community news outlets, storefronts and online shops. Co-Owner Scott Nelson took me under his wing and having had experience in retail banking, entrusted me with managing the online shop and gave me my first writing gig as a journalist for the website. I got to meet and write about fighters and black belts I greatly admired and cover major fight events and national tournaments. As the company grew and expanded to manufacturing, Scotty made me director of wholesale sales and I had a few of my articles published in MMA Weekly and MMA Authority Magazine.

The stage was calling my name and I made my way back to comedy joining one the longest running Improv Troupes in Orange County, Cherry Spitz. I dedicated myself to comedy as I had fallen in love with it and I felt it gave me more creative freedom. I spent two years working with Cherry Spitz producing improv/ sketch shows and making weekly podcasts.

I took a few years off to self-reflect and spend more time with my father who was in hospice at the time. Before I knew it, I met my amazing husband and we had two incredible daughters. Once finding a partner in life who believed in me and supported my passion while also becoming a mother, I felt evermore empowered in my path to continue pursuing my dream of becoming an actor and writer. After my father’s passing and about of postpartum depression with my first child, I developed a newfound appreciation and sense of purpose for my craft and sought to get back into doing more meaningful and healing work.

I decided 2018 would be my “do or die” year. After careful financial planning and months of encouragement from my husband, I decided I would actively pursue my passion. A good friend of mine, Belinda Salazar, knew I had a passion for writing and invited me to join her writing group. Belinda, a talented and well established producer in Hollywood, introduced me to Sandra Varona of Varona Productions and for the first time, I found myself in the company of strong and empowered Latinx women professionals working in the industry. They constantly amaze and inspire me and have guided me throughout my career since. They’ve taught me the value of supporting my fellow artists especially women in the Latinx community and taught me to see the value in my work.

Shortly after I got involved with casa 0101 after being awarded a scholarship for Josefina Lopez’s Latino Screenwriting Academy (LSA) and it was the most artistically empowering experience I ever had. I was in a room full of gifted Latinx artists and creatives and being taught by one of the most prolific storytellers in Los Angeles and Chicanx history. It changed my entire thinking around the stories I wanted to tell. This course taught me to come to grips with my own fears and self-limiting beliefs to deeply understand the characters and stories I create and truly bring them to life. After the week-long intensive, Josefina extended the class to a weekly meet up and I continued under her mentorship which led to the night we shot a commercial and I got to do what my primary artistic passion was act. With a basket of tortilla chips and salsa dripping down my face, I performed a comedy piece about being torn between two salsas and she offered me the chance to audition for her next production entitled Miss East LA.

I was honored to accept the lead role of Olivia “Liver” Estrada and was suddenly thrust back into the world of theater. The play, a dramatic adaptation by talented writer/director/producer John Cantu, is a Chicano Noir murder mystery based on short stories written by Los Angeles Poet Laureate, Luis J. Rodriguez. I was introduced to Luis’ work, his community & urban peace advocacy and activism and felt so inspired while researching for my character. Under the supportive direction of Hector Rodriguez, I learned so much about taking that inspiration into my performance and scenes, how to navigate through the pressures Liver faced in the grips of gang life in her pursuit to protect the ones she loved while staying true to herself and her art of spoken word and poetry. I came to understand art as resistance.

This opportunity lead me to the Garry Marshall Theater stage as an understudy in its Fall 2018 production of Real Women Have Curves written by Josefina Lopez which was essentially a clinic on the ins and outs of the professional theater world. Sitting back and observing rehearsal as an understudy, working with a Dramaturg, reading through the emotions of the script line by line and doing character research for three rolls was like a theater intensive and I garnered much more appreciation for what I do.

It was around this time I continued working with Luis at the community space & bookstore he founded, Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural in Sylmar and took a Theater of the Oppressed course which helped me tremendously in working through repressed childhood and ancestral traumas through ancestral healing methods. I was taught how to reconnect with my indigenous heritage and to acknowledge and be proud of its power. I was also honored to be part of its Trauma to Transformation workshop series which was created by Luis to create space and bear witness to the formerly incarcerated and those impacted by mass incarceration. I performed an original monologue dedicated to my late father who spent most of my childhood locked up. It was one of the most artistically and emotionally painful pieces I had ever written. Under the facilitation of Mateo Ozelotzin-Hernandez, I was able to heal and come to terms with his absence in my life and its effects. I came to forgive him and admire him for the artist he was and the many artistic qualities he instilled in me. I further understood the value of writing our stories and breaking generational cycles. I truly grasped the notion of healing with my art.

As a first-generation Chicana raised in the county of LA, finding these people gave me a stronger sense of pride and purpose. I mention their names because it is important for them to know the impact they’ve had in my life. To have a community like this of artists and activists who believe in me is one of the things I’m most grateful for. I realize now that I hadn’t had heroes in my life who looked and spoke like me and being part of the Latinx community of creatives empowers me daily to continue in the path of sharing my words and craft in the hopes of inspiring others and future generations. It’s important for me to encourage fellow mothers to reach for the stars and to set an example for my daughters of pursuing your dreams while knowing who you are and staying true to yourself.

Right after Trauma to Transformation, I jumped right into my next production, The Frida Kahlo Theater 10-Minute Theater Festival performing in 2 short plays written by amazing female writers. 2 student films, the UCB Diversity Program Show and countless pilot table-reads and play read-throughs in between I found myself on the Casa 0101 Theater main stage for my most recent production of To Be Dalí, a healing journey through Salvador Dalí’s troubled relationships, insatiable thirst for fame and fortune and the artistic genius behind his most coveted masterpieces as he comes to a profound understanding of life and humanity’s most important lessons. To date, this has been my most fun, enlightening and healing theater production. Director, co-writer and star, Salvador Benavidez encouraged us to “play” in this world, to set free my inner child and embrace myself and everything I am. Sometimes this industry can be harsh, Salvador reminded me of the sheer joy and happiness this art gives us.

For me, theater performance and writing is a meditative state, a prayer calling upon the dark to aid us in guiding our audience into other worlds. The words we write and say become part of us, they become muscle memory and transcend beyond the stage. It’s an honor to have this craft and I am eternally grateful for everything it’s given me, especially the people I get to share it with.

What do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
I’m a writer and actor with a strong comedic background. I have a way of finding the humor in everything while staying true to the seriousness of the story whether I’m writing it or acting it. I love that I can toggle between the absurd and the harsh realities of life. It may be a Latinx thing but finding joy in the most disheartening moments is something I grew up watching my family do my whole life. Joy, in and of itself, for us, is an act of resistance as well. They’re still exist forces trying to silence, erase and oppress us and finding joy in who we are keeps us sharing our stories. I’m proud of finding my voice. For a while, I couldn’t figure out who, what or how I wanted to be in this business but through self-analyzing, decolonizing, self-love and therapy, I am so grateful I finally did because I have a lot to say!  I’m also proud of the fact that amidst the chaos of our world, a person can come see a play I’m in and be transported to a different time and space and share a laugh or two. I’m proud to be able to heal not only myself but others with my art.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Support, support, support your fellow artists. See their shows, go to their screenings, TELL THEM how much you admire and appreciate their work. I seek to stay close to and find artists whose work I value to ensure it keeps being made and to perhaps work with them the future if it’s in the stars. The most important thing is to encourage each other to continue telling our stories and taking up space.

I also go into every project or opportunity with a sense of gratitude and intent. Coming from a place of gratitude breeds more opportunities especially when your intent is to learn from the experience as much as possible. I believe that knowing the meaningful value and worthiness of my work also allows me to come from a position of power which is important to establishing artistic boundaries. When I am my most authentic self and my craft is respected, I do my best work and I work best with those around me. Coming from the theater world, the show and your cast & crew are your family. You look out for each other, respect each other and come through when they need you. People always want to work with someone who knows how to be a part of a team and to work for the best interest of the project.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’ve realized that a lot of my struggles come from living in fear. Not having much Latinx representation on television as a kid who was glued to her TV growing up made me think it just wasn’t in the cards for me to become and actor unless I settled for being a stereotype or the funny sidekick with little to no backstory or depth of character. I also faced racism growing up when we first moved to south Orange County in my late teens which affected the way I perceive myself and made me question my place in the world. I needed to work through a lot of childhood traumas and realize my self-worth and all that I have to contribute to it. These struggles caused me to have fear in being my most authentic self and caused me to spend a lot of time waiting for someone to give me a shot until I worked on myself and realized I’m the only one who can do that for me. And like I did in high school as I do now, I find my fellow theater geeks and take a seat at the table, take up space and live browner and prouder than ever. I have my mother’s resilience and tenacity, I’ve learned to overcome and deal with a lot. Being underestimated and undervalued is nothing new for me, transforming that into empowerment, is. I make it a rule to live on the other side of fear, in love and acceptance.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
At the moment I’m coming down from performance high after being selected to be part of Nosotros National Latino Arts Advocacy non-profit’s Ya tu Sabes monologue Slam for emerging theatrical talent and gearing up for a new production at the Hollywood Short+Sweet Festival. I’ll be performing in a short play entitled Apa’s Girl written by my good friend, Elvia Rubalcava, October 10-14 at the Marilyn Monroe Theater.

I’m also set to start level 2 improv and level 2 sketch writing at the Upright Citizens Brigade and starting an on-camera acting workshop in October.

I’m also working on writing a feature film centered around women’s empowerment and the principles I’ve learned training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well as finishing up a web series I’m collaborating on about the importance of family and community.

My husband and I are finishing the first in a series of comic strips together about Aztec folklore. He’s a gifted illustrator! I’m also having a blast raising our rambunctious little girls. My oldest, Ella has a birthday coming up and we’re planning an epic Disneyland trip and my youngest Ariel starts pre-k in the fall.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would’ve started loving myself much sooner in life. It’s amazing how far you can go and accomplish simply by loving yourself and knowing who you are. I believe I would’ve opened much more opportunities sooner in life had I just given myself a chance and been softer to myself. Oftentimes we’re our own worst critics and it’s important to remember that our behaviors and perceptions can be survival mechanisms for living in a world that just isn’t made to give us equal opportunities. If I could start over I would’ve started empowering myself and my community much sooner but I’m doing it now and it’s ever more necessary and vital to our survival and progress. I’m very hopeful for the future! Pa’delante!

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Photo Credit: Anaith Indjein

Photo Credit: Gabriel Gustavo Ramos

Photo Credit: Ed Krieger

Photo Credit: Eddie Villalobos

Photo Credit: Ed Krieger


Photo Credit: Eddie Villalobos


Photo credit: Oscar Moreno

Photo Credit: Daryl Jim Diaz

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