Today we’d like to introduce you to Summer Alvarez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Pomona, California, but we moved to San Antonio, Texas when I was about 12 years old. I remember feeling especially disinherited because not only was I leaving my friends, but I was also abandoning my secret dream to pursue acting. My only experience at that time was acting in my 5th grade play, but it was always something that was calling to me. Fast forward 12 years, and I moved back to the Los Angeles area, this time landing in East LA for a few years. At this point acting was still a secret dream; I had taken a few classes here and there, but fear was still holding me back from fully claiming it as my identity and passion. The spring of 2020, right before the pandemic, I remember promising to myself that I was going to take this new acting class, and stick to it. I only got to take three in person classes before we shut down, but thankfully Mike Kimmel, my acting teacher, transitioned it to online format. That class was a source of peace and refuge from the outside world. It felt very grounding to have this thing to look forward to each week, where we got to play, be silly, and were encouraged to be creative. I specifically remember an exercise we did where we had to look around our environment, and write down objects that we saw. The point of the exercise was to highlight the many resources and tools at our disposal to create, something I still keep in mind when I am writing a story. When Mike Kimmel encouraged all of us in the class to write our own stories, it felt like an impossible task, but flash forward 5 years, and I have two short films I’ve co-written and acted in, something I am very proud of. I have learned to embrace fear, it may never go away, but I’m not going to let it stop me.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Since I got started with acting during the pandemic, I was thrown into the world of self-tape auditions only a few months into acting when I got signed to an agency. Being signed with no experience had me feeling extreme impostor syndrome. I also had no experience filming a self-tape, and I expected it to be perfect. It took way too long, whereas now, with more training, I know that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be memorable and bookable.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Even though I started with acting, I am most proud of my writing. So far I’ve tied my stories in some way to my Mexican culture. I am a proud Mexican-American, and I want to continue to share my story as someone born to immigrant parents. My first short film was The Tamale Recipe, directed by Orlando Adrian. In my family, as with most Mexican families, tamales are the centerpiece of Christmas festivities. They can be very laborious and time-consuming, something we explored through comedy. What’s the worst that can happen when you are forced to improvise a treasured family recipe because your brother’s rabbit ate the only copy? The rabbit in question is actually my own rabbit, Fiona. Going back to the notion of using what is at your disposal, she was not only a quirky addition to the film, but most pivotal in the plot. In my second short film, La Limpia, also directed by Orlando Adrian, we went a little darker into the horror genre. I wanted to explore some of the brujeria aspects of Mexican culture, something I didn’t grow up with, but that my cousin tells me my grandmother practiced. My co-writer Brenda Zamora, consulted with her mom on the project. Art can be healing and expansive; I’ve been touched by many films. My goal is to continue developing my craft to be able to do my best work, so that I may impact others in some way, wether it’s through laughter or provoking thought.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Besides acting and writing, my other passion is fitness. I currently teach indoor cycling, boxing/kickboxing, and stretch classes in my local community at a gym called EverFit in Burbank. It’s something that I also want to continue to pursue alongside a creative career. I love being on the mic, cheering people on, being a little tough, and creating a supportive atmosphere.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Orlando Adrian, photographer
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