We recently had the chance to connect with Annique Arredondo and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Annique, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
First, thank you so much for having me again, and for giving the opportunity to highlight the journey I’m on. The voyage I’m on! Get what I did there. *cue laugh track* My bold voyage! And I love this question: “what am I being called to do that I may have been afraid of before?” I would say without a shadow of a doubt that it would have to be taking the leap to get my doctorate. I never, and I repeat NEVER thought I would have the interest, the endurance, the confidence or the wherewithal to tackle head on such a task. When I got my bachelor’s I vaguely remember wanting to get my Master’s, but I didn’t know in what. And that’s because the Annique at that point was not the Annique who decided she couldn’t live another day without learning about film. I was living a comfortable life in London with my then fiancè. I was taken care of, living in the city of my dreams with a supportive group of friends, and a nice relationship. But my creativity was stagnant. And I knew it. I wanted to go to film school in LA and I knew that meant leaving that cozy, safe life behind. But I did it, and I regret nothing. And now, I have the life of my dreams built by my own hand, through my own endurance and commitments because I went ahead and got my MFA in Film. The thing I was scared of most at the time. And now, the United States is in a intellectual drought with a retrograde of media literacy, critical thinking skills, higher education, and moral accountability on so many levels. I’ve begun yearning for knowledge, for education in such a feral, almost animalistic way that perhaps only comes when you’ve freed your female identity in your mid-40s. I see what is happening to those who are undocumented, to women, to my Latinx community. That feralness towards the patriarchy has reached a fever pitch I no longer can bear to ignore, and so come hell or high water, I will finish my doctorate in Film Studies. My focus: Latina/e/x and femme individuals as the other in sci-fi, surrealism, and the horror film genre.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello, world! My name is Annique Arredondo and I’m an outspoken Latina writer and director who also created and owns Player One Arcade Bar in the heart of the North Hollywood Arts District. As a writer, my goal is to convey a fresh perspective on what it means to be bicultural, female, and “the other” in contemporary American society, crafting characters who, with a twist of humor, exist on a razor’s edge of tragedy and rebirth. I left for LA in 2010, sights set on delving into the film industry. Once in L.A, I achieved my MFA in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy – Los Angeles, and after graduating, won multiple awards in the indie festival circuit for the short films I directed and wrote. Over the past five years, I’ve focused exclusively on screenwriting, having the honor of placing in film festivals such as Cinequest, Shore Scripts, The Writers Lab, Vail Film Festival, and Austin Film Festival. In 2019, I opened Player One Arcade Bar with my now-husband, intentionally creating an ally bar and third space for the Los Angeles community focused on nostalgia video games, and enjoying an adult beverage in a safe, fun setting. Player One is also connected to the entertainment industry and has hosted E! Entertainment’s “Three Rounds” with the cast of Abbott Elementary, been featured in Netflix’s hit series, Dead To Me, as well as featured in “Your Attention Please: Celebrating Black Stories” on Hulu. We’ve also hosted various musical artists from Insomniac, as well as indie bands such as Kirby’s Dream Band, and The Flux Capacitors.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
What a powerful question: “who saw you before you could see yourself”. You know, I really have to give credit to my proverbial surrogate mother, Barbara Elliott-Sanders. She is and has been such a powerhouse of grounded thinking, of honorable actions, of thoughftul behavior, and of maternal sanity to me over the years. Since I was 13! I straight grew up in a super dysfunctional home. For a lot of people, they never ever saw the dysfunctional nature of my immediate family from the outside mostly because of all the masking everyone around me did. I was lucky she was always such a pillar in my life via the friendship with my best friend, her son. Barbara gave me such a stable foundation, more than I could have realized at the time growing up, just by being herself, just by the parenting I saw her give my best friend and the kindness she always extended to me even though she had no idea what was going on at home. She saw me go through middle school, through high school, college, and grad school. And when her son, my best friend, passed away, I had no idea how much closer we would get. Then just a year and a half after, when my own mother passed away, she was an absolute rock for me, and quickly became the only real female friendship I could turn to. I always worried about trauma bonding with individuals because of my upbringing, but with her, and the ethereal relationship we have, it’s only brought us closer and stronger as the women we’ve evolved into. Barbara was an elementary educator for over 25 years, served on the school board after retirement, and continues to be active in her community politically, socially and through volunteer service still. She saw me long before I could see myself, and thanks to her, I have felt empowered to continue to be the intelligent, confident, educated woman who perseveres today.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
This truly is a wonderful question because it feels like, as of late, I’ve been investing in reconnecting with my younger self, whether that be my inner child, my hopeful, “save the world” rebellious teenage self, or the promising young woman hellbent on achieving her career at all costs. To all of them I would say the same thing: feeling Brave and being Brave are two different things. Even if you feel absolutely terrified, do the Brave thing anyways. The feeling of bravery itself and enjoying that feeling comes, many times, in the aftermath. And even now that statement applies to me because I’ve always felt so scared of growing. My upbringing taught me that comfortable was safe, and a sense of security was the compass one should use in life for major decisions. But that was wrong; dead wrong. It’s only in pushing ourselves, uncomfortably, constantly, and growing in that uncomfortableness that we become who we say we want to be. Everyone wants to achieve their dreams but no one wants to leave their comfort zone. Maybe some people do. Maybe some people dream of that. But I think most people want their dreams as it’s laid out comfortably in their personal fantasies, not the way life would or want to give it to them. The Fates are fickle and the price of bravery means we have to show up, be present, be accountable, be mentally sober, sharp, and at our best to take on the dipping, the diving, the bobbing and weaving that will need to be done to achieve The Dream. So to be brave enough to do that takes ego death. Chikai Bardo. Only then will dreams truly come true, and all of the above is something I constantly have to remember and channel myself into daily. Not just for the younger me who didn’t know any better, but for the sentient adult who wants to make her proud more than ever.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
This is such a great question for myself as a screenwriter. And honestly, such a real one, especially in the divisive time we’re living in where jobs seem to be scarcer than ever, and the industry seems to be shifting at a rapid, almost abnormally fast pace, using methodologies and business moves not otherwise seen before. But the bottom line is this: the biggest lie screenwriters within the industry parrot to themselves is that the quality of their writing alone will save them. I know, and have known, so many screenwriters who have banked everything on just the quality of their script, not the quality of their person. It’s so true that there are so few actual, really really good writers out there who have the chops to not only think up a great story, but showcase it in an enthralling, original way. Don’t get me wrong, That alone is a talent and should be recognized for what it is. But without cultivating oneself as a person through personal growth, additional learning, networking, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, they become as two dimensional as words on a page. When I first heard, in my formative years in LA, that people hire people because they like them, and value that first and foremost, that made me angry. Because it sounded as though, if I were perhaps in that situation, that all my hard work and effort as a screenwriter might be sloughed aside for someone more popular or likable in the eyes of this hypothetical hiring individual. And maybe, in reality, in some cases, that could be true. It took me a long time to realize that when A-level talent vies each other for the same position, people will choose who they believe is a quality person over other resume checklist items; even talent itself. I understood that notion finally as a lived experience when I opened my own business. We got literally hundreds of applications for bartending positions, and so so many of them who, on paper, were such talented, experienced individuals. It was then that I realized, after many interviews, that I would easily take a person with some bartending experience and a great attitude over a veteran bartender who was a talented asshole. It was then that I understood that a solid technical skill set and talent itself is truly not enough. If Player One is the proverbial film set then I have the gift of being one of the showrunners. And just like so many showrunners, I only want to work with good, stable, normal, people who are easy to work with. Who help make the day flow and go by faster. It’s a frequency almost. You’re playing the key of “E” for example, and you look for others who can harmonize with the note you’re specifically playing. Why would you hire someone who’s playing a minor chord to your major? So to bring it back to center, screenwriters must understand this: that the cultivation of solid conversational skills, open-mindedness, humility, altruism, business skills, and a sense of community is pivotal for the longevity of a writing career alongside, of course, their god-given talent. Especially during these life altering times we’re living in now.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
As I’ve gotten older and the digital world has gotten more and more frenetic, I find myself returning to as much of the analog as I can to find a sense of peace. I’ve been finding peace in the simplicity of things I never thought I would enjoy, things I used to think were too traditional, trivial, trad, or just downright boring. But as the outside world becomes more overwhelming, the simple has been the most grounding force of all. For example, the magic of baking bread in your own kitchen. It sounds so basic and provincial, but have you ever baked bread? Watched the yeast bloom in warm water, whisked the dry ingredients together and then mixed it all up? If you haven’t, it’s pure concentrated magic. And the when the dough rises (It rises! It really does!) it’s this sense of organic creation, of using your hands to physically connect with what you’re working on, versus, say, the clacking of fingers on a keyboard, or engaging your eyes on a screen. And then to consume that magic on a food level? I’ll just say it: fresh baked bread straight from the oven is life-changing. It’s being in the present moment, the pride of seeing your completed work, of utilizing your five senes fully how I think that peace comes about. And this goes for when I’m doing yoga, or gardening. It’s that analog activity that brings me back to myself, back to center, back to a peaceful balance. And I’m so grateful to find that sacred peace in such pure simplicity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://playeronearcadebar.com
- Instagram: player_one_noho
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annique-arredondo-001192255/
- Other: https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/bars/player-one
