We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marian Mendez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Most projects I’ve worked on as an actor have a very special place in my heart. Since filmmaking and theatre are very collaborative mediums, I’ve had the pleasure of working on projects that were in development for over twelve years and are very meaningful for their creators (playwrights, screenwriters, filmmakers) so I feel very honored to be a part of someone else’s vision.

That being said, last year my friend Paulina Gamiz and I created an experimental short called Colibrí.

Paulina has a background in dance and wanted to create a movement piece, she had talked to me about the use of fabrics and wind, so we developed the idea for a while before we decided to shoot it.

At the same time I was going through a very difficult time in my life so I turned to poetry to organize my thoughts. On a day of intense physical and emotional pain, as these two usually go together. A cathartic moment became the premise for this piece that aims to capture through dance, cinema and poetry the feeling of chronic pain, as someone that has experienced it for a long time, sometimes goes almost unnoticed but some days it is so strong that I wished I could wail like a madwoman so instead I started writing.

My friend and I had a mini vacation trip planned to Joshua Tree. It wasn’t until three days prior to the trip that we realized it would be the perfect place to shoot the movement piece, so we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Shooting it was so much fun, not always easy but fun. We had a few creative disagreements that fortunately were resolved and luckily we’re still great friends.

This was my first time collaborating with my friend. This is the most personal thing I’ve done. These are my thoughts and my words and for that, the most meaningful project I’ve worked on.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was studying Architecture in my home country (El Salvador) and even though I really enjoyed studying there I knew deep inside me that I had to try acting even if it meant failing miserably. At the time there weren’t any film schools or a filmmaking community there so the obvious choice was to move to either Los Angeles or New York and since I do not like the cold, I chose LA. I started taking acting classes and simultaneously acting in short and feature films. Immediately after, I moved to Portland, OR (Don’t ask me why I moved there) where I continued to develop and nurture my craft and became a current performer at Miracle Theater.

I’ve always been drawn to drama, don’t get me wrong; I love a good comedy and I’ve performed in improv groups. But for some reason I tend to get cast more in dramatic roles and I’ve been lucky to work in beautiful dramatic plays and films.

I stayed active in the Portland filmmaking community and made beautiful friendships with so many creatives but I felt I needed a change so I decided to move back to Los Angeles in 2019.

Not a lot happened in 2020 ahem, professionally speaking; although I’ve been in a few commercials and I’ve stayed pretty busy writing and creating my own projects. I’m very happy to be back in LA and I’m looking forward to collaborating with so many incredibly talented artists.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Nothing is more rewarding to me than to collaborate with other creatives. To come together in agreement to create something beautiful. Some idea, a feeling, a memory. What ever it may be, to bring it from the immaterial to the material, to give it shape and form.

Like Steven Pressfield says in The War of Art:

“The work existed only as a potential- without a body, so to speak. It wasn’t music yet. You couldn’t play it. You couldn’t hear it.

It needed someone. It needed a corporeal being, a human, an artist. To bring it into being to this material plane. So the Muse whispered in Bethoven’s ear. Maybe she hummed a few bars into a million ears. But no one else heard her. Only Beethoven got it. He brought it forth. ”

I think that’s definitely something that continues to inspire me and never ceases to amaze me. Every time I work on a project wether a film or a play I’m fascinated by all the artistry that it takes. From make-up artists to set designers, to costume designers. From the cinematographer to the director. Everyone is giving out their experience, their hard work and their heart and soul. They are bringing it forth because they are able to listen to the Muse.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Aghh! Of course, so many books I wished I have read ten years ago. I particularly recommend Jenna Fisher’s book: The Actor’s life. She does a terrific job at putting together an actor’s tool box kit. Also, the War of Art by Steven Pressfield which I mentioned before. This book brings so much clarity about what really means being an artist and turning into a professional.

There are so many new resources now that didn’t existed ten years ago. Social Media is an amazing platform to learn, find classes, coaches, casting agencies, agents… etc. and I think that’s great because it’s opening opportunities for people that otherwise wouldn’t been able to access that information

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/mariandi
• Instagram: @mariandi
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-mendez-7b0772103/

Image Credits
Headshot by Jason Hill. Stills from Colibrí.