We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marissa Labog. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marissa below.

Marissa, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I don’t think I really had a choice. I was just performing and creating things all the time. I would dance for hours, create new moves, put on shows, and force my poor family to watch it all. When I was four, my parents decided to put me into ballet to perhaps give me some kind of structure. I don’t think they realized that they just unlocked the door to a world of incredible possibilities. I went on to study jazz, contemporary, and later break dancing. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Then they blew the door off its hinges when they put me in karate. I know they were just nervous that someone was going to kidnap me and wanted me to protect myself, but… they just gave me another avenue to explore. Later I studied taekwondo, capoeira, wushu, swordwork.

From that point I was obsessed. I was kung fu fighting like ninjas, dancing in the streets, writing and putting on shows, wrangling my friends and family to participate. So when I discovered I could do this as a career, it was a no brainer and a natural progression.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into the industry like I think most people do. I auditioned, failed, auditioned, got an agent, got sent on auditions, failed, booked some work, failed, booked work, failed etc… Being 4’11” and Filipina was also difficult at times. I was told by some individuals that being who I am is a “hard sell.”

But here’s where I think my tenacity, curiosity, and versatility comes in. Ultimately, I love what I do. I love all facets of it. I live for learning new things, pushing my own boundaries, and taking risks. I am an actress, dancer, stuntwoman, filmmaker, writer, and producer so I can expand myself, expand the depth of my expression, live a story and tell a story from different disciplines and different perspectives. Learning the multiple disciplines of dance, martial arts, gymnastics, parkour, to acting, improvisation, and writing, exercises my mind in new ways that introduces me to new perspectives. My success is a direct result of my versatility caused by my insatiable appetite for storytelling and the curiosity of human capacity. I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunities I got without the skills I acquired.

What I’m most proud of now is taking those skills and creating my film production company, UP Productionz. I strive to tell diverse stories from demographics that aren’t often given opportunity to be heard. Voices that widen my perspective with potential to hopefully widen others. I also want to mesh all my loves of acting, stunts, dance, writing to really use my voice to tell stories. And lastly, I wanted to provide opportunity for the voices and talent of people I love and respect to work together to make thought-provoking, entertaining, inclusive, and transformative films.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

From a very young age I knew the power stories had to change perspectives and lives. I just wanted to share these stories. I think that within each stage of my creative journey, that goal manifested differently.

In the beginning I loved performing so much that I was trying to gain as much knowledge, tools, and experiences as possible to help with my expression. Then as my career grew, the goal was to find the stories I am passionate about and the people I love to work with.

Now, it’s a culmination of those things in addition to finding my voice, my own storytelling while providing the opportunity for others to share their voice, their stories. That’s the driving force of UP Productionz.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the opportunity to learn about people from all walks of life and explore endless possibilities. And transversely, because the film and tv industry is a collaborative entity, we can share these diverse stories of humanity while meeting and working with incredible people who will constantly help me grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.upproductionz.com www.marissalabog.com
• Instagram: @upproductionz @marissalabog
• Facebook: Upproductionz Marissalabog
• Youtube: @mlabog
• Vimeo: Marissa Labog

Image Credits
Jesse Korman, Ashley Mckinney, Kristina Moto, Jerry Sandoval, Emily Wanserski