The very talented Stolis Hadjicharalambous

Check out this Film Reel by Writer/Editor/Director Stolis Hadjicharalambous. He is so talented and wonderful to work with. He is a pleasure to work with as he knows what he wants and how to get it. I trust working with Stolis because I know he creates amazing pieces of art.

Projects Stolis and I have worked on together:
Crossed, Vindication, The Last Straw, and Talia Marrero's Acting Reel.

You can find me in this reel below at 4:25

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Just recently, I have had the pleasure of meeting Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of In the Heights. He is such an inspiration.

Growing up with a passion for theatre was muddling. I didn't see enough Latino role models involved in the arts. Yes, I had Latino role models in front of me, on a personal level, whom inspired and encouraged me to engage in works that embraced the Latino community. However, when I turned on the television I never saw a Latino portrayed in a positive light. We always played the maid, janitor, or cashier. But worse, when I attended a musical on Broadway, I never saw Latinos on stage or stories told to represent the Latino community. Being a Native Latina New Yorker, I didn't understand why the story of my community was not being told.

I waited ten years for Broadway to tell the story of Latinos in New York City. Then In the Heights hit Broadway, after it's successful run Off-Broadway. Boy, was I glad. This musical touched upon so many levels of Latinos in New York. Not only did it share the story of three different generations, but it displayed Latinos positively.

I am forever grateful for Lin's In the Heights. I was humbled to share with him how much the show meant to me, and through his eyes I was able to see how humbled he was to hear it.

Took new headshots this weekend. Still deciding on which ones to choose. In the meantime, here are some fun pics that didn't make the cut.

I'm an unlicked cub!

From: "Four Dogs and a Bone"

By: John Patrick Shanley (one of my favorite Playwrights)

BRADLEY: Once there was a great big pregnant bear.

VICTOR: Are you really doing this?

BRADLEY: And after a painful labor, she gave birth to seven baby bears.

VICTOR: Seven.

BRADLEY: So she was very tired.

VICTOR: Sure.

BRADLEY: And she looked at her seven babies, and they were all gooey and slimy with afterbirth. And in that miraculous way that Nature has built the bear, she felt in her heart a tremendous welling up of material feeling.

VICTOR: Maternal feeling.

BRADLEY: Right. And this maternal feeling filled her with strength, so she licked and licked and licked her babies, one after the other, rendering them clean and fresh and beautiful. That is until she got to the seventh little bear. Right then, she ran out of gas, hadda seizure, and dropped dead. Muerto. And the six, well-tended little bears, with their beautiful brown coats, shed a tear, a tender tear, and bounded off into the woods. To have wonderful lives. And the seventh cub, the unlicked cub, went into show business."

And I'm the last child out of four... NO WONDER!

New Dog

Summer has passed and now its back to the real world. Its time to get back on my grind and hussle.

Highlight this summer is the new dog. It was a very unexpected last minute decision. She is so affectionate and I love her dearly. Her name is Azriel (from "The Smurfs", this was Villain Gargamel's cat's name). Azriel is only 8 months old, and absolutely LOVES to play.

Now I have 2 adorable, fun, loving dog's to keep me company.

Dressing Rooms

Here's one of the funny things about this business:
Majority of scripts contain more male roles than female roles.
However, there are more female actors than there are male actors.

So what does that mean for us ladies:
Dressing rooms all to ourselves without having to share with so many other females, while the men are all cramped up in theirs.

Crocheting on Stage

One of my recent shows required me to crochet on stage (it was one of those things where the actor needed some kind of physical thing to do to help drive the scene). Since I have been crocheting since the 5th grade, this was not a problem for me and didn't distract me from the scene. It was like walking and chewing gum at the same time.

Well, after one of the performances, one of my supporters says to me, "When you were crocheting, I said 'She's not acting! She's really doing it, crocheting! I can tell!' ". I then thought to myself a few hours later: But isn't that what acting is??? On stage, or in front of the camera, you have to really do it.

I can't imagine going on stage and saying to myself "OK Talia, it's time to pretend again." No! I have to say, "OK Talia, let go of yourself and become this person. You are not pretending to be the character; you are the character." This is why an actor chooses to act in the first place; to get out of their head and live in someone else's shoes for a few moments in time. To feel, react, and respond as someone else. Not to pretend or comment on, but to truly become. Even on the crappiest days, when I have to walk into a rehearsal or about to perform, it is rewarding to not think about my problems and let go for a couple of hours. Its nice to forget about things that are bugging me and to live in someone else's shoes, forcing me to forget about myself and my issues. This is what being an actor is. Letting go of yourself completely and "doing you" as someone else.

So the next time you see me crocheting on stage or on a screen, don't think of it as , "Oh, there goes Talia doing the shell stitch as she crochets." Remind yourself that you are not watching Talia perform, but seeing her live through someone else's life for that brief moment in time.