WHITE ALLIGATOR
Follow us!
  • TRAILER
  • ABOUT
  • PRESS
  • MOVEMENT
    • MISSION
    • BLOG
    • CARTOONS
    • SUPPORT
  • TEAM
  • CONTACT

Why I Do What I Do

7/16/2012

0 Comments

 
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far! We're nearly on schedule: only $1,000 left to get to 25%. Please help us spread the word so we can get there by Wednesday (the quarter mark).

Making this film is the hardest and most important thing I've ever done (taking the SATs is a close second, which tells you something about our warped education system). Here’s why:

1. White Alligator is my first film. I do not yet have a proven track record or
fancy-pants introductions to big studios.

2. It takes a lot of money to make a movie, but you need a track record to get said money (See #1.).

3. I've had to bleed my friends and family dry in the worst recession of my (admittedly short) lifetime. With more and more celebrities using Kickstarter for their projects, we newbies are fading into the wallpaper.

4. The networking is killing me. (I'm naturally shy.)

But you know what? It’s all worth it. And here’s why:

In the process of making this film, a lot of people have been telling me their stories. When you take on a cause, you become an ear for the unheard voices. Although it is difficult for me to listen to these stories (I’m awfully sensitive), I know how vital it is for them to be told. Because injustice thrives on silence. When you are not heard, you start to lose a sense of your own humanity. And then you're toast.

Here is the latest story, which just happened to one of our cast members.

She was in an acting class last week. Halfway through the class, the instructor separated the students into groups based on nationality. I have no idea what he was trying to get across, except maybe trying to teach them their "types.” (I hope a shudder just went through you when you read that: actors routinely get "typed".) She was the only Spanish speaker, and when she introduced herself, the teacher had the gall to ask her if she was legal. Later, when she asked if there were many opportunities in film for a woman her age, he said that of course there were because everyone else her age is dead.

This is a teacher. A teacher. And this woman paid her hard-earned money to take this class. And these things happen all the time.

She called to thank me for making this film. I thanked her for sharing her story with me.

0 Comments

A white Puerto Rican walks into a bar...

8/9/2011

3 Comments

 
(Originally published on Kickstarter on July 27)
A huge shout-out to the Tirado/Rodriguez/Morano/Ahearn family! They've really come through and helped us get to 69%! Thanks for everyone's generosity and hard work to help us get this far. Keep spreading the word!

I was recently getting a snack at one of my favorite vegetarian stands, and while I was waiting for my order, I strike up a conversation with a lady who was waiting in line. She complimented me on my dress in English, and I responded in Spanish since I had heard her speaking it before. Her reaction was like I had stripped myself of my human costume, and a giant cockroach was staring at her speaking Spanish. She couldn't believe it. I told her I was from Puerto Rico, just like her, and she starts going on and on about how white I am. I told her that I had an aunt named Maritza, which was her name, and she wanted to know if there were others like me. At the time, I wish I had my Korean friend with me who grew up in the Dominican Republic, just for sheer theatricality.

We eventually got to the point where we could have a conversation, but it took a while for the shock to wear off. Truth be told, I could've been telling her I had the secret to counting cards, she couldn't have taken it in because of the shock from my being white. I wonder if my parents reacted the same way when I was born: "You have a daughter.", "Whaaaat? She's whiiiite?", "Do you want to hold her?", "But...we're Puerto Rican...", "Should I just lay her down then?". I'll have to ask them, though somehow I doubt it.

But who knows, maybe it's my fault. Maybe when I meet new people, I should just become accustomed to having to wait about five minutes before we can get off the subject of my skin color. But truthfully? I haven't the time. Which is why I'm making this movie.

Thanks for your support everyone!!
3 Comments

They call it the American Dream

8/9/2011

0 Comments

 
(Originally published on Kickstarter on June 27)
I had a tough week that culminated with an entertainment industry professional requesting that I do black face.

Let me explain. I happened to be at an audition for a Spanish speaking project, a rare opportunity due to my white skin. As I sat there going over the material, the monitor approaches us, humiliated, with a small jar of bronzer and some cotton pads. He says to us, "they want you to put this on before you go in." I could tell the boy was just a messenger, and he himself was horrified at the request. Nevertheless, I looked at him like he had three heads and I was about to eat one of them. He apologized and walked away silently. The other girls and I tried to laugh it off and go back to our material.

You know how I was able to laugh it off? Because it's happened before. I have had a manager ask if I can wear darker foundation to appear more Hispanic (by the way, there is a scene in White Alligator comprised of this experience).

This happened after I already had a friend stare at me in shock for a few minutes after I told him I was born in San Juan, and I heard another industry professional explain to an actor taking direction that a Hispanic character's motives for cheating on his wife were "cultural". All in a week. And this is the norm. I took the edge off by treating myself to the Klimt exhibit at the Neue Gallerie on Sunday.

I leave you with this fascinating article about a man who's lived in the US his entire life (like me) and is still trying to fit in, just like you and me. Hell, at the end of the road, we're all in the same boat...pursuing the American Dream.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-immigrant.html?_r=4&ref=magazine&pagewanted=all

0 Comments

    Viviana Leo

    Viviana Leo is the writer and star of White Alligator.

    RSS Feed

    Follow this blog

    Archives

    December 2013
    August 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    Actor
    Actors
    Albany
    America
    American Dream
    American Latino Media Arts Award
    Antioxidants
    Artist
    Ava Duvernay
    Berlin
    Beta-carotene
    Blackface
    Business School
    Calcium
    Cannes
    Carmen Pelaez
    Castro
    Chick-fil-a
    Cholesterol
    Civil Rights
    Classics
    Colorado
    Comic Books
    Commercials
    Community
    Day Job
    Disney
    Dowry
    Emma Stone
    En Mi Viejo San Juan
    Erich Von Stroheim
    Ethnically Ambiguous
    Film
    Filmmaker Magazine
    First Latina Princess
    Fitting In
    Francesco Quinn
    French
    Gay Rights
    German Vogue
    Greed
    Hartford
    Harvard
    Hispanic
    Hollywood
    Humphrey Bogart
    Hypochondria
    Immigration
    Irena's Vow
    Jane White
    Jonathan Larson
    Jose Antonio Vargas
    Juanita Perez
    Kickstarter
    Klimt
    Ku Klux Klan
    L.A.
    La Patria
    Latino
    Maitely Weismann
    Manhattan Project
    Marriage
    Melissa Mayer
    Metro Ny
    Miami
    Middle Of Nowhere
    Minority
    Naacp
    Naho Iguchi
    Nerds
    Neue Gallerie
    New York
    New York Lotto
    Nightwing
    Nytimes
    Open Letter
    Passing
    Pbs
    Physicians
    Piano
    Poverty
    Power Of Now
    Princess
    Princess Sofia
    Print Ads
    Protein
    Puerto Rican
    Puerto Rico
    Quinoa
    Race Blind Casting
    Rent
    Robert Townsend
    Role Model
    Salma Hayek
    San Juan
    Sat
    Schindler's List
    Science
    Scrabble
    Seattle
    Ski
    Sofia Vergara
    South Korea
    Spanish
    Stephen Adly Guirgis
    Stereotypes
    Stetson Kennedy
    Subway
    Superheroes
    Sweet Potatoes
    Swiss Chard
    Tarantula
    T. Colin Campbell
    The American Way
    The Best Years Of Our Lives
    The China Study
    The Help
    The Motherf*cker In The Hat
    Tj Maxx
    Tobey Maguire
    Toby Dawson
    Tokyo
    Twitter
    Type A
    Vail Daily
    Vegan
    Ventanarosa
    Viola Davis
    Walter White
    White
    White Alligator
    White House
    Woman
    Wrapped
    Yahoo!
    Zoe Saldana