Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabella Gomez Giron.
Hi Isabella, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, near the beach, within warm breezes and between a lot of dancing and folklore. I moved to the U.S when I was 18 to pursue my BFA in Acting at NYU Tisch with a Minor in Psychology. I adore my Colombian culture and that is something that I always strive to bring into any type of work I do. I am passionate about community building through culture sharing as well as through storytelling. During my senior year of college, 2020, as we all know, the pandemic hit. I had to finish my degree and say goodbye to friends and teachers virtually. Although this wasn’t easy it has taught me a lot. The phrase “make your own work” although exciting, also tended to produce anxiety for me. Perhaps the fear of failing, of knowing the immense amount of work it would take for me to live up to an irrational standard of “good” in my brain. But the pandemic has kind of forced new ideas/projects out of me without giving me the time or luxury to question them too much.
Being completely alone during the beginning of the pandemic, on a Friday evening, I started recording myself on my computer’s photo booth while doing some improv of different characters who were stuck in this pandemic, and were trying to connect with others. I ended up having so much fun that I decided to transcribe some of the improvised dialogue I had created. Shortly after, I had a short comedic film about four eccentric characters who join, or are forced to join by their parents, an online program called Q-friends, designed to forge new friendships during this isolation period. I shared it with my classmates and a couple weeks later I transformed my apartment into 4 different settings, and filmed myself with my broken iPhone and a tripod, playing the 4 characters. I learned how to edit (a tedious, but also fun and rewarding process in itself), and then shared the rough cut with my colleagues. After the wonderful feedback that made my whole self-smile, I took a break from it, and a couple of months after I re-edited some parts, and now my first self-produced short film will be released in March 2021! This film will be participating in festivals to come as well. I am nervous to release this project and I don’t know what will happen once I do, but I also didn’t know what it was going to turn into, the night I was alone doing improv in my photo booth. I learned that sometimes you just have to start, without expectations, without putting that pressure off “the perfect project,” on yourself; just play, play as you did when we were kids, and as we should always continue to do!
On the other hand, a month after I graduated, still in the pandemic, my best friend from college and roommate, but in the moment away with her family in California, called me and proposed to do a virtual production of Macbeth. I said yes without really knowing what we were signing ourselves up to, but knowing that we wanted to recreate the magic of theatre on a virtual platform, to connect with others through art, to offer a revitalizing space during these times and to ACT! We had graduated and no gigs were open at the moment. Once again the phrase “create your own opportunities” was coming to me, after I had also looked at it with certain fear. Today I can say we produced a show that got me to places I never imagined: my first articles in a Colombian newspaper, my first time on Colombian TV, making money out of my own artistic piece, the beauty of feeling the magic of theatre again, and of connecting with audience members around the world.
This first big experience as a producer was virtual and I got to act in it too with artists transmitting their interpretation from different parts of the world as is South Korea, Hawaii, New York, California, Texas and more. Reimagining theater into a virtual experience while preserving the connection with other artists miles away was not a simple task, but through the use of camera angles, lights, music, the creative transformation of each artists’ home into their own set, the interactive pre-show and the passion of the artists, we created a unique virtual experience that lived between the worlds of streaming and theatre, maintaining the magic of live performances, while using the innovative elements that this visual medium offers. Perhaps the pandemic has given rise to a new form of expression. We also had the opportunity of collaborating with the Theater department of Norte Vista High School in Riverside, California with weekly workshops dictated by the cast and crew, with the purpose of stimulating and inspiring students who today adapt to a world of socially distanced education. Once again, when I said yes to Macbeth, I didn’t know it was going to end up being such a big part of my career, and as fulfilling as it was. During the process the focus was on rediscovering the virtual platform, on keeping theatre alive, on creating something innovative, on telling a story that questioned our virtues, vices and explored the trust within our communities and leaders. Additionally, we wanted to challenge gender binaries through the casting of women in traditionally male roles. I wasn’t constantly thinking about the number of people that would see it, or in the traction it would have, and that made the whole journey more magical.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
“Leaving home made me feel 5/10’s of what I was. Now, too much disconnection but eager to connect. Not knowing how. Part of it is that she herself is blocked. Too afraid to take the risk of exposing herself. A risk that could lead to judgment? Rejection? To being casted out? The possibility of a merge and acceptance and praise lies in her fantasies. So does the chance for genuine laughter, warm hugs and fresh pineapple. Fantasies that are now too far away, and can only be remembered as part of reality in her past. Those fantasies make her past bright, her present gray and her future black. The tongue does not know how to understand the mind and the mind is afraid to tell the tongue how, and so in silence she goes; but smiling, because she heard that smiling releases some dopamine and endorphin into the body. But that dose is just not strong enough to want to shower with the lights on, and not strong enough to sleep in a dry pillow that does not smell like salt. But no matter what, the sun comes out, the moon shines and once again she is confronted with millions of closed locks, so the girl picks up the keys, tries to open one by one; again. Maybe today is the day that her heart will open up again.” This is a poem I wrote about my experience moving to the U.S. Not only being away from home and from my loved ones was hard, but I literally felt like I was “smarter,” “funnier,” “funner” in Spanish. It’s as if my 14 years speaking English were gone. Moreover what it means to be Latin American in Colombia is totally different from what it means in the United States, and at the beginning, grappling with those differences was challenging.
As an immigrant I’ve learned what it feels like to be an outsider, to want to connect but not finding the words how, to value my culture more than I ever imagined I would, and to want to create communities that feel like family, to create spaces that feel as safe as one’s home, and to always be open to listening, because in others’ words always lies a spark of wisdom. My desire for building such communities and spaces through theatre, and my need to fight for diversity in thought, tradition, experience and origin through art, became stronger than ever. With time I found the words, the homes away from homes, the friends that felt like family, and the courage to speak up as well. Writing, dancing, acting, reading, psychology courses, even doing statistics helped, and most importantly taking risks, not giving up, and learning to embrace failure.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Sometimes labels tend to limit us; as human beings we are many things all at once and I believe that part of life is exploring all those different passions and curiosities we have. I got my degree in Acting from NYU with a Minor in Psychology, but dance was where I fell in love with expressing myself through the arts, and a place where my soul will forever fly freely; and poetry has become an oasis for the butterflies, rocks, volcanoes, and UFOs born within me. I am happy to have finally released my poetry blog called “Falling for Life”. I have also started to explore screenwriting more, and look forward to seeing where that will take me. One thing I know is that I strive to build bridges, spark joy, courage, and change through the arts, through the intersection of the arts and education, through culture sharing, and perhaps even one day through psychological research. I am someone with the desire to understand humanity’s complexity and to embrace it. NYU was a distant dream. When I was about eight years old I remember visiting New York as a tourist, and looking around at people rushing between traffic lights, between scaffoldings and subways stairs and I remember thinking “One day I want to be one of them. I want to be someone who lives in New York and has places to go in it… important places.”
And today, I can say I have lived in NYC for more than four years, and I have become one of those people my eight year old self dreamed of and yes, there is still a very long way to go, but I am walking and I am walking constantly. One of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as an artist was the opportunity to perform at multiple detention centers across NYC through a tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream where I was playing Puck. Hearing the inmates say that for the duration of the play they forgot where they were, they felt looked at, spoken to with respect, heard and valued, shook my whole self. It showed me that art transcends all sorts of boundaries, class, experiences; art puts us on a plane where we are reminded that at the end we are all humans, and we should be lending more hands and smiles, than injecting hate. Getting to bring Shakespeare to schools and facilities that do not always have access to these experiences and to these playwrights, who have so much to teach us about ourselves and the world, was an honor.
In terms of recent work I wrapped up the first online reading of Tess Taylor’s (author of 5 acclaimed collections of poetry; whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Kenyon Review, Poetry, Tin House, The Times Literary) new play Detective Story. Tess’s work has been called “brilliant” by the LA Times. The play was produced by Elizabeth Dell (Destination Wedding) and I got to perform next to Castulo Guerra (Terminator 2: Judgement Day), Marcelo Tubert (Jane the Virgin) and more amazing actors!
I also finished shooting Cirineo, a new feature film directed by German Jaramillo (Narcos, La Virgen de los Sicarios) and also starring the renowned Colombian dancer Daniel Fetecua (Limon Dance Company). It was a privilege to work with such admirable Colombian artists, who inspired me every second of the process.
On the other hand, aside from performing, writing, and devising theatre and film pieces, I am also the Vice President of a Colombian organization called PorColombia, the largest organization of Colombian students and professionals in the U.S. We aim to facilitate the creation of connections that promote the professional and business development of Colombians in the U.S; we work to build spaces to share our culture, to highlight Colombian achievements, and we also strive to maintain a relationship with our country from abroad through philanthropic projects.
To me, it is a delight to be part of PorColombia, because I not only get to feel connected to my beautiful culture, but I get to help build a community that aims to lead Colombians in the U.S into personal and professional growth, showing the resilience, persistence and immense potential that we have. Meeting ex-majors, ambassadors, entrepreneurs and artists from my country who have changed the image of Colombia abroad, inspires me to build a path that does the same. When I was the President of the University chapter at NYU, I organized a Carnaval Night with traditional food, live music by Colombian students from the Berklee College of Music, and dance performances by Colombian artists based in Queens, all to recreate the famous Carnaval de Barranquilla. I got to share this experience with 400 people, 50% which were not Colombian! This is a project I am not only very proud of, but grateful that I got to lead because through the sharing of history, culture, and beliefs we build bridges made out of admiration, compassion and respect between our communities.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am always extremely excited for new collaborations, don’t hesitate to reach out through Instagram, my website or email! On my website you can find more about my recent projects, my reel, photos, and a link to my poetry blog “Falling for Life”! isabellagomezgiron.wixsite.com/iggperformer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabellagomezg/ (@isabellagomezg) Email: isabellagomezgiron@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Email: isabellagomezgiron@gmail.com
- Website: https://isabellagomezgiron.wixsite.com/iggperformer
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabellagomezg/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GomezGironIsabella
Image Credits
Tori Preis, ak47division, Joe Loper, Raina Silver
