Meet Marissa Alaníz | Actor, published playwright, poet, burlesque performer, and singer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marissa Alaníz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marissa, how do you think about risk?
I love risk, I love mistakes! I have always been a big believer that failure and discomfort are where the most growth happens. If something seems a little scary to me, I feel that I am more inclined to run towards it and not away from it because it is often rewarding. Sometimes the reward is a lesson in what not to do, but there is so much value in that, as well. If I’m ever unsure, or if it is hard to find the silver lining in a professional situation (and believe me, it definitely can be!), I look for motivation in nature– hermit crabs go seeking a new shell when they have outgrown the comfort and protection of their old one. In order to find a new shell, they have to risk vulnerability while they scuttle to find a bigger and better shell. And is vulnerability not what we tend to connect to most in art as audiences? What a gift risk and uncertainty can be!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am an actor and playwright, primarily, but I started as a singer and I’ve also performed burlesque for almost 10 years all around the country and Internationally.
I started out as an actor and when I first graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in LA, I was quickly discouraged by the roles available to female actresses. Long before I learned about The Bechdel Test, The Geena Davis Institute, The Kilroy List, or any of the small but mighty and ever burgeoning resources and collectives available to female writers, I saw a hole in the industry: complicated and exciting roles for newly graduated female actors, and frankly, roles written by writers who understood female characters as people and not just a tool to serve a male character’s story.
So I decided to start writing scripts myself! I wasn’t writing with roles for myself in mind, but I was writing out of frustration over what I was missing in the scripts I was auditioning for. I didn’t realize at that time that this would plant a seed for an ever-growing love of writing. Now, I have published a script and have had several productions around the country of my writing.

I don’t think any of this makes me unique– there are a lot of writer/actors and actor/writers out there. And I’m sure any one of them will tell you that their writing informs their acting and their acting informs their writing. I’m sure several femme and gender expansive writers will tell you that they write to fill the hole that is their own representation on stage and screen.
But I do think I have a pretty unique voice. I started writing as a poet and I don’t think poetry every really left me. It pops up all the time in my writing, so I write with a lot of musicality in my scripts and as an actor I am pretty attuned to the melodic line of scripts given to me. I like to think I write dark comedy, but the more I write, the more I realize that my biggest inspirations are overlooked stories and the quotidian horror of womanhood.

I do a lot of writing and research on the ethics of the true crime genre, ethical depictions of sex work in media, and the expectations imposed on the female body. For example, my play recently published by 1319 Press (shout out to 1319 Press for championing early and mid career playwrights!), ‘Elizabeth’ is about the true story of Elizabeth Short. Posthumously, Elizabeth Short is known as The Black Dahlia, a Los Angeles woman who brutally murdered in the 1940’s.

It’s an iconic Los Angeles story, the sensationalism of which launched the entire true crime genre. What struck me most about her story is how poorly it has been told in the almost 80 years since her death. The story of her death– and by extension, her life– has been co-opted endlessly by the male gaze. She has had no rest from the sensationalism surrounding her case and her body has been the endless subject of scrutiny. And yet, despite all of this obsession, she is largely left out of her own story, the focus instead shifting towards who did or did not commit the crime, who did or did not solve it, and gruesome details of her mutilation and death. My goal with this play was to recenter her voice in her own story and it got me thinking about the ownership of narrative. I do not think I own Elizabeth’s story. Her story is uniquely her own and should remain that way. I can, however, use my talent for writing to act as a steward of her story and ensure that she remains the focus in her narrative.

All of that aside, I am also very inspired by comedy and nature. I believe that the lines between comedy and horror are nebulous and blurry, so I am often looking for moments of release in the tension. My newest piece, ‘big blue’ which is set to have a world premiere this year, is a horror play about climate change and two women’s complex relationships to grief and climate crisis. It’s not NOT horror, but there are also certainly several moments of comedy to relieve the pressure built up in their complicated and dire situation. You’ll have to come to New York City to see it on July 19!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh, man. So much has changed since I lived in LA full time and I unfortunately feel like rising costs in a post-Covid world is sending all of the places I used to love out of business. In any city I am in, I always look to see if that city has a page on Atlas Obscura. I enjoy making bizarre, off beat itineraries for myself.

I love weird glimpses into a bygone era, so I would take them to Angel’s Flight, The Last Bookstore, and Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I have a friend who works at The Magic Castle so I would ask him very nicely for a ticket or two. I always go to Magnolia Blvd in Burbank when I’m in town to go to all of my favorite spooky haunts. The whole street is a goth girl’s wet dream!

But I also love a good cocktail, especially a margarita, so I would recommend Daisy in Sherman Oaks. For food, I would go to one of the many Korean-Mexican fusion places in the city. This fusion really feels comforting to me. As a child, I spent some time in Seoul and my family is Mexican, so something about this combination has always felt both uniquely LA, but also uniquely close to home for me.

And, of course, I would take them on a nice hike overlooking the city. I used to live below the Hollywood Sign and, cliche as it is, I would hike up there all the time and always found it very peaceful. I would end the day watching the sunset and drinking a Corona and eating a mango with chamoy and tajin from one of the local beach vendors. My partner and I met in LA and he used to live in Santa Monica. Going down to the beach and treating myself this way was always a special, cost-effective treat to me and reminds me of our early years together.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Every single person who has seen some glimmer of promise in my work and offered me a platform at some point or another. The creative industries I am in are full to the brim of kept gates, rejections, and artists who rose to the top by stepping on the backs of others. Maybe it’s the childhood girl scout in me, but I have always carried with me the motto to leave a place better than I found it, and this carries over to my career, as well. I want to do my part to leave this industry a better place than I found it, and I feel I am drawn to people who also knowingly or unknowingly share this philosophy. Any teacher who encouraged me; every fellow creative who offered their talent to a project I wrote; any director who fearlessly guided me through the muck of exploring a new role; my partner and my friends who have celebrated my highest highs with enthusiasm and have remained by me during the lowest points of my career. It’s because of everyone in my life who believes in a more equitable and kinder industry that I have been able to continue pursuing my career. Writing and acting are both pretty lonely and thankless jobs 90% of the time, but surrounding yourself with other creatives who not only support you but who you can learn from definitely helps.

Website: https://www.marissaalaniz.com

Instagram: @malanizofficial

Other: https://www.1319press.com/bookstore/p/elizabeth

Image Credits
Stephanie Siomara
Steve Prue
Matt Josephson
Robert Barnes