Meet Karie Citlali | Actress/ Writer/ Creative

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

Hi Karie, why did you pursue a creative career?
I chose to pursue this career simply because there is no other work in my life that lights me up in the same way. I have a deep love and appreciation for the craft of acting and if I’ve spent the day pouring over a script, or in hours of rehearsal, then I had a great day. I might also blame my frequent and early exposure to the theater! I was very fortunate to grow up going to see shows all the time, my elementary school happened to be across the street from a performing arts center and I was very close to my grandmother who always had season tickets to our local playhouse. Between outings with my grandma and the school field trips I’ve maybe seen hundreds of plays and musicals. I have a very distinct early memory of seeing My Fair Lady and being so impressed with the performers thinking “Wow, I don’t think I could ever do that.. but I want to try.”

Of course, eventually I did give it a try and my acting debut was in my 7th grade performance of the Pirates of Penzance, there were no boys that wanted to audition for a part so I was cast as the Pirate King (what a thrill!) and the rest was history, I had the bug and would go on to do a bunch of theater in high school, get my degree in it in college, and do a conservatory program post grad. I loved every second of it. I was, and still am, a huge nerd for the craft.

I also chose to pursue this career because I tried to run away from it for years, I gave it up for 7 years in favor of a 9-5 and 401k, but the thing is, I was very sad and unfulfilled until I made the decision to get back to acting. I like to share this part of my journey because its so universal! I think so many artists give up before they really give themselves a chance. Or give up, and have a desire to go back but think it’s too late, they’re too old, its too hard, they’re too established in their non-creative career, etc. I hope my story inspires anyone with a desire on their heart to pursue their creativity to find a way to do it. My personal philosophy is that human beings are inherently creative, we are meant to create and meant to enjoy art! I think the world is a better place when we share our gifts.

This is our ONE precious beautiful life, we owe it to ourselves to make it as awesome as possible. For me, that means living the actor life!

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.
When I was a little girl I would tell my parents that when I grew up I was going to be a “ballerina, artist, actress, singer” I was never set on just one thing. Though my biggest love is acting, I’m proud to say for little Karie that I’ve given it all a try! And while I wouldn’t call myself a ballerina or Picasso today, I also wouldn’t say that I’ll never give those things a try again, I love learning and I believe that creativity outside of your creative career, or just for the sake of being creative, can be really beneficial for our brains and souls as well as expansive in ways that you might not initially see. Today I’m mostly an actress, and sometimes a writer, but I dabble in music and have plans of directing too!

I recently worked on a project where I got to portray Joan Baez, this so far, is one of my proudest achievements as a performer. It really stretched me. I dusted the rust off of my guitar skills, and sang professionally for the first time in my life. Joan Baez is such an inspirational person, not only an accomplished musician, but a rebel, an activist, a pacifist. The entire experience was a great honor. This was also the first time I’d been cast to play a fellow biracial Latina! When I was doing my research for the role I read several accounts of how she had been dismissed and discriminated against for being half Mexican, it was all too relatable.

While I do feel that the Latinx experience in Hollywood is improving, there is still a long way to go. Latines make up the largest minority in the country and yet we’re still incredibly underrepresented in media. With that being said, I’m so proud of who I am! I’m grateful for the Latines in Hollywood that have trailblazed before me, and I’m honored to be a part of the community. Latinidad is diverse, Latin America has countless beautiful, interesting, tragic, magical stories to tell and Latin Americans come in so many shapes, sizes, and colors.. Film and TV has only begun to portray a small sliver of who we are.

When working on my own projects I’m always thinking of how I may highlight not only Latinx stories but provide space and inclusion for all underrepresented communities including all BIPOC, LGBTQ, and persons with disabilities. We all deserve to be seen! I believe that inclusion can only expand and make our experiences and lives richer, it is very important to me and I keep it at the forefront of my work.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favorite thing about living in Southern California is the beach, so we’ll have to have a day in Santa Monica! We’ll enjoy the beach and hit the iconic pier for rides and happy hour at Rusty’s for some deep fried seafood (if they’re not already full on deep fried funnel cake.) While they’re here we’ll also have an amusement park day and go to Universal Studios, I’m there for the butterbeer and dinosaurs but I’ll be sure to take my guest on the backlot tour too. We’re definitely hitting a museum or two, The Getty Center is my favorite but LACMA is also amazing and they both have great restaurants. We’ll also take advantage of all the entertainment LA has to offer, we’ll find a band they like and catch them at the Greek or Fonda! And finally, since your host is a total theater dweeb, we’ll be seeing a musical at the Pantages! We can dress up for the show and finish the night off with my favorite meal in LA- street vendor tacos!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Absolutely! I would like to shout out my acting studio, Studio 24 Seven lead by our coach Mark McPherson. I am so grateful to have a community of fellow actors and artists, and my career would not be what it is today without it! We work, play, collaborate and truly lift each other up. We celebrate each others wins and set each other up for success. My skills, talent, confidence, and know-how in the industry have grown exponentially since deciding to invest in a community and coaching, and it is my wish for every artist that they find a community as supportive and talented as the one that I have found in Studio 24 Seven!

Instagram: @kariecitlalir

Facebook: Karie Citlali Raff

Other: tik tok – @kariecitlalir

Image Credits
Kelsie Kiana Piini