Santana Dempsey
©2015 Angela María Ortíz S.
We’ve been a friend and a fan of actress/writer Santana Dempsey for years now–she’s even done some work with us. We celebrated her one-woman show last year, her co-starring role in Lifetime’s Megachurch Murder (available on Watch Instantly here), her guest star role on HBO’s The Newsroom, among so much other work. And we were especially proud when she was chosen for the lead in the Pasadena Playhouse’s production of Real Woman Have Curves by Josefina Lopez.
This is one of the first adaptation of the best-selling book and award-winning film, and the first with an all-Latino cast. It stars Blanca Araceli (FX’s The Bridge), Diana DeLaCruz (ABC Family’s Chasing Life), Cristina Frias (The Motherf*cker with the Hat at South Coast Repertory), and Ingrid Oliu (HBO’s Real Women Have Curves, Stand and Deliver). Director Seema Sueko made a perfect choice in casting Santana as a feisty, proud, and independent young woman whose humanity and energy cannot be denied.
Angela Ortíz
and Santana Dempsey
We got a chance to sit down with Santana for a few minutes between her final rehearsals, where we talked her career since she came to L.A., her hard work and hard-won successes, and what’s coming next…
Real Women Have Curves plays September 8 through October 4 at the Pasadena Playhouse, one of Southern California’s most prominent showcases for new and established talent. Tickets are available online at PasadenaPlayhouse.org; by calling The Pasadena Playhouse at 626-356-7529; or visiting The Pasadena Playhouse Box Office.
Photos: ©2015 Angela María Ortíz S.
