Mariana Fernandez, shown in rehearsal for FADE: “I think we can all relate to how our choices in life determine where we are and where we go and who gets to tell our story.” Photo by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter.

MEET MARIANA FERNÁNDEZ
Lucía in FADE

At the DCPA: Debut. New York credits include Disjointed Love Shorts (Ticket2Eternity.) Regional: Reasons to be Pretty (Phoenix Theatre Indianapolis) As Bees in Honey Drown (StageWest Fort Worth) Jason and Claire (San Diego Old Globe.)

• Hometown: Born in Tampico, Mexico, and grew up in San Diego
• Training: BFA from Texas Christian University and MFA from Purdue University
• The role that changed your life: I was fortunate enough to be able to do the role of Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire as my thesis role in graduate school. Putting that amount of research and energy into a role that was so far from anything I ever thought I would play really taught me discipline and what it means to immerse yourself in a role. From the text to the accent to the complexity, the role was one of the most challenging and beautiful experiences I’ve ever had.
• Why are you an actor? Theatre was never part of my childhood or extracurricular activities growing up. I knew that I loved to read, to explore, to delve into characters and how they function, so as soon as I took an acting class in high school, I knew it was what I wanted to pursue as a career.
  
• What would you be doing for a career if you weren’t an actor? Career-wise, I don’t see myself doing anything else. Nothing would be as fulfilling. There was a part of me that desired to be the host of “The Voice.” Mostly because you were able to interact with this incredible amount of talent and you were able to hear the singers’ stories and got the chance to cheer them on with their families as they attempted to fulfill their dream. Otherwise, I hope to be a mother one day. That would be the only other passion that would be on par and beyond with doing theatre.
• Ideal scene partner: Meryl Streep is someone I deeply admire, so in a perfect world, I’d get to do a play with her. Not a movie – a play. She got her start in theatre and she is brilliant in everything she does. I feel like she would challenge and inspire me. Mark Rylance is also another actor who has just blown me away onstage. He is perfect. He gives so much to every actor that is onstage with him. These are just dreams, of course. I have just been blown away by their work.
• Why does FADE matter? When I first read FADE, I was moved by how relatable it was. Not just because of how it dealt with class issues that are so prevalent in Latin-American cultures, but by the dynamic and relationship by the two characters. This play is so honest. Honest about how class works within the Mexican culture, honest about how it is still a struggle to be an educated woman in a man’s world, honest in how our generation is so programmed to succeed and move forward no matter what the price is. This play tackles all those issues and more. You don’t have to be Latino to identify with these characters. I think we can all relate to how our choices in life determine where we are and where we go and who gets to tell our story.
• What do you hope the audience gets out of it? I can only hope they get a deeper sense of how within a culture there are different worlds and personalities and that we don’t have to stereotype anyone. We are all complex beings, and in this day and age, there are so many things that bring you together, no matter what your background. This is the human experience. We can all relate to each other in different situations.  This is an extraordinary play that brings up issues about race, class and gender but also interpersonal relationships and how we relate to each other.
• Finish this sentence: “All I want is …”
  … for people to choose love. This was a lesson I learned in the theatre about exploring a scene and it translates into everything we do. I even wear this motto on a mantra bracelet on my wrist, ‘Choose Love.’ If your words and your actions come from a place of compassion and love … love toward the world, toward one another, I feel like we can all do and be better people.

FADE: Ticket information

• By Tanya Saracho
• Through March 13
• Ricketson Theatre
• Tickets: 303-893-4100 or BUY ONLINE
• TTY: 303-893-9582
• Groups of 15 or more: 303-446-4829
• Also: Purchase in person at The Denver Center Ticket Office, located at the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex lobby. Buy and print online at DenverCenter.Org.

Previous 2015-16 ‘Meet the Cast’ profiles:
Meet Adeoye of Lookingglass Alice and All the Way
Meet Kevin Berntson of The Nest
Meet J. Paul Boehmer of As You Like It
Meet Molly Brennan of Lookingglass Alice
Meet Courtney Capek of A Christmas Carol
Meet Todd Cerveris of All the Way
Meet Brian D. Coats of The Nest
Meet Tad Cooley of Tribes
Meet Paul DeBoy of All the Way
Meet Allen Dorsey of A Christmas Carol
Meet Kevin Douglas of Lookingglass Alice
Meet Napoleon M. Douglas of A Christmas Carol
Meet Brian Dykstra of The Nest
Meet Isabel Ellison of Tribes
Meet Mariana Fernandez of FADE
Meet Kate Finch of Tribes
Meet Ella Galaty of A Christmas Carol
Meet Mike Hartman of All the Way
Meet Ben Heil of A Christmas Carol
Meet Carolyn Holding of As You Like It
Meet Drew Horwitz of As You Like It
Meet Maurice Jones of As You Like It
Meet Geoffrey Kent of As You Like It and All the Way
Meet Emily Kron of As You Like It
Meet Nick LaMedica of As You Like It
Meet Victoria Mack of The Nest
Meet Andrew Pastides of Tribes
Meet Shannan Steele of A Christmas Carol
Meet Carly Street of The Nest
Meet Samuel Taylor of Lookingglass Alice
Meet Lindsey Noel Whiting of Lookingglass Alice
Meet Jake Williamson  of A Christmas Carol
Meet Matt Zambrano of As You Like It