“That’s something I feel really passionate about is putting complex, dynamic, female protagonists on the stage and on screen,” she said. But the uniting factor is always a strong female lead, she said. Since then she has written five other plays inspired by a mix of genres such as Greek mythology and even some elements of horror and magic as well as her family and culture. So that play was really born out of that moment of where I was growing up and wanted to do different things,” she said. “And it was really hard for my family to understand why I made that choice at the time. It was a very big deal for me to leave Miami and go to college,” she said. I was the first person in my family to leave home. Female leadsĪfter receiving her bachelor’s degree from Brown University, Castro Smith attended the Yale School of Drama and while studying acting in 2008 she wrote her first play “Estrella Cruz. “I remember being like eight years old thinking, ‘Do people that make movies just not know that we exist?’ I was legit confused and I think once I got a little older it became a real mission of mine and something really important to kind of bring our culture to the screen, bring diversity to the screen and tell those stories,” she said.
So reading that play really set me on a course for the rest of my life,” she said.īut before she discovered his work Rivera said she remembers seeing very few Latino writers and entertainers in mainstream films and musicals, Castro Smith said. And I thought if he can do it, maybe I can do it. He’s a Puerto Rican writer and it just spoke to me in a way that was totally different than anything I had ever read before. Please remember it can take some time for your bank or credit card company to process and post the refund too.Disney Animation’s first Latina director Charise Castro Smith talks ‘Encanto,’ power of family If approved, you’ll be automatically refunded on your original payment method. We will notify you once we’ve received and inspected your return, and let you know if the refund was approved or not. The fastest way to ensure you get what you want is to return the item you have, and once the return is accepted, make a separate purchase for the new item. Unfortunately, we cannot accept returns on sale items or gift cards. Please get in touch if you have questions or concerns about your specific item. We also do not accept returns for hazardous materials, flammable liquids, or gases. Please inspect your order upon reception and contact us immediately if the item is defective, damaged or if you receive the wrong item, so that we can evaluate the issue and make it right.Ĭertain types of items cannot be returned, like perishable goods (such as food, flowers, or plants), custom products (such as special orders or personalized items), and personal care goods (such as beauty products). You can always contact us for any return question at and issues
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