Lina is a junior a Virginia Commonwealth University, majoring in English.
Her background:
Although I’m primarily a writer, theatre has always been my second passion. Growing up, I performed at every opportunity possible. I even attended a specialized arts school for acting when I lived in Singapore and got to be on TV there. In high school, I also became a Cappies critic and several of my reviews were published. It was an incredible experience, getting to see shows and write pieces about them, but I didn’t like the rigid rules associated with the Cappies program because I couldn’t honestly speak my mind about certain issues (like a mostly-white cast for a performance of In The Heights which bothered me). Issues involving people of color have always been important to me as a Latina woman and I love learning about other cultures since I grew up overseas where I was exposed to a wide variety of them. I believe racial issues are some of the most important and relevant to be addressed right now, and theatre and the written word are two extremely effective tools with which to do so.
On her participation in the program:
I want to further educate myself on issues involving people of color. I would also hope to hone my reviewing skills because I’m sure I have a lot to learn in terms of critiquing, and in terms of theatre too. Selfishly, I would love to use this opportunity to connect with my theatrical side, since the play I was supposed to perform in last spring (How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents) was cancelled due to COVID. Although I still watch theatre extensively and write about it, being involved firsthand in this world is much more enthralling.
