Nataly Pena

1. What attracted you to Alamo Heights SA project?

Actually, I knew about the show long before it was in production through a casting director friend of mine, who then introduced me to Rick Cuellar, the creator of the show. Rick heard me sing at a film commission meeting in San Antonio which made me perfect for the role of Mirna on the show. She is the talented singer, black sheep of the main family. So it helped that I fit the role very well.

Also, I liked the whole concept of the show tapping into such markets as internet television and Pod-casting. I knew that through these channels we could reach audiences at an international level.

2. What are the goals for the show?

Well, I think just what I said. That the internet is a world wide network and through Alamo Heights SA we hope to attract greater numbers of people who will hopefully be avid viewers, and bringing them together and allowing them to make a connection through the show, that would otherwise be impossible if it did not exist.

3. Alamo Heights SA is an innovative format…what did you like or dislike about it?

I really liked that each show is short enough and downloadable, so that any viewer may watch it on their own time. Also, i liked that we incorperated our advertising within our show which enabled us to avoid commercial time. Only thing is, because each show is so short (usually only about 7 mins) and a whole season is less than two hours long, I feel it leaves the viewer wanting more faster, which may not be a bad thing..haha

4. How was it shooting each scene in Spanish & English?

whew! That was a challenge! It’s very difficult to be speaking one language one minute, and then speaking another the next, without getting the two a little mixed up. haha I remember many extra takes we had to do during the filming of the show, because some of us actors would begin our lines in english when the scene was in spanish or vice versa. It was a lot of fun though, and eventually you do get the hang of it.

5. What do you feel you’ve gained from this working on this project?

Well it was a totally different experience from anything else I’d ever done. The production team was on a very tight schedule and they had to finish everything in about a week, so it was like everything was put into hyperdrive! We didn’t have much time to memorize blocking or refresh our lines it was just, ” Action…Cut!…next scene!” haha But overall, I think it’s made me stronger and taught me to always be prepared, because you may not always have all the takes in the world to get something right..or something like that

6. What’s next for Nataly Pena?

A lot, I’m happy to say! A few films in pre-production and a blues/swing album in the making.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007  |  Share This