by Stephanie Guevara
East Los Angeles College student, Samuel Solorio, has started in many plays but his next play, ‘Drunk Girl’ may be the most controversial yet.
‘Drunk Girl’, which will be premiering in Casa 0101, a collection of 16 short plays, monologues, and sketch pieces revolving around the struggles of women having power over their bodies, lives and destinies.
Solorio took part in eight of the 16 short plays.
“This play was a bit of a challenge because it wasn’t just one story, it was multiple stories.” Solorio said.
Solorio was introduced to theatre when he attended Cathedral High School.
He was involved in a couple plays including Romeo and Juliet, One flew over the cuckoo’s nest and many more.
Solorio instantly fell in love with theatre and decide to pursue a career in theatre arts.
“I attended Cal State L.A. For about three quarters right after high school and I was a theatre major there. I knew theatre was the only thing I wanted to do.” Solorio said.
Solorio had to neglect his theatre plans shortly after attending Cal State L.A. following a motorcyle accident his sister was involved in.
“After my sister’s motorcycle accident, I decided to take some time off and I didn’t really do any theatre during this time. I mainly stayed home and helped her out as much as I could.” Solorio said.
During this time, Solorio decided to try his hand at different career paths.
He took courses to become a pharmacy technician, but always had theatre in the back of his mind.
“I tried being a pharmacy technician and I did construction work on the side but I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do.” Solorio said.
Solorio decided to enroll in ELAC and get back into theatre.
Despite the fact that Solorio’s family wasn’t too familiar with theatre arts, they were always there to show their support.
“My family always kind of knew this is where I belonged. My parents came to each play, they never missed one. I never really thought about it, but I have come to really appreciate that.” Solorio said.
Solorio has run into some obstacles trying to pursue his theatre career. One of the biggest obstacles he has faced is being a student and trying to support himself financially.
“There was times where I’ve had to work weird hours like the graveyard shift and it’s hard because you need time to rest to come to school or go to work and I never had time for anything.” Solorio said.
Despite having been involved in a handful of plays, one of Solorio’s most profound memories on stage has been on the set of ‘Drunk Girl’.
“I have some older sisters who have had some difficulties with men and since that’s what this play is about it really brought a feeling of awareness to me and was very emotional.” Solorio said.
‘Drunk Girl’ was written by Josefina Lopez, a chicana playwright, who is best known as the author of the play ‘Real Women Have Curves’.
“I want to give a voice to those who are afraid to speak out and express their inner truths. In ‘Drunk Girl’, I candidly explore the very serious topic of physical abuse. The current scandal surrounding actor Bill Cosby has brought the topic of rape to the forefront and was the inspiration for one of the pieces I wrote in this collection.” Said Lopez.
Although this was the first time Solorio took part in a play at Casa 0101 he has left a big impact on the production team.
“This is my first time working with Samuel, but even in the audition he was very lovely, very beautiful and vulnerable a very captivating actor. The efforts that he has put in, you know he’s a student and has to work full time, he has managed his time really well.” Said Claudia Duran, Producer and Director of ‘Drunk Girl’.
Solorio plans on continuing his theatre career at ELAC and hopes to transfer out soon.