Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sara Contreras. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Sara , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
When I finally found the time to respond to this interview assignment, I was drawn to this question because of the overwhelming exhaustion my body felt from all of the tasks I’d completed yesterday, from fulfilling grandma babysitting duties for an overly active 9-year old to applying the 4th coat of polyurethane on the vintage Pier I Import dresser I’d stripped and refinished over the past 6 weeks, pre- and post-cancer breast reconstruction. My work ethic and all I’ve accomplished because of it have always given me the most personal satisfaction and purpose. It has affected all aspects of my life and actually was what took me from Project Girl to Suburbarican (that’s a Puerto Rican with equity).
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am finally pursuing my 28-year long comedy career full-time having recently retired after a truly rewarding 40-year career as a public school speech therapist. I am one of Showtime’s Original Latin Divas of Comedy, representing the exquisite island country of Puerto Rico, part of its first-generation diaspora. Our cable special received a nomination as Best Comedy Special in 2008 by the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA)–it’s available on Amazon Prime! I’ve performed for the troops in Iraq and Kuwait in 2011 and in 2022 was chosen as the opening act for El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, the island’s most iconic salsa band, for their 60th anniversary tour. Television appearances have included Law & Order: SVU, the Wendy Williams show, Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, NBC’s New York Live, WPIX New York Living, and the popular Puerto Rican shows La Boveda and Puerto Rico en Vivo. I was recently honored by the New York Police Department Hispanic Society as a Latina trailblazer in the arts and entertainment. Many young Latina artists tell me I inspired them to become comedians/actors and to work hard to achieve their goals at any age.
A Brooklyn project-girl turned Suburbarican (that’s a Puerto Rican with an M.S. and equity), I’ve raised two kids and one ex-husband and found my true love at 57 on E-Harmony. I am now producing my second one-woman show “F.R.E.A.K. of Nature: the Last of the Baby Boomers” to debut Fall 2024. I am also writing a show to be performed completely in American Sign Language. My schedule, merchandise, blogs, media gallery, and podcast “Freak of Nature” are available at www.saracontreras.com.” Follow me at latindivacomedy on TikTok and Instagram.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Discipline – As someone who juggled two demanding careers while raising two children as a single mom, it was imperative to apply a disciplined approach to most of my activities, whether parenting, exercising, writing, or balancing schedules and financial responsibilities. It’s so easy to procrastinate or be distracted by external forces when a scene or an assessment need to be written. Planning and then executing are made much more difficult without a commitment to excellence that only results from a disciplined lifestyle. When folks ask why I work so hard, I always answer “it has to get done!”
Mastery of English and Spanish- Both of my demanding careers required an enormous amount of writing and I was always grateful when it was acknowledged for its precision, creativity, and boldness, I do believe that part of my success as a comedian has been my ability to craft jokes that are smart and novel. As a speech therapist with great responsibilities for planning and documenting pupil progress, I was very effective because my writing reflected a vast vocabulary and strong sentence formulation abilities. Mastery of any language elevates the individual’s ability to communicate and generally gains the respect and interest of listeners. And being trilingual (English/Spanish/American Sign Language) has created greater opportunities for growth and professional development.
Confidence – Whether on a stage as a comedian before 9,000 ticket-holders or as a speech therapist before a small group of special needs youngsters, confidence is instrumental in engaging the audience and keeping their attention. It’s compelling and guarantees that folks will remember you as you walk away. Confidence signals that you’ve prepared and done the work needed to get the job done despite adversity or emergency. Confidence is what drove me to perform an unforgettable set at Bergen Performing Arts Center the same day I was scheduled for a double mastectomy. My commitment to the show knew that it had to get done; my discipline in writing had prepared me; and my confidence had me saying “you got this mama!”
Advice: Observe great mentors at work; be a good listener; do something great daily; never start dreaming.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
My one-woman show has not been staged and I’ve reached out to several Latino organizations and theatres to support in producing, staging, and promoting the show with inconsistent success. It is not written for solely a Latino audience and the issues of redefining aging, the main theme of my show, is cross-cultural and not exclusive to Latinos. I’d love to collaborate with a theatre and producer who would welcome my show and provide the minimal staging it requires. The show is a 60-75 minute interactive multimedia experience filled with stand-up comedy, music, and images.
F.R.E.A.K. of Nature: the Last of the Baby Boomers is a celebration of those souls born 1954-1964 who represent Generation Jones, the youngest baby boomers. Generation X credits itself for aging on their own terms, but it’s actually been my generation that has shown it sucks to be the same age as old people. We own much of this country’s wealth and many of us are just getting started! We refuse to be put out to pasture and this Generation Joneser cant wait to bring this message to the stage.
If anyone is interested I can be reached at [email protected].
Contact Info:
- Website: https://saracontreras.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latindivacomedy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latindivaofcomedy/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnD99HLueNIVH_HKjU44kOg
- Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@latindivacomedy
