We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Annique Arredondo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Annique below.
Annique, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me and for this question, as it’s truly an important one. I’ve been to support groups before and in the one I used to attend, one of the main tenants was to share vulnerable experiences, and that even though you might have been nervous to share, you always shared for the other person who needed to hear your story, whether you know they needed your story or not. So I share this now for the person who needs to hear it, who has felt invisible in the room, who perhaps learned to live small to survive, or who learned to claim their authentic voice later in life, like myself.
I’ve recently been inspired by the book “Brown Girls With Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts” by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez, and it’s probably the most kinship I’ve felt with another person without having met them. She speaks of the framework of this given interview question at length, and I’ve felt power in hearing her words and transparently presented experiences. I recommend this book not just for Brown girls, but all BIPOC folks who have struggled in their uniqueness and who have felt alone in the room no one told them they had autonomy in all along.
It can be excruciating being the only brown girl/person in the room, not because your existence is wrong by any means, but because the juxtaposition of yourself, your thoughts, your feelings, your stories and experiences are so diametrically stark against societal norms and backdrop. We live in a society that praises individuals who break through glass ceilings to come out the other end with their god given unique differences and talents intact, but one that hazes them completely along the way. America praises “dreamers”, “ingenuity”, “rebels” and “trail blazers” to the extent that it can be folded into the mythology of the American dream based on meritocracy. This is frankly, confusing and unfair as f*ck.
When I created Player One, I did so because I was tired of the American Dream trope and tired of meritocracy; that if I just worked hard enough for someone else, I would get ahead. It was in the later moments of being fired from 16 hour days working as a celebrity assistant that I knew meritocracy was all a lie. And here’s the tricky part: you can be bitter or you can be better. This is not something teachable, I’ve come to learn. The Bitters see your light and want it. They are the walking black holes on Earth, sucking all the light they can as a dysfunctional survival mechanism. Avoid them at all cost.
I write this for the Betters, who can see that other people’s projections and perspectives are not a personal insult to them, not a personal affront or attack. People will spend their whole lives fighting the whirling dervish of their inner monologues. Betters! Take your experiences, the soft and sweet, the sour and acrid, and alchemize it! That is how I learned to be effective when I was the only person who looked like myself in the room. Take every experience as an opportunity. There’s an expression writers often whisper to each other: “what is the note behind the note?” So, ergo, what is the note behind the note the universe is trying to give you? It is through focusing on your own journey, your own self, in constant self improvement, that you will be effective and successful even when you are the only one in the room that looks like you. Be as a horse with blinders and see only your path, no one else’s. No one can be you. That is your super power.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m very excited to answer this question, as this is a very particular area of myself I’m currently working on: proudly and transparently discussing myself as a writer. Through the gift of these interviews, I’ve mostly spoken about Player One and refining myself through that, which I’m forever grateful for. Player One has given me the legs to create a creative, successful business that I can easily talk about and be confident about. Now that I have that foundation of confidence, it’s become far easier to speak about the very thing that brought me to LA; the throughline of my journey: writing.
I’m an outspoken Latinx screenwriter, filmmaker, and social activist who grew up along the border of San Diego. My goal as a screenwriter: to convey a fresh perspective on what it means to be bicultural, female, and “the other” in contemporary American society, crafting characters who, with a slight twist of humor, exist on a razor’s edge of tragedy and rebirth.
I’m very excited to say that last year was transformative for myself within the screenwriting spectrum. My 60 minute original television pilot is currently in the Overall Top 1% on Coverfly, was selected to be on Coverfly’s Red List twice in 2023, and was recently a Finalist in the Vail Film Festival which I had the privilege of attending in Colorado just last month. I truly feel so accomplished and proud of this project, watching my offspring-script proverbially walk onstage last year and receive awards. It’s an especially confidence boosting feeling as, circling back to the theme of being the only one in the room, this script echoes that sentiment to the nth degree as the script is from the perspective of a sole female Latinx stuntwoman contending with the inner world and politics of a male driving stunt team on a fictional television show. I knew getting this script the attention it deserved was going to be an uphill battle as it focuses on dismantling two contentious topics: sexism within the film industry, specifically in the world of stunts, and corruption/gangs within the American police force. To see how far this script has come is, and how much traction it’s gotten, is exciting for me that there’s solid and real opportunity for this particular story to get greenlit, for perspectives that challenge the norm in an entertaining and engaging way to get picked up.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Wow, this is a challenging question to narrow it down to just three…! I would say that (in no particular order of nouns and adjectives) curiosity, nature, and meditation are probably the essence of what keeps me grounded. Curiosity about the world around you, always. Have child-like wonder about small things that are beautiful; a butterfly flitting by, the first taste of a scoop of ice cream, the way the clouds form in the sky. These are examples that keep the heart open, that give meaning to life, to garner creativity. The next would be nature. Depart from the modern world as much as possible and connect with that which is greater. The waves that crash onshore along the sand, the fresh air of a hike, gardening, spending time with pets, especially cats! Time spent with cats is never wasted. Mark Twain said that and I’ll never, after reading his statement, ever look at downtime with cats as anything less than rejuvenation of the soul. And the last thing is meditation. There’s this misconception that meditation is sitting with legs crossed and hands on knees, sitting up very straight to think about nothing. That’s truly a very limiting belief. Just sit and color. Like in a coloring book. Just for 15 minutes. Your brain will go into an Alpha wave state that exactly mirrors the Alpha wave state created in traditional meditation. Reading a book can be meditation, Writing can be meditation. A mindful walk can be meditation. Meditation is whatever brings your best self to the surface and leaves the darkness of the world behind.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
This is a great question! Thanks for letting a question like this have a platform! I’ll be short and sweet: if you are vetted rep or producer interested in the type of project described previously, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Looking to move the aforementioned 60 minute original pilot with a BIPOC or ally in the form of a rep or producer who will help champion female led stories and who supports social justice. Reaching out on the Coverfly platform is the best way to connect. Thanks in advance!
https://writers.coverfly.com/profile/anniquearredondo
Contact Info:
- Website: playeronearcadebar.com
- Instagram: @player_one_noho
Image Credits
Eleonora Barnes – 1st image
