Meet Diana Burbano

We were lucky to catch up with Diana Burbano recently and have shared our conversation below.

Diana, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I grew into my confidence late in life. I was a performer, one of the least comfortable jobs for anyone, let alone anyone who doubts themselves. As an actor, you traffic in yourself, in your body, voice, and talent. Time and again, you are either rejected or, objectified, dismissed, or overpraised. And you find yourself trying to bend to whatever anyone wants from you to get the job. This played merry hell with any confidence I had and was only exacerbated by the fact that as a Latina, I was often stereotyped into roles like nanny, maid, and cook. It was a constant hammering down of my personality. When I became a writer, I had control, literally over the narrative. My plays were all me, and no one could shape them, write them, or have the ultimate say on them except me. For some reason, I was fearless about putting my work in front of people. I had seen how some of the more privileged classes could submit work that was either unready or underdone, and they would get opportunities. I realized if I kept behaving like a second-class citizen, that is how I would be treated. So, I started to behave “like a man.” I would submit work that wasn’t perfect but had potential. I would pitch myself as the best option and the one the opportunity needed; if it required a qualification I didn’t necessarily have, I would talk myself into it by sheer force of will. Behaving like I was at the top put me at the top. It was an astonishing lesson.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am an immigrant. I was born in Colombia but don’t feel Colombian; I was brought up in America but don’t feel American. I struggled in school. I don’t hold any degrees, and for the longest time, being a writer felt entirely out of reach. I have been a theatre artist since I was 12 and have grown up during a time of significant upheaval in our industry. Even so, I can list on one hand the parts in the traditional canon available to femme Latinx actors, and if I remove musical theatre, I only need a couple of digits. As an actor, I was most often cast in new play readings because new plays were where I saw people like me come to life on the page, even if those pages didn’t usually make the jump to the main stages.
Being a new play actor inspired me to become a playwright, and I strive to write plays about Latine people that explore our wholeness. I try to center stories not primarily on trauma but on the search for joy.

I have participated in many developmental programs, reading festivals, and conferences. I take very seriously the idea that we need to be generous with knowledge and opportunities and be more open to new voices. Giving opportunities to marginalized writers, listening with an open heart to the needs of individuals, and then using those ideas to create a stronger collective. We are stronger together, and promoting equity and inclusion in the membership and the wider theatre community will only make us more powerful, not less.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Persistence. It’s very rare to get something that you want the first time you go for it. Keep honing your skills, brush of the rejections, they don’t matter. Always look ahead for what you want next.

Honor the light in everyone: If you want to get to know people in a genuine way, the number one thing you have to do is treat EVERYONE like they are the most important person in the room when you are talking to them. No pan and scanning for someone “more important” That “lowly intern” will one day have a lot of power and remember that you treated them as lesser than, politeness and kindness count for a lot.

Know your worth, yet lift up others. Don’t softpedal your achievements or be too humble. people will take you at your word that you are not “good enough” give yourself credit where it is due, but do it in a way that isn’t obnoxious, or putting down other people. In fact praise other peoples work and mean it, give other people advice and help, and never hoard opportunities. A rising tide lifts all boats.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
My family recently had a difficult health situation. I am ferociously ambitious and driven with my work, but having to take a pause as I focused on someone else reminded me that all the accolades in the world count for nothing without love and kindness.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Daniel Reichert Photography

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