We’re looking forward to introducing you to Sonia Rigueras 2 Shorts Productions . Check out our conversation below.
Sonia, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
Right now, I am pursuing a career in a way that I believe in and respect. I want to work on projects that motivate me, that I trust, believe in, and respect. I am trying to build my career the way I have always dreamed of, not the way the industry wants me to.
There is nothing that can stop me, because now I am the only one who sets my own limits and my own pace. Everything is part of a whole, so even if I had to stop, it would only be a pause in my path, a part of the process, not an end.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Sure! My name is Sonia Rigueras. I am an actress who moved from Spain to Los Angeles to pursue my dream of working in Hollywood. After a while, and a lot of frustration, I realized I was fighting against a wall I could never break down. So I decided to stop following the rules imposed by the industry and build my career the way I really wanted to.
Together with my husband, who is an incredible writer, we are creating a platform on Instagram to help other artists get noticed.
Both my husband and I have experienced the frustration of living with a Plan B every day of our lives, and as an actress, I have had to deal with many “no’s” and obstacles in my path that have nothing to do with acting. There are many people who feel the same way we do. They are not seen or heard just because they don’t have many followers, aren’t as tall or good-looking, or don’t have the perfect accent that the casting director is looking for. So they see many opportunities slip away without even being able to try. That’s why we’re creating 2 Shorts Productions. It’s an independent production company where everyone has a space to showcase their talent. It’s a space where we allow ourselves to create things we believe in. It’s a space where we respect, listen to, and care for each other, and work hard to create a community of artists who support each other and where everyone has a voice.
With these values as our foundation, we are preparing to launch our platform on IG, where every week everyone will be able to watch two short scenes based on scripts written by my husband, Hunter. Each one addresses current issues and aims to make us reflect and sometimes simply make us laugh, because it’s important not to forget to laugh these days.
At the same time, we have been working on two short films that we feel very connected to and that I believe have an important message for society, with topics like mental health, approached from an artistic and abstract perspective.
We are currently in the process of finding funding to bring them to fruition, but we are confident that we will succeed soon! We have our own link where anyone who wants to can make a symbolic donation, which means a lot to us. So if you want to be part of this community, please visit ko-fi.com/2shortsproductions, any help is really appreciated.
And this is just the beginning, we have big projects in mind that we would like to see become reality, and we are working hard to make that happen.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was free. I think that’s what best describes myself as a child, before I had been filtered by society. I was confident, brave, someone who faced challenges head-on and embraced them, sure of my strengths and weaknesses. I had my own personality and dreams.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I think this answer is somewhat of a continuation of the answer about who I was before society told me who I am. All my wounds were created by society. From toxic relationships that mark you for life, major disappointments, grief, loneliness, misunderstanding, depression, anxiety… throughout my life I have had to go through difficult stages that you try to avoid, but in the long run they accumulate until they push you to your limit.
An important part of the journey toward fulfilling your dream is sacrifice. Especially when, in order to achieve your dream, you have to leave your home, your family, your friends, your customs, your culture… and start from scratch on your own in a distant country where you don’t even speak the language.
During all this time living in LA, I have lost people, my best friends have gotten married or had children, I lost my dog, moments that you don’t share with your parents, I got married, I suffered a miscarriage… important moments when you need your loved ones and you don’t have them, or moments when they need you and you can’t be there. Moments of tremendous loneliness. It’s a very high price that I and millions of people who decide to leave their homes in search of their dreams pay every day. That’s why I think it’s so important to believe in yourself and in projects that you truly believe in and identify with. And that’s why it’s so important to respect the efforts of the person in front of us, to listen and support them, whether they are an artist or work in any other profession. We don’t know that person’s daily internal struggle and what they have left behind.
In my case, creating projects that I believe in and that motivate me, having the support of my husband and friends here in LA, and knowing that I have the support of my family and lifelong friends in Madrid, is what helps me heal wounds and break down barriers that try to stand in my way of getting where I want to be.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I think the biggest lie the industry tells you is that you have to fit in. You have to fit a certain profile, a certain physical appearance, certain manners, a certain age, a certain public profile, a certain way of doing things…
I believe, or I would like to believe, that art is not about that. It’s not a question of fitting in, but of being yourself and creating from there. If you have talent and believe in it, bet on yourself until the end. No matter what the industry tells you, keep believing, because one day there will be someone who appreciates it for what it is, and it will be just yours.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Listen to others and not listen to myself. I would stop waiting and start taking action. I would try to prevent fear from making decisions for me.
I think I would do all the things I’ve always wanted to do and have put off, and continue to put off, until tomorrow because I don’t trust myself enough, because of fear, or because I think about others and forget about myself.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @srigueras
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