Meet 
Christina Marie Perez (Costume Designer)
Christina Marie Perez (Costume Designer)If you won $96,000 from the lottery, what would you do with it?
I would put a down payment on a condo, pay off my bills and then split the remaining amount between my mom and dad because they are a huge reason I am able to do what I love and work as a costume designer.
Who’s someone in your life that’s not blood related, but who you consider to be family?
I have a few people like this but the one who has been in my life the longest is my friend Angela. I’ve known her for about 22 years and she is like a sister to me.
What was your neighborhood like when you were growing up? What’s that neighborhood like now?
I grew up in a suburb in Irvine and it was very nice. There were many parks, pools and shopping centers within walking distance and also it felt very safe. Recently I’ve been back and although the neighborhood seems to be pretty much the same, I’ve noticed that there seems to be a little more segregation. For example there are shopping centers that are almost exclusively Asian and others that are Middle Eastern. It makes me a little sad because I feel like it keeps people separate. I like seeing multiple cultures represented in one place not divided, not like a full “melting pot” type situation but more like a mosaic; everyone mixed together but still able to retain their cultural identity.
What’s your favorite photo from your childhood? What’s your family’s favorite photo?
There are too many to have a favorite but one that I love is of my Dad and me. We are sitting together and he is in the breakdancing gear he was wearing as an extra on set for the movie Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. I think my mother has a favorite that is of her parents and my father’s, I think, is of his abuela.
Where do you call “home”?
Home is where my family is. If they were to leave Orange County I know it wouldn’t feel like my home anymore.
What do you connect to in this story?
I connect most with the relationship between Abuela and Usnavi and the one between Nina and her father Kevin. Abuela reminds me so much of my own who was from Puerto Rico. She was always looking out for us, never missed playing the lotto and made sure we were always well fed on good hearty Puerto Rican food. She was so loving and family was everything to her.
I see my Dad a lot in Kevin. He is also Puerto Rican and wants so much more for his children than he had growing up. He always taught us to be leaders not followers, to set our goals high and to dream big. He works so hard to help support us in a way he didn’t have growing up.
My parents are divorced so I also see my Mom in Kevin. I am her only child and she worked extremely hard to provide for me making sure I never had to experience being poor like she did. She saved money for me to go to college and it’s because of her I was able to graduate and receive my BA.
How do you prepare to work on a project like this?
This show was special because I got to use my own family as research. My Dad’s side of the family is Puerto Rican, my step Dad’s is Cuban, I have Dominican cousins, and I have many family members who are Nuyoricans. I gathered images of my family and the people of Washington Heights but also the buildings, graffiti, etc. This all serves as inspiration for the characters in the play and helps me get a feel for their world. I also like to listen to the music to get a sense of style and overall feel and then use that as inspiration for looks that support it.
What excites you about this story and why should people come see it?
There aren’t very many plays about minorities that go on to be such a big hit. I’m excited that this is a story that speaks to so many people whose families immigrated here and, while proud to be Americans, they still have a strong tie to their roots. It speaks directly to their struggles of survival and cultural identity. It’s exciting to be part of a play about people who represent a part of me but I love that you don’t have to be a minority to relate to it. It may offer us a view into a different culture but at its bare bones it’s a story about family, dreams, survival and love. That is something everyone can relate to and that is why people should come see it.
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