You may know the actress Laura Gómez as Bianca Flores in “Orange is the New Black,” but this month Gómez heads to the stage of the Santa Fe Playhouse.
Gómez is playing Soledad, a late-30s Dominican immigrant who works as an artist and part-time nanny in the production “The Baby Monitor,” which is directed by Colin Hovde.
“Theater is how I began, I started in the Dominican Republic when I was a teenager and my first play that I did was actually at 17,” Gómez said. “Then, I became a part of a theater group in college and I moved to New York, where I started acting and I started in theater.”
Gómez has also appeared in “Law and Order,” “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” and “The Last O.G.”
“It has been quite a journey, I have not loved theater in quite a while and this has been a great reminder of how much I missed a great experience,” Gómez said. “Well, acting is like my first love, and writing was something I discovered or developed through acting.”
Gómez said “The Baby Monitor” tackles a lot of hot-button issues.
“I think people will enjoy it because there is an urgency to the things that are covered here like same-sex marriage, and prejudice around that type of situation with a child,” Gómez said. “It explores race and class, and family dynamics within the old American structure.”
As an actor and one who is in theater, one piece of advice Gómez would offer any aspiring actors or writers is to hone your craft.
“I would say be really aware of if this is what you want, because this is not an instantaneous thing,” Gómez said “It is a matter of process and it takes time and getting to know your craft. So, I would say to really get into it with a mind of a craftsman you know, as an artist really gets into it with patience and love.”
