Susana studied acting and drama with Rosalind Smith in Pasadena and Robert Castle in Los Angeles. She performed in school and community plays and musical theater productions in Pasadena and Los Angeles area (see Dance for more on musical theater productions).

As a teenager, Susana co-wrote and co-starred in the award-winning four-woman historical play “Voices from the Past” which won first place in the state of California History Day (1987) and took the team to Washington DC to compete in nationals.

She has appeared on television in an excerpt of “Santa Barbara” (see below!) filmed at Pasadena City College, on “Club Cuatro” in Guadalajara, México as a dancer with the group Baccará, and in a product promotional CD (in English) for Hewlett-Packard de México.  She was also a featured actress/public speaker and writer for the content of four example presentations for a CD that accompies the second edition of Inviting Transformation (Waveland Press, 2006), a public speaking textbook.

Susana is an accomplished public speaker and professional trainer, and does multiple speaking engagements in her non-artistic work, including being featured in TEDxABQ 2012.

Special skills relevant to acting include:

• fluent Spanish speaker
• moderate French speaker
• public speaking
• teacher/trainer
• mediator/conflict resolution
• writer/poet/journalist
• worked as inner city social worker
• former high school teacher
• experienced traveller on three continents
• proficient outdoorswoman
• horseback riding
• firearms
• white water rafting
• boxing and kickboxing
• fitness instructor
• running and jogging
• working out with weights
• yoga
• cheerleading and basic tumbling
• dance and choreography
• plays piano and keyboard
• strong alto singer and harmonizer
• reads and composes music
• ice skating
• rollerskating
• drives stick shift and large vehicles

For fun, check out a clip of the “Santa Barbara” excerpt mentioned above — from 1985!