Josefina López, Acclaimed Playwright, Activist, &
Featured Guest on This Week’s Hollywood at Home Podcast
Los Angeles, CA (September 19, 2023): Renowned playwright, screenwriter, and activist Josefina López is this week’s featured guest on the critically acclaimed podcast, Hollywood at Home with The Creative Coalition. Each week, the popular podcast features intimate “living-room” interviews with celebrities from film and television, musicians, best-selling authors and cultural figures alike with unprecedented breadth and quality of guests.
López is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work in the entertainment industry, using her creative talents to shed light on important social issues. As the author of the critically acclaimed play Real Women Have Curves – which was later adapted into a successful film – López has become a prominent voice for underrepresented communities, particularly Latinx women.
In this week’s interview, López delves into her journey as a playwright and screenwriter, and discusses the challenges she faced and the triumphs she achieved along the way. Listeners can expect to hear about her experiences navigating the entertainment industry, her commitment to amplifying marginalized voices, and her ongoing activism.
Hollywood at Home is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and more.
Listen now at:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-women-have-curves-with-guest-josefina-l%C3%B3pez/id1521900273?i=1000628417612
For planned coverage, please link to:
http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast
Highlights from Hollywood at Home featuring Josefina López:
On the catalyst behind Real Women Have Curves: “I wanted to celebrate this connection between the women in the sewing factory, because I thought, ‘Here I am in the ‘hood, working in a tiny sewing factory, it’s really hard. It’s really hard work. But every day I go and we laugh so much, and the women talk.’ And, I just felt so connected. I felt valued and a part of a community which is something that I never felt before. And, as a woman, I felt like ‘wow, I really finally love being a woman, I finally see the value of being a woman.’ And I wanted to celebrate that.”
On why Real Women prevailed through generations: “Women are so powerful when they work together. I’m also a Shaman in training, so one of the things I know – energetically speaking – is that women, when you put them in a circle, the frequency rises, things happen, we’re able to bring in energy; all kinds of amazing things happen on that level. Anytime you want to get anything done, you bring a group of women, and it’ll get done.”
On the Real Women journey: “I remember submitting it to several theater companies in Los Angeles. And I have the rejection letters – they basically said that they didn’t care for my ‘dry diatribe,’ and really racist, sexist things. They didn’t feel it was a dignified way to portray Latinas working in a sewing factory. I really felt like they didn’t understand the word ‘dignity’. Dignity isn’t something that is given to you. It’s something that you bestow on yourself. It’s to say, ‘I have value, I matter.’”
On the dignity portrayed in Real Women: “How could you say these women have no dignity if they’re working class women with very little skills? They’re sewing just like my mother; that was the only skill she could get as an immigrant. She was trying to make money, feed her family, be a housewife, and then come and work in a sewing factory 12 hours a day. That’s dignity…I don’t think people understand dignity. So I’m gonna go show them.”
On having a sense of humor: “I have a sense of humor about everything. A lot of my work deals with very serious subjects. But I always find them funny, so I decided to produce my own play.”
On how the original production of Real Women was produced: “I used student loans for UCLA from a master’s degree in screenwriting. I produced my own play at a tiny theater.”
On what was the hardest part of casting the original production of Real Women: “I produced in a ‘pay-as-you-went’ financial obligation. I did a really successful run and I got a great review in the LA Times. The challenging part was the older woman playing the mother, because that generation of women actors didn’t have opportunities and no pipeline for the casting. I did find a couple actors who were brave enough and felt good about themselves to show their stretch marks.”
More about Hollywood at Home:
Hosted by The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, “Hollywood at Home” brings listeners intimate portraits, key moments of discovery, and “art and soul” conversations with iconic entertainment industry personalities from the big screen to the boardroom, from L.A. to D.C. Listen now at http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast.
Previous guests include Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Marlee Matlin (“CODA”), Jason Alexander (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Alan Cumming (“Schmigadoon!, “The Good Wife”), Patricia Heaton (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The Middle”), Eric McCormack (“Will and Grace”), Willie Garson (“And Just Like That…”), Colman Domingo (“Euphoria”), Kerry Ehrin (“The Morning Show”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Ken Olin (“This is Us,” “Thirtysomething”), Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Grace Caroline Currey (Shazam!), and Alfre Woodard (Clemency, “Luke Cage”), among others.
More about The Creative Coalition:
Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating its members on issues of public importance. The Creative Coalition also creates award-winning public service campaigns, including #RightToBearArts, to promote the efficacy of the arts. Actor Tim Daly serves as the organization’s President. For more information, visit https://thecreativecoalition.org.
Media Contact:
Max Jordan
mjordan@thecreativecoalition.org
C: 240-506-7913
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