FILM/THEATER ARTS RESUME
Lauren Marina Portfolio
EDUCATION
Graduate with BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in conjunction with Tufts University, 2008.
Student of LiveDesign Broadway Master Classes in Lighting and Video Design, 2014 led by Tony Award-winning designers.
Drawing and Painting student of Lyme Academy of Art, 2003
Drawing and Painting student of Hartford Art School, 2003
SKILLS
Ability to see a project’s potential and bring a unique vision to the table to complete it.
Ability to see creative and unique solutions and help a team bring them to life.
Ability to anticipate a team’s or client’s artistic desires and use various mediums to accomplish them.
Versatility in creative techniques and ideas- ability to come up with creative solutions through past experience with many art forms.
Painting in mediums such as; oil, acrylics, latex, watercolor, wood finishes and lacquers
Photography in mediums such as; large format, digital, 35mm, with experience in film development, alternate photographic techniques (blueprinting, palladium printing, brown prints, etc), and color processing.
Extensive experience with Photoshop and the Creative Suite.
Sculpture experience with props and art pieces.
Woodworking and construction experience.
Lighting design experience in multiple genres of theater.
Graphic design skills in photo retouching, poster and event announcement designs, web designs, image alteration techniques, photo restoration, and color correction.
Video editing and production in 360degree video format in FinalCutPro and Adobe Premiere.
Bilingual in Spanish and English.
EXPERIENCE
Project Manager
RWS Entertainment/Adventureland Park, Iowa. October-November 2022. I was asked to return to Adventureland Park in Altoona Iowa to work as the project manager in order to organize, document, and store all of the scenic/structural elements that my team and I had created for the haunted mazes of their Phantom Fall Fest. I was personally asked to return for this position by the client, as they were very happy with my hard work and dedication during the builds and wanted me to be in charge of the task of storing and organizing everything so they would have someone knowledgeable who cared about the project to make sure that all the items/walls would be ready for the next 3 years in an orderly fashion. My ability to work quickly and in an organized manner allowed me to finish this project earlier than expected, leaving them organized reference plans as if the park had to put everything together next year without further explanations. I was in charge of 10+ carpenters and ensured that the builds were taken down safely as well as in a strategic manner to be stored for winter and ready to assemble again next year.
Scenic Charge
Phantom Fest 2022 Haunted Mazes at Adventureland Resort, Iowa. RWS Entertainment/Adventureland Resort. I was responsible for all set painting, finishes, and props/scenic elements for 4 different haunted mazes. I worked closely with the Assistant Technical Director in order to create safe, exciting, and quality mazes for the public and to oversee all construction and special features within them. I often had a team of over 16 people between artists, carpenters, and unskilled labor, which would require me to constantly be evaluating the most urgent needs of the project and the steps necessary to complete them with the team that we had available that day. It was an extensive project that required daily multitasking, forethought, and resourcefulness to complete on time which we were able to do as well as surprise the park with the quality of the mazes for their guests. September 15-October 1, 2022.
Freelance Art Director
Lost Gold Travel Channel Series Episodes 2-9 ( in Post-Production) directed by Patrick DeLuca. I was this series’ Art Director with responsibilities including being in charge of finding, altering, and aging props for all scenes, including finding large pieces such as covered wagons, tents, and other period-appropriate items that were necessary. I worked also as a fabricator, creating hero props such as; maps, writing utensils, notebooks with key information, Apache war accessories, and also worked on all of the set decoration according to the historical information about the true events. I was on set during all shoots for artistic direction and any alterations day of. I was requested by production to return to this project for as my eye for detail and fidelity to historical representation while still making compelling aesthetic choices was important to them. June-August 2018.
Try Guys “Holiday Special” sponsored by Google. Worked closely with director Najeeb Tarazi ( Gaz Coombes ‘Walk the Walk’ music video director/editor), Production Designer Lauren Meyer, and the Try Guys to create a warm and inviting atmosphere for the episode, with close attention to detail and multiple cooking-related resets. I worked on creating very clean and open holiday-themed environments that were fitting but not overpowering for the action taking place in the foreground. It was a very well received video, with a very large viewership on YouTube on the day of its premiere. October 2018.
Subaru Commercial ‘Family Roadster’ presented by Buzzfeed ( in Post Production). I was in charge of preparing and dressing the main prop ( the new Subaru model) as well as all artistic choices regarding the actors’ hand props and their placement. I worked with the production designer to choose the most appropriate props for the shoot and make sure that they were featured tastefully throughout the commercial. August 2018.
Frida Kahlo: Long Live Life! ( Original theater play) I was the Art Director for this original play by Humberto Robles, after adapting it and translating it from Spanish to English. It was a play that had never been adapted for an American audience and was very well received in CT and NC. My focus as an Art Director was on all of the props, video projection, lighting design, wardrobe, hair and makeup, as well as all publicity including posters, video ads, and newspaper articles. I studied the artist Frida Kahlo extensively and strove to recreate what her last days must have been like according to her diaries, paintings, and other’s accounts of her. It was very well-received by CT and NC audiences and is being sought out for more performances soon. 2017.
The Temptation/La Tentacion ( Original theater play). I worked as the Art Director for this show, overseeing things such as; lighting design, scenic design, costume design, the original music, special effects, and all graphics and photography for publicity purposes. It was a unique show, and implemented effects such as sand on the entire stage, large scale desert animal characters, and acrobatics. 2016.
Assistant Art Director
State Farm Insurance commercials ‘Intuition’ and ‘ Smart Living’ directed by Rajesh Saathi. I worked on these projects as an assistant to the Art Director/Production Designer and had responsibilities such as prop design/fabrication supervision, making set decorating decisions, as well as finding and securing three sets of cars and their identical damaged versions to be used in a damaged car gag that made up key scenes in the commercials. I also oversaw the special effects department for rain and wind ‘damage’ as well as a fabricated before and after tree that ‘fell’ on a house. I felt that this project gave me a great sense of art direction, set decorating, and props experience on a commercial project where the details have to be impeccable. June 2018.
Prop Designer/Prop Master
USC Thornton’s School of Music double bill Operas of ‘Le Rossignol’ and ‘L’Enfant et les Sortileges’. I was the sole Prop Designer and Prop Master for the two operas, one set in 5th century China and one set in 1900’s France. I created all of the designs for the props, taking into consideration the fact that there would be multiple shows and had to create props that could be durable and reset for each show according to the stage direction for the actors’ actions. I was able to create props that were very fitting for the scenic design as well as functional and eye-pleasing. The narrative included some pieces to be exaggerated in scale as well as able to be ripped or torn apart and then put back together. October 2018.
Rogue Artists Ensemble’s “Senor Plummer’s Final Fiesta”. I was the prop designer and prop master for this ongoing interactive show which centered around recreating the world of Eugenio Plummer who founded Plummer Park in West Hollywood. I designed and made props that illustrated parts of his life story and were a mix between traditional turn of the century creations and magical/hyper realistic pieces. This show was an Ovation Recommended show with a rave review by the Los Angeles Times. My dedication to my craft and enthusiasm for getting each piece just right led to my following job with Director Sean Cawelti at USC’s Thornton School of Music. Sept.-Nov. 2018.
Art Department Coordinator/Set Dresser
‘The Innocent Man’ documentary film for Netflix (premiering Dec. 14) directed by Clay Tweel (“A Fistful of Quarters”, “Gleason”) by Perspective Media.
I worked as a set dresser/set decorator for over a month on this project, researching the true crime story and recreating the scenes based on true events set in the 1970’s. It was a period piece set in Oklahoma and after over three weeks of filming in LA, I was asked by the crew to accompany them to Oklahoma for the last week of shooting for large-scale set decoration and dressing. Our conversion of a modern gas station to a 1970’s gas station was maybe the most important adaptation of a scene for filming and also painting and aging a truck to match a truck we had already filmed in LA. It was a challenging but rewarding experience and was able to work with an award-winning team of producers and directors. April-June 2018.
Set Dresser/Decorator
MTV’s Movie Awards, 2018. I worked alongside Art Director Elliot Fu to realize his vision for the setup and aesthetic choices involving the guests and presenters of the award show. It required multiple days of preparation and close attention to detail for the long list of celebrity guests. June 2018.
Scars ( Film short directed by Jonny Zeller. In Post-Production). I worked on this primarily as a set decorator but also worked as a fabricator for hero props such as a pocket watch, eyeglasses, mirrors, and large metal detectors. It was a futuristic film, set in the San Pedro Fort MacArthur, and required improvisation and vision to create props and set design that was appropriate as well as interesting. May 2018.
Graphic Artist/Fabricator
Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10. I was responsible for editing and fabricating (fictional) autobiographical books as hero props for Jeff Goldblum, as well as other books and graphics in the scenes with him such as the evidence board. In another section of the short film, I also created redacted documents as hero props for Ron Howard. I worked with access to actual NASA documents in order to create papers that were accurate but altered according to the story line. Additionally, I created other graphics that reflected the correct time period and fabricated props such as film canisters to be handled by Mr. Howard.
The Most Dangerous Animal of All. I worked as a fabricator and graphic artist on this series created for FX. I specialized in recreating period documents, duplicating and altering old photographs, and creating ciphers as replicas of hero props. I was also responsible for altering, resizing, and creating existing graphics that align with the historical facts. Also assisted in the set dressing using these pieces in order to create a dynamic evidence board. Spring 2019.
Lighting Designer
Juanita Chacon theater play (2019 version yet to be presented). Was asked by award-winning theater director Claudia Orantes to re-design her lighting plan for the play. Currently in production.
Frida Kahlo: Long Live Life theater play 2017 presented in Raleigh International Festival, NC, and The Carriage House Theater and Tabernacle Auditorium, CT.
The Temptation theater play 2016, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico.
Corazon de Jade theater play. 2013-2015. Play created in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico about the ruler of Palenque and his three sons and their connection to the supernatural.
Palenque Rojo theater play, San Cristobal, Chiapas. One of the longest-running theater plays in Mexican history, with over 1500 presentations in more than 5 countries. www.palenquerojo.com.
Conde Dracula theater play, 2016, ongoing. Comedy by poet Lola Montoya about Dracula getting lost in Chiapas, Mexico.
Cinema Sinfonico 1&2, 2015-2016. Created the lighting design for a play involving the Chiapas Orquestra with scenes and music from award-winning films.
CONAGO, Puebla,MX 2014. Designed the lighting for a private show for Mexico’s most famous governors about the history of the Battle of Puebla, in the actual forts where the battle took place.
RELATED EXPERIENCE
Professional Photographer and Graphic Designer
Self Employed. I am currently self-employed as a photographer and graphic designer, working with clients within the U.S. and in Mexico. I specialize in logos and promotional photography, graphic design, and also do website design and maintenance. I currently run my own website and photography for my artisan and handmade clothing company, Tuzy Tuzy (www.tuzytuzy.com)
Sports Photography Manager
Nantahala Outdoor Center, Walnut, NC. March 2013-October 2014. I was the photography manager for NOC on the French Broad River and was in charge of selling and creating a quality product by kayaking with each rafting trip and getting the best photos possible, dealing with customers and their specific needs, ordering supplies, uploading photos to online remote site, and training new photographers.