Interview with Michele Dominguez Greene

Before getting ready for opening night of her new play, Charlotte: Life? Or Theatre?, Michele Dominguez Greene took some time from her busy schedule to answer a few questions for the readers of LoveToKnow Celebrity.

The Actress

Michele Dominguez Greene is an Emmy-nominated actress who graduated from the University of Southern California's conservatory theater. She has appeared in many stage productions, as well as on television and the silver screen, and is well-known for her role as Abigail Perkins on the acclaimed court drama, L.A. Law, which ran from 1986-1994 on NBC. In March 2007, Greene starred with John Larroquette in the Hallmark network movie, McBride: Dogged.

How did you get started in acting?

I was a high school drama nerd. I got my first job right away the summer before college. It was on a show called Dorothy. It was a bad version of the Facts of Life, and it was so dreadful, it was awful. Gosh, if it would have lasted, it would have destroyed my career.

Do you have any favorite roles?

Oh, I've done a bunch. A few years ago, I was in this romantic comedy (A Family Affair) and I played the ex-girlfriend of the lead character. She was so narcissistic and so awful in terms of how manipulative she was, but at the same time, it was so wonderful.

What are you currently working on?

I am opening tonight [April 26, 2007] at the MET Theatre [in Los Angeles] in Charlotte: Life? or Theatre?, which is about the young German painter, Charlotte Soloman [who was killed in Auschwitz]. I also have a recurring role on The Unit as Cynthia Burdett, but they haven't brought me back in awhile.

The Musician and Activist

Greene in front of a mural that signifies the femicide in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.

In between her acting gigs, Greene has found the time to record two bilingual CDs. Her most recent release, Luna Roja, means Red Moon and was released in 2006. It is a mix of North American folk music and Latin rhythms and instrumentation. Greene recently added her great-grandmother's name of Dominguez to her name as a way of authenticating her half-Latin background. Her father was of Irish descent. Michele Dominguez Greene also fights for many social issues facing the world today, and works with organizations such as Amnesty International USA, Death Penalty Focus and Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace.

How did you get involved with being a musician?

I have always been singing, ever since I was young. I write music and lyrics, but I'm not a composer. I look at music as storytelling -- it's a merger of text and music. I look at it this way, each song has a character. I think it's more fun than acting.

Tell me the story behind your latest CD, Luna Roja?

This is my second CD, which is very politically and socially conscious. The songs deal with some social issues and what not -- immigration, the [murdered] women of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and there are a couple of love songs. The women of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico -- the victims and their survivors -- need our passion and our voices to be raised on their behalf. Luna Roja is an homenaje (homage) to these women: the sisters, the daughters, the mothers, the workers who deserve justice and the basic human dignity of being treated as if their lives and deaths matter. They do matter. Lo que pasa a mi hermana, me pasa a mí también (What happens to my sister, happens to me.) I urge people to speak up, speak out and end this violence.

The Author

Greene plans to write more young adult novels.

In June 2006, Michele Dominguez Greene released her first young adult novel, Chasing the Jaguar, a hip, urban teen mystery featuring Martika Galvez. It has been nominated by the American Library Association as one the best fiction books for young adults. In October 2006, Greene hosted a Chasing the Jaguar fundraiser for Art Share Los Angeles, a non-profit group that works with inner city youth in Los Angeles to promote arts education. She also hosts a monthly writing workshop for women through the same program and speaks at schools throughout Southern California about her book's message.

What is Chasing the Jaguar about and why did you write it?

I always wanted to write a novel, but I felt intimidated. I have written magazine articles and short stories, but not for young adults. That is a great audience because no matter how old we are, in our minds, we will always be 14. With this book, I wrote what I know. It's about a Mexican-American protagonist living in L.A. -- I got to write about my city and my culture. She's a modern-day Nancy Drew, but Martika has real issues that teens are dealing with today.

The book isn't about teens having sex or anything like that. Martika doesn't even have a boyfriend. It's entertaining, educational and fun. If you look at the messages being thrown at young girls today, they are the same messages that are being thrown at older girls. It's insane for young girls to be sexualized; they are being told that this is the most important thing to bring to the party. You see it everywhere. And that is where I want to help. Part of what we do at the writing workshops is have girls learn to deconstruct these messages. That is why this book's character is very much a protagonist -- she's a smart, proactive and determined character. This is the message I'm trying to get out there. This is the first book and plans are in the works for the next book in the series.

Personal Life

When Michele Dominguez Greene finds the time, she has a personal life. She is divorced from her first husband, Brahms Yaiche, and has no children, but says she comes home to her family -- two cats and three dogs (two German Shepherds and one Pomeranian). She also has a horse that doesn't live with her in the city. And with everything she does in her life to keep busy, the answer to her last question was a tad shocking.

One last question. Tell me something that most people don't know about you?

I am extremely shy. Not in acting or singing or anything like that. It's more in situations such as my personal life, that I am extremely shy and reserved. I have to learn to overcome that.

Michele Dominguez Greene Online

For more information on Michele Dominguez Greene's writing, music and acting careers, visit The Official Michele Greene Web site. You will also find her filmographies of television shows, plays and movies, as well as information on her CDs and book.

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