La Libertad: Where were you born?
Kristen: I was born in the San Francisco Bay Area. When I was sixteen, I moved to Placerville, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I went from being a city girl to become a country girl overnight. We had llamas, alpacas, horses, dogs, cats, chickens, and even a couple Guinea hens.
La Libertad: What would you like to tell our readers about your Olympic documentary?
Kristen: My documentary has two parts. It begins comparing the parallels... In the beginning, it compares and contrasts the parallels between the 1918 flu and the current CoVID-19 [Corona Virus Infectious Disease 2019] pandemic. Then it examines how the Olympics handled the 1918 flu, and what steps Japan is taking now to ensure that their high stakes investment in the Olympic Games succeeds, that the Games take place, and that athletes and spectators are safe and protected. The documentary also examines the historical aspect of the Olympics with Germany (the last time the games were postponed due to a pandemic), and how Japan is handling today’s culture (gender, race, politics, civil unrest, et cetera).
La Libertad: How did you get involved with sign language?
Kristen: One night, at a Sacramento Kings basketball game, when the singer sang the National Anthem, I was struck by its beauty. I wanted to ensure that the hearing and hearing impaired could both equally enjoy everything the song represents. So I approached the Maloof brothers, and made them this proposal. I would learn to sign the anthem if they would let me come to their games and sign the anthem while the singer performed it at the beginning of the games. They said they would be honored for me to sign at their games. Three months later, after I learned to sign the anthem from a local professor at my local junior college, I was performing! The feedback from the fans was so positive that the Maloof’s made me a regular. Soon after, I made a “sizzle reel” of my performances and submitted it to the NFL for consideration for the Superbowl. And on February 3, 2009, at the Superbowl XLIII, I signed the national anthem on national television while Jennifer Hudson sang.
La Libertad: What inspires you?
Kristen: For me happiness, peace, and gratitude inspire me on a daily basis. How a smile or kind word from a stranger can change the day and maybe even the life of someone else. I believe that everyone should take advantage of the opportunity to bring kindness into someone’s world, especially in this day and age. There is enough turmoil and loneliness in the world today, but if we can control this little part of our lives, we may all feel better.
La Libertad: What is the hardest part of being a performer?
Kristen: For me the hardest part of being a performer, especially for the hearing impaired, is that when performing for the hearing impaired I want every move to be correctly and accurately interpreting words as nonverbal movements.
La Libertad: What foreign languages, if any, do you read, write, and/or speak?
Kristen: I speak no other languages; I only know a few essential words in A.S.L. [American Sign Language], like "friendship," "toilet," and "beautiful face." I would love to become more conversant.
La Libertad: Where have you traveled?
Kristen: I have been to the Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, and, of course, many States within the United States. Someday, I would love to travel to the Middle East, Italy, Greece, and, of course, Portugal.
La Libertad: What are your overall career goals?
Kristen: My goal is to go into producing full time, and eventually have my own production company. I want to create documentaries that inspire and teach people at the same time.
La Libertad: What projects are you working on?
Kristen: I am currently writing three different screenplays when I am able to get into the creative process. I admit it can be a struggle at times.
La Libertad: What links would you like to share?
Kristen: I would like to encourage your readers to visit my friend’s beer company in Staten Island by the name of Rubsam and Horrmann. They have been around for eighty years, and he has a great product, and has kept with the original recipes. I encourage your readers to visit his website at:
www.rhbeer.com
La Libertad: What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?
Kristen: Always follow your dreams, and watch where they take you. If you listen to the world very carefully, it will guide you in the right direction. Always have faith that things will work out for the best, and that things do not happen by accident. There are clues and occurrences that happen to us every day, and all we have to do is read the signs, and have faith that everything will work out.
Interview by Kristen Danielle Sants
Edited by William Mortensen Vaughan
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