About Me!

Dena Barros is a Venezuelan/Colombian actress born and raised in Miami, Florida.

Dena is a graduate of the University of Florida’s New World School of the Arts located in downtown Miami, where she earned her BFA in Musical Theater! Dena has always considered herself a storyteller, and finds joy in making people laugh!

When Dena is not on the stage, you’ll find her at one of her multiple side hustles, such as teaching voice/acting to young performers, party entertainment (find her as Mirabel or Moana!), and tutoring Math, English, and History! Science was sadly never her strong suit.

Let’s Play A Game!

You’re going to pretend you’re one of those VOGUE interviewers, and I will be your interviewee (My big break, how exciting!) Let’s begin.

What was your first encounter with theatre?

Ugh, love this question! In third grade, my music teacher told my class to raise our hands if we wanted to be part of the school chorus doing “The Wizard of Oz” that year. I raised my hand to the sky! I always loved to sing and play pretend, so I knew I’d be perfect! She looked around the room and started choosing. She looked me in the eye, my smile getting bigger, and then proceeded to not choose me and move on (Mrs. Pasteris if you’re reading this I love you! It built character!) I was sad, but not devastated. But oh boy, when I saw the show, I fell in love.

I remember admiring the scarecrow and how fluid he was with his movements and thinking, “My elementary school production of “The Wizard of Oz” is literally Broadway.” And to this day when I remember the show it is still one of the best things I’ve seen. The next year I sang “My Country Tis’ of Thee” in front of the class (I was the only one who knew the words) and my teacher said, “Oh my gosh, you have an amazing voice, why aren’t you in chorus?” and I said something along the lines of “Girl, cause you didn’t pick me?!”

I finally joined the chorus that year and made my theatre debut as a poodle skirt girl in Grease Jr. The next year we did Annie Jr. and I got my first lead, Grace! I was too tall to play Annie :( The rest is history, I’ve been performing ever since!

Do you have any pets?

So glad you asked! Yes. I wake up every morning to be at the beck and call of Romeo (Shih-tzu pictured) and Mellow (Golden-doodle pictured). They are incredibly spoiled and cost thousands of dollars to take care of, but it’s okay because they lick my face and wag their tails when I get home. What more could a girl ask for?

Like… you cannot tell me you’re not OBSESSED with them!

What impact do you wish to make on the theater community?

Wow! I’ve never been asked this before. Hmmm… In my sophomore year of college, our acting class emphasized ancestry work. We were all to pick an ancestor of ours and embody them. I chose my grandpa. I decided to connect and embody the speech he gave and the song he sang to me at my Quinceañera. I couldn’t even perform the piece because I felt such a deep connection to what I was doing. I emailed my professor, I said “Girl I am so sorry but this assignment just kind of transformed my perspective on life and it’s way too personal to share.” It was at this point I realized how important it is to deeply understand your culture and know where you came from in order to play any role.

If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with “In The Heights.” It transports me to noche buena with my family, opening presents by a tree with salsa music blasting through speakers. I see myself. I see my mom. I see my dad. I see my aunts. I see my abuela. But how is it that “In The Heights” is one of the very few pieces of Latino theater for Latin artists to relate to? That’s outrageous to me. So you want to know my wish? My wish is that my career can make a lasting impact on Hispanic representation in the theater space. I want more Latin characters. And no, you don’t need to write about deportation or tacos for something to be Hispanic.

I want a Hispanic Glinda, with black curly hair instead of blonde. I want Hispanic Elle Woods, with a curvy body instead of a thin one. You know at the end of the movie “Encanto” when Abuela tells Mirabel to open her eyes and asks her what she sees? Mirabel says, “I see…me…all of me.” That’s what I want…that’s what we all want.