Austin actress turns back the clock to play Cinderella at the Wimberley Playhouse

A young Latina girl named Belinda acts out her own Cinderella story in a special event at the Wimberley Playhouse on Saturday Sept. 21. She’s the title character of Cenicienta: A Bilingual Cinderella Story, to be presented by Glass Half Full Theatre.

But Belinda is actually a fresh-faced Austin actress named Madison Polomo who earned her BFA in Theatre at UT Austin not long ago. How does she manage to play a precocious child and how does she feel about it?

“I grew up in Edinburg with two sisters who are still my best friends,” she explained. “We are all close with my mom and dad. Because our parents were gone all day at work, we spent a lot of time making up games and stories. When we got into reading comics, it seemed like the only characters having fun were kids. So, we thought only kids—not adults—can have fun. Now I get to be 10 again as Belinda, and I’m having so much fun!”

Cenicienta: A Bilingual Cinderella Story is the first in a series of five Saturday shows offered by the Wimberley Players to share various cultural traditions. “It’s great the Players got the grant from Texas Commission on the Arts that makes these things possible,” Madison said. She added that it won’t matter if families speak Spanish or English to enjoy this show. “It’s really easy to follow what’s happening. This is truly creative theatre, so it’s all about using your imagination to fill in the blanks anyway.”

As an example, she described the setting as an imaginary basement in the house she shares with the proverbial mean stepmother and snippy stepsisters. She longs to be upstairs when their party starts so she can meet the famous poet they’ve invited and show him her own poetry. The objects she finds around her become hand puppets for telling the rest of the story. Is a fairy godmother involved? “Of course!” says Madison.

Being part of Glass Half Full Theatre has been a thrill for Madison, who considers its founder, Caroline Reck, “nothing less than a genius.” Learning from a master of devised theatre, physical theatre and puppetry is very rewarding. “It’s a privilege,” she says.

As for her own future, she’s almost too busy to think about it. She works two jobs, as a teacher at bilingual Becker Elementary, a Spanish language immersion school, and as a barista for Starbucks. She’s also in rehearsals for two bilingual shows. Still, she has ambitious personal dreams for the future. She envisions continuing as an actress, representing the Latina community with her own TV series, and teaching.

“Whatever you do, you have to put time and passion into it,” she says. “Right now, I’m enjoying every opportunity that comes my way.”

Reservations for free tickets to Cenicienta may be made at wimberleyplayers.org or by calling the Wimberley Players box office, 512-847-0575.