Marine Corps Veteran from Novato Finds New Role As Actor

Daniel Flores says moving to the U.S. from El Salvador at the age of 7 left him feeling isolated. He didn't speak English, he was teased for the way he dressed and he just wanted to return home.

Years later, after graduating San Rafael High School, Flores finally found the sense of belonging he sought since first stepping on American soil. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps.  

"These guys would take a bullet for me, and I would do the same for them," he says of his fellow Marines. "We're there for a common purpose."

All the cast members of Marin Actors Workshop's new production, The Petrified Forest, have each other's back, so to speak. But at least one of them, Flores, knows that "cover me" can mean something completely different in a battlefield scenario vs. helping someone who has forgotten a line. He and his squad — it's OK to call them castmates — open their show July 8 at the in Ignacio.

Flores, now 22, was sent to boot camp and then deployed for active duty in the Iraq War. Twice. After celebrating his 19th birthday in Iraq, he returned home and set his sights on a psychology degree using the tuition benefit he earned from the GI bill. As part of his undergraduate requirements, he had to take a drama class.

"I wasn't interested in acting all," he says. "I saw it as an obstacle."

On the first day of class, his instructor, drama professor, W. Allen Taylor, handed him a script to read in front of the class. He earned a great reception, and with that he was encouraged to audition for a college production, Detective Story.

Flores was hesitant to delve into any endeavor that was supposed to serve only as a stepping stone to his psychology degree, but he found he had something very significant in common with James Dunn, the show's director. Dunn served as a Marine during the Korean War then went on to co-found California Shakespeare theater and the College of Marin drama department as well as direct numerous award-winning shows locally and regionally. He directed a number of notable talents at College of Marin, including the legendary Robin Williams, a graduate of Redwood High School in Larkspur. Most Marin performing arts fans know Dunn as the director of Marin's treasured Mountain Play.

According to Dunn, Flores — like many soldiers — "has seen a lot of crap." Because of that experience, he can deal with the challenges and pressures of being on stage. "He comes at you with a lot of emotion," Dunn says. "He's definitely got some stuff. I could see him performing in TV and film."  

Flores admits to drawing on his wartime experiences to fuel his acting, especially when he is cast in some sort of criminal role. That happens often, he says.

"They are very violent. They are gunslingers," he says. "Yes, I think about the times and what it was like. I reenact. That's what makes the play seem real. It does bring back some memories."

Flores' work in Detective Story caught the attention of local actor and acting coach Terry McGovern, who invited Flores to be in his production of Robert E. Sherwood's The Petrified Forest, produced by Ken Bacon and the Marin Actors Workshop. The show, set during the Great Depression, features Flores as Duke Mantee, a gang leader who takes an Arizona diner hostage.

The Depression-era scene is similar in some ways to the El Salvador in which Flores grew up. When he was 2 years old, his mother left him in the care of his grandparents as she fled their war-torn country. He says he remembers kindergarten and first grade there, living in small town and being very poor. Of his mother, he says, "She travelled the country to find safety for her family, a better life."  

She found a job in the U.S. as a housekeeper. Two decades later she still works for the same employer — Lucasfilm — today. In another twist of good fortune, she met a man who would become her husband. It was when they married that she obtained the immigration papers that would enable her to reunite with her son.  

Flores' stepfather died nine days after Flores returned from his second tour in Iraq.

"I had to be there for my mom and my brother," he said.

In recent years, Flores visited his family in El Salvador. "They realized the change in me," he says. "They look at me as a hero."

Flores is also quick to add, "I don't like to brag."

Flores' acting triumphs continue to pile up. He signed a contract with the Marla Dell talent agency in San Francisco and, most recently, he was waiting to hear if he had been cast for a small part in a film.  

In reflecting on his life now, Flores says it's nice to not feel trapped anymore.

"I am finally out and able to do what I want," he says. "In the military I'm pretty much just government property. It's such a relief to be free. I'm only 22." 

SHOW DETAILS

"The Petrified Forest"

Performances by Marin Actors Workshop are at the Novato Theater Company, July 8-31, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets:  $24 general or $20 student/senior.  To order call   415-883-4498 or visit www.novatotheatercompany.org/