LYDIA BLANCO - UNDERSTUDY FOR MIRLA: Lydia joined LA's community of struggling actors just 6 months ago. Prior to making her "big move", she was part of the community of struggling actors in Austin, Texas. While landing herself a B. Iden Payne Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in the play My Visits with MGM by UCLA's Edit Villarreal, Lydia got very involved in the independent film scene and had roles in The Right Girl and Beyond Words. She also starred in Dial M for Maria which was the Grand Prize winner at the 2000 UFA JumpCut Film Festival. In Austin, she is recognized fondly for her image on billboards, buses, newspapers ads and commercials where she is enthusiastically riding a coin for the Texas Rodeo. Her experience also includes Japanimation cartoons prior to moving to Austin, she grew up in Corpus Christi (yes, where Selena was from) where she finished her BA in Communications with her emphasis in theatre, TV and film from Texas A & M University. While in Corpus she starred in many plays, her favorites include Rumors, Imaginary Invalid and De Donde. She participated in South Coast Repertory's Hispanic Playwright's Festival last summer in a reading of the play Vieques by Jorge Gonzales.