Poetic 5 — with Erica Lynn Cunanan
- May 27
- 7 min read
5 poetic questions - from childhood stages to film sets, and the moments that stayed.
Some stories begin long before cameras arrive.
Sometimes they begin under stage lights.
For Erica Lynn Cunanan, storytelling did not begin with film.
It began with movement.
With dance.
With long rehearsal nights,
childhood ballets, and the magic
of becoming someone else for a moment.
Her answers carry something gentle through them —
gratitude, warmth, kindness.
For the people who inspired her.
For the artists who led with kindness.
For the moments that stayed long after the lights went down.
Welcome to Lyrmotion's Poetic 5 —
with actress, dancer and storyteller Erica Lynn Cunanan.
A moment in your work that stayed with your heart ?
Dance was my first love and I'll forever be thankful that dance introduced me to storytelling. When I was little I danced at a studio that did a recital every summer.
It was the best week of the year.
Nothing was more exciting to me than showing up to the auditorium for dress rehearsals, staying up late all week practicing countless numbers under the stage lights,
and then getting to present our labor of love to all of our friends and family.
I truly loved it more than Christmas.
The show always started with a full length ballet.
Every class was grouped into roles that told the story
while a few were chosen to be soloists.
We did stories like Fractured Mother Goose and Cinderella.
When I was six or seven years old, we performed Pinocchio.
For the first time, I was completely surprised to have been chosen as a soloist...
Cleo, the fish. This role meant that I got to rehearse and perform with THE lead,
an older dancer that I looked up to greatly.
I felt like a proper actress and I was so thrilled to have had two minutes
of onstage time dancing in a scene with the big kids.
Those big kids played a massive role in becoming the performer that I am.
I'm sure every little dancer can relate to watching their idols from the wings.
So much of my love for storytelling started from watching them.
The motivation I had to be just like them started everything for me.
A role or project that stayed with you
long after it ended ?
Dorothy Gale has come up in my life quite a bit.
I'd love to think it's because of how much I love Judy and Liza,
so it was meant to be.
I first got to play Dorothy in my first grade production.
I couldn't have been more excited when my teacher told me
that I would get to play her.
I still remember performing in front of the school
and feeling so proud to be on the stage singing "Over the Rainbow" for everyone
(I was very quickly humbled after the song with a tumble
that slid me off the stage during the yellow brick road skips haha).
I revisited the role again when I was fifteen during a community theater production.
This one felt more grown up and I felt so pretty in the curled braids
and ruby slippers that had a higher heel than before.
I worked really hard on this production, vocally,
and the excitement this time around was much more nervcited.
We did the Wizard of Oz as a ballet two more times in my childhood, and while I wasn't Dorothy in either of those, it was my favorite ballet to perform.
When it came time for my ballet teacher, Cathy Correa, to retire,
I was asked to sing an "Over the Rainbow" tribute for her.
I owe a lot to her, and was honored to celebrate her in any way I could.
I will never turn down an opportunity to play in the Oz universe.
A scene you loved being in —
and didn’t want to leave ?
There is a really magical feeling about being on a studio lot.
I feel privileged to have gotten to work on them a few times.
When we filmed Family Switch on the Warner Bros Ranch lot,
I never wanted to leave.
I would arrive early and stay as late as I could, even after wrapping,
because the energy on that set was just so fun.
I recognized so many of the houses from shows
and movies that I watched growing up.
The dancers and I explored them as best we could.
We rehearsed in the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation home
and filmed in a house that I knew from Young Sheldon.
Aside from the excitement of getting to dance around with Jennifer Garner
and Ed Helms, it was a thrilling experience being around so much film history.
Not long after we wrapped,
I learned that they'd be tearing down the lot.
I'm so grateful that I got to spend a little bit of time there before they did.
A moment on set that made you smile ?
The first time I got to be on a set was for a short film called It's The Taste.
I had no prior acting experience and I flew to Nashville, Tennessee
the day before filming with no idea what to expect.
We filmed in the middle of nowhere, up on a hill, on a set that was built in a barn.
I had also never been to Nashville so I was overwhelmed
by how stunning all of the greenery in Tennessee is.
Part of the film includes my character in a room full of gallons and gallons of blood.
I think the crew thought that I'd be hesitant to get in, but I couldn't wait.
I splashed around and threw blood on the walls. I was having such a blast.
When we got to filming my monologue, about halfway through a take
we were interrupted by the property's horse peeking its head into the barn
and talking back to us.
I still smile when I think about this memory...
not only because it was our best take and a funny reason
to not be able to use it,
but also because I was in such a beautiful place,
doing what I love the most, surrounded by animals.
What could be better?
Something from a role
that stayed with you in real life ?
I had the chance to soak up so much knowledge on my first big set,
The Prom.
We were led by some of the industry's biggest and brightest.
I was determined to learn everything I could by observing them.
Filming was, of course, long hours and hard work.
Seeing how the stars carried themselves through it all
was the biggest learning lesson for me.
It was very clear that our leading cast have found success
for themselves not only because of their talent
but their kindness as well.
They are the kind of people you want to work with,
and that's important.
I've told this story before but I think it's so special.
We filmed very long days, dancing in heels.
It was safe to say our feet were pretty worn out.
On the final day of shooting, while in-between takes,
Kerry Washington came over to check in on how we
(and our feet) were holding up.
A few hours later, we reached her character's film wrap.
Rather than taking the moment for herself,
she dedicated her thanks to everyone else on the production.
Moments like that taught me the importance
of how to lead a set with gratitude for the art
and everyone creating it together.
I hope that someday
I can lead by the same example that she set for me.
At the end of every Poetic 5 interview,
we gently switch the roles. The guest asks one question back.
This time actress and dancer Erica Lynn Cunanan asked me:
"I would love to know a moment where art made a positive impact on your life?
Whether it be as the artist, or something you observed, that made a lasting impression."
My answer:
Thank you for this beautiful question, Erica.
Art has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
When I was five or six years old, I already felt drawn to melodies, lyrics and stories.
As a little girl, I wanted to become a singer.
Later, I dreamed of becoming an actress.
I still remember visiting a theatre for the first time with my school class.
The actors took time for us backstage afterwards.
I was far too shy to ask questions,
but I remember standing there completely enchanted —
by their kindness, the costumes and the magic of that world.
But you know, as we grew older,
sometimes we move away from the things we love.
My twenties brought difficult years and physical health struggles.
But looking back now, they also brought me back to something important.
I started writing again.
And little by little, I found my way back
to where I had always belonged:
To words. To poetry. To art.
For that, I am deeply grateful.
So thank you, Erica.
For this beautiful question back to me.
And for an interview filled with warmth, kindness
and love for the arts.
A Closing Note
Some stories begin on film sets.
Others begin much earlier.
In dance studios.
In movement.
In the quiet moment we first fall in love with art.
Like Erica’s.
What stayed with us most was not only her love
for dance, performance and acting —
but the gratitude, kindness and warmth
carried through her words.
Because perhaps that is what truly stays with us in the end:
Gratitude. Warmth. Kindness. And the way we meet one another.
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