I have had the pleasure of teaching Ana Llamas in my Creative Writing class, and I am honored to write a letter of reference for her in regards to her admission to your esteemed university. Ana is a gifted writer who seizes opportunities to craft narratives which explore social justice issues. It is obvious that she intends to impact the world with her words, and she has already begun to do so. She has made contributions to Juan Felipe Herrera’s Poet Laureate Project, La Casa de Colores, and she is currently compiling a portfolio for submissions to both Scholastic and Young Playwrights Inc. National Playwriting Competition. Ana’s talent and dedication to writing have earned her my highest recommendation as a writer and a student. Ana’s dramas are particularly powerful. In her play, The Adventurist and The Pianist, Ana writes about young Valarie, an eight year old girl, who would rather do “boy things” than the ladylike things her mother would have her do. As Valarie explains her mother’s disapproval, her piano teacher encourages her to play the G major scale. Valarie gradually finds her voice as she increases the speed and force with which she strikes the keys. The level of…show more content… Eighteen year old Elyas is the brother of six year old Liliane. Elyas is trying to reassure his sister that they will indeed reunite with their parents who, he explains, currently live in castles that touch the sky. He outlines their magnificent journey in the form of a bedtime story, and once Liliane is fast asleep, he apologizes for all of the promises he knows he will break. It is impossible to read this play without tearing up. I remember having conversations with Ana as she was writing it, and she, too, had trouble making it out of the story unscathed. That is what I admire most about her as writer—she is not afraid to let herself be overcome by the emotions her characters must
