Marya Beauvais, who will portray Sara Behar-Asis in the DGSC film trailer.

I am very pleased to announce that the lovely and talented Marya Beauvais agreed, over a capuccino at Starbucks in Uptown ABQ today, to portray Sara Behar-Asis in the film trailer (and possibly the film, depending) for THE DIRTY GIRLS SOCIAL CLUB. Marya is the third official cast member to join our team, and I am absolutely thrilled. You can read about the others by clicking on their names: Kiera Alexis Hidalgo as Amber/Cuicatl, and Alma Sisneros as Rebecca.

The character of Sara is perfect for Marya! Sara is from Miami, born in Cuba, of purely Austrian Jewish heritage. Marya is of French, Austrian and German-Jewish lineage. I created the character of Sara for multiple reasons, but one of the main ones being that it was fascinating to me that someone of completely European heritage could “become” a minority in the US if their family had emigrated to Latin America for a couple of generations en route to coming to this country. I also wanted Sara’s story to illustrate the complexity and dangers of domestic violence (she is a battered wife, unbeknownst to her friends). Sara is the character all the other “dirty girls” think has the most perfect life (she’s married to a rich, successful lawyer, is beautiful, has the best clothes, is a wonderful interior designer, has gorgeous twin boys) but she is also the one who has the most secrets to keep from the world. With Sara, things are not as wonderful as they seem.

Marya is a passionate actress, intense, and connects strongly with the role. She also happens to be one of my dear friends for many decades. We first met in the sixth grade, at Jefferson Middle School. I’ve watched with great respect and amazement as Marya has blossomed into a wonderful mother, businesswoman and artist.

One of the best and most liberating changes in adapting the book to the screen has been opening up the age range for the dirty girls. In the book, they are all 28. In the film, they range from 22 to 42. Making Sara in her early 40s lends a credibility to the character that it lacked when I wrote the book — she is more invested in her marriage at the older age, invested in her children, accustomed to her lifestyle, less apt to want to get out until she is absolutely FORCED to face the truth of her seemingly perfect husband’s homicidal capacity.

Please join me in welcoming Marya Beauvais to the DGSC film trailer team! I’m over the moon about her!

Tagged: Alisa Valdes, dirty girls social club film, marya beauvais, new mexico film, sara behar-asis