Biographie
Francis Brunette is a multifaceted performer, singer, dancer, standup comedian, writer, director, and producer. She was born on September 18, 1982, in San José, Costa Rica. Her mother is Costa Rican and her father is a Mexican. There for she has a double nationality. She is the eldest of three sisters.
Even though she was born in San José, she was raised in Heredia, a small nearby city in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, known for housing one of the major universities of the country and Central America, "Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica" (National University of Costa Rica - UNA) where she graduated for her Bachelors of Arts Degree in Performing Arts with Emphasis in Acting.
In 1988, due to her father's work, her family moved to Houston, Texas, USA, when she was 6 years old, where she attended the elementary school where she learned English.
She showed theatre interest and talent since childhood. In 1991, she started a school theatre group when she was only 9 years old after her teacher gave her the blessing to put up a play for Columbus Day. She wrote her own script, convinced her classmates to perform and directed the play. The work was such a success that she was commissioned all the holiday plays from thereon. She continued this also through high school.
As a singer, since she was 9 years old, she was part of the city choir, called Heredia Canta (Heredia Sings), a year after, in 1992 the choir sang with the famous Venezuelan singer "Franco De Vita", at his concert in Costa Rica that year. She stayed in the choir for 2 more years. Later on, in 1999, she entered the Coro Lírico Herediano (Heredia's Lyrical Choir), stayed there for 3 years, and after entered the prestigious "Coro de la UNA" (Choir of the National University of Costa Rica), in which she performed pieces such as Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" and Mozart's "Requiem", in the eminent "Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica" (National Theatre of Costa Rica).
She was also an athlete, she was part of the high school cheer-leading team "Eagles", and then receive a sports scholarship for being part of the "UNA" cheer-leading team.
Tho her obvious inclination and talent for arts she wanted to study medicine. In 2000, after being rejected for medicine school (and having no money to study it in a private institution), she was encouraged by her family and friends to apply for acting school. Not 100% convinced, in 2000 she finished the accounting diploma she had already started when she was in high school. Finally, she applied for the acting career, where she was immediately accepted and enrolled in 2001, to never repent after.
During these years, from 2001 to 2004, she quickly landed mayor roles in theatre as an actress in plays such as Brecht's "Fear and Misery of the Third Reich" which took her on an international tour through all Central America, and in 2004 her first protagonist roll in a musical, an adaptation of Gombrowicz' "Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy", with the renowned Costa Rican independent theatre group "Abya Yala", performing ones again at the illustrious "Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica" (National Theatre of Costa Rica), mainly reserved for Opera, Ballet and Orquestra.
Also, during this time, she ventured into film production, working in life editing for soccer matches and political debates. She worked as the Life Editing Director of the play "The Venetian Twins" of Goldoni (2001), by the famous Italian theatre and film director Gabrio Zapelli. in the renowned Theatre Melico Salazar, Costa Rica.
Despite her respectable work as an actress, she had to pay her rent by dancing tango, in a weekly show, in an expensive Argentinian restaurant, as well as teaching theatre to children.
In 2005, after she graduated with her Bachelors of Arts Degree in Acting, she decided to resign from both dancing and singing university degrees which she just enrolled in, as well as the international tour for "Yvonne" scheduled for 2005, after receiving a scholarship for an experimental Masters Degree in "Multidisciplinary Collective Creative Creation" at the University of Arts Utrecht (Hogeschool Voor de Kunsten Utrecht) in The Netherlands, where she lived and studied.
She returned to her hometown in 2005 with a Creative Agency startup she built from scratch, with dutch partners. The agency, called PopcornBrain (www.popcornbrain.com), now also a film production company and a film equipment rental, based in Amsterdam, Mexico City, and Costa Rica.
Then back in Costa Rica, in 2006, she tried to finish the "dancing" career she started back in 2004, but quit it again after receiving the roll of "Sally Bowls" in "Cabaret", performing in the National Auditorium, housed by the National Children's Museum.
In 2008, looking to grow her company and her acting career, as well as pursuing a film career, she moved to Mexico City.
Mexico City received her with the gratitude she expected. Both the company and she quickly rose, as she started landing major roles in important plays such as -"Victoria Rivas" in "Miércoles de Ceniza" (Ash Wednesday) from G. Basurto 2009-, -"Maria" in "Hoy no me puedo levantar" El Musical (I can't come out of bed today -the musical-) from Nacho Cano 2010, -"The Prince" in "Le petit prince" Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (English and Spanish version) 2011, -"Princess Lucero" in "The Valiant Little Tailor" from The Grim Bros. 2012- and "The Nanny" in "Romeo and Juliet" Shakespeare 2015.
In 2011, she launched her singing career with here first single "Feel Free", an electro-pop song, with an equally named EP.
In 2013 she worked dubbing voices in children programming, both in English as in Spanish language. And also in several movies in Spanish for the hispanic USA market.
In 2014 she started her own live big band jazz shows, with her as a protagonist singer.
In 2015 she Produced, Edited and Performed in a TV Series called "Escandalos", in Spanish for the hispanic USA market.
In 2016 she won the important Hispano-American price "Iberescena", together with the renown Costa Rican Theatre Director: Gustavo Monge. For the concept of an experimental stage performance called "Reconcomio: un documental escénico" (Reconcomio: a stage documentary). Here she produced, performed on stage and on camera, and directed and conceptualize the audiovisual material to support the documentary elements of the show.
In 2017-2019 you could see her as a stage performer, standup comedian and jazz singer in the Mexican Coasts of Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City.
