Former 'Chiquititas' star Nicole Popper chose playwriting over fame
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- Nicole Popper, who starred in the Argentine children's show Chiquititas, has chosen a career in playwriting and directing over mass fame.
- Popper, now 30, found the intense exposure from the show difficult and sought a different artistic path, studying at the National University of the Arts.
- She views theater as a vital refuge from screens, emphasizing its unique energy and shared experience with the audience.
Nicole Popper, once a recognizable face from the beloved Argentine children's series Chiquititas, has consciously stepped away from the spotlight to pursue a career in playwriting and directing. Popper, who played Paula Ramírez in "Chiquititas sin fin" (2006), reflected on her childhood fame, stating that while she enjoyed the experience, the intense demands and public attention were not for her.
I don't regret it, I enjoyed it. It was also very demanding and gave me the experience of understanding that sometimes one projects a dream without knowing the behind-the-scenes, which entails a lot of sacrifice. At the time I had a great time and I always think I would do it again, obviously; but artistically today, a different kind of material calls to me.
"I don't regret it, I enjoyed it. It was also very demanding and gave me the experience of understanding that sometimes one projects a dream without knowing the behind-the-scenes, which entails a lot of sacrifice," Popper told LA NACION. "At the time I had a great time and I always think I would do it again, obviously; but artistically today, a different kind of material calls to me."
For being at that level of project, you have to have a specific hunger for a certain exposure that, somewhat intuitively, moved me away from it.
While many of her former castmates continued on television, Popper, now 30, found mass exposure "crazy." She explained that maintaining a high level of visibility in such projects requires a specific "hunger" for attention that she intuitively moved away from. With "30 years of life but 20 of contributions" to the industry, as she jokes, Popper focused on education and direction, graduating from the National University of the Arts (UNA).
It is the only place today where we take refuge from screens and share a time of coexistence with others.
At 19, she directed her first play, and now, with four directed works, she finds theater to be a crucial sanctuary. "It is the only place today where we take refuge from screens and share a time of coexistence with others," she said. Popper values the live, immediate nature of theater, describing the energy between performers and the audience as incomparable, even if boredom occurs. Her current project, "Max Garita," written during pandemic isolation, departs from the "touch of tenderness" of her earlier works.
It's not my goal for someone to be bored, but if it happens, the experience of theater is that. It's another time, it's another coexistence and it's also another risk that is happening live and for me that is like an energy with a power that is incomparable to anything.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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