Leslie Valenza (LAUNA)

Leslie Valenza developed a passion for acting at age nine when she
persuaded her parents to let her join a local theater group in Fairfax,
Virginia. Soon, Leslie was performing in a series of community and
school productions, earning a membership to the International
Thespian Society by age 16.

Leslie was honored with such awards as “Best Actress Award,” “Best
Leading Actress,” “Best Actress in a Drama,” and several “All-Star
Cast Awards” at state-wide competitions, including the Virginia
Theater Association State Competition and several Northern Virginia
district contests, performing as Estelle in Sartre’s No Exit, as Mrs.
Clemens in David and Lisa and as Mum in To Destroy You Is No
Loss, a play based on true stories of Cambodian concentration
camps.

While concentrating on Public Communications and Cinema
Studies at American University in Washington, D.C., Leslie
developed a deep appreciation for the entire process of film
production and for film theory. Leslie also studied film arts during a
semester abroad at the American University of Rome, Italy.

The 8th Plague marks Leslie’s first leading role.  She plays Launa, a
woman who while searching for her missing sister discovers an
ancient evil lurking in an abandoned prison.