For the Disney Jr series Me & Winnie the Pooh and Playdate with Winnie the Pooh, Arwen Monzón-Sanders voices Kanga, with the shows airing in the UK on Disney+. Arwen also voices Lucia in the CoComelon spin-off series Nina’s Familia, and has also voiced characters in Canticos and Sesame Street’s Coming Together, with all three series being bilingual in both English and Spanish. In the live broadcast of Annie Live! on NBC, Arwen played Duffy alongside Celina Smith as Annie, Taraji P. Henson as Miss Hannigan, Harry Connick Jr. as Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, Nicole Scherzinger as Grace and Tituss Burgess and Megan Hilty as Rooster and Lily St. Regis. On stage, Arwen made her national tour debut playing Young Anna in FROZEN the Musical, becoming the first Latina to originate the role in the musical, and she returned to the musical in 2021/22 as Young Elsa. Chatting with Arwen, we found out from her about working on Me & Winnie the Pooh and Playdate with Winnie the Pooh as Kanga, playing Duffy in the live broadcast of Annie Live! on NBC and her time as Young Anna and Young Elsa in two touring productions of FROZEN the Musical.
In Me & Winnie the Pooh and Playdate with Winnie the Pooh, you voice Kanga; what was it like booking the character and how does it feel to take on the role?
Kanga was such a fun and expressive character to voice! When I found out I booked it, I felt so grateful to bring her voice to life for a new generation of young kids. I grew up watching Winnie the Pooh and all of those characters, so getting to be part of that world was really special to me.
What was so cool about Kanga was that I didn’t even have to really try to find her voice – it was almost like the voice was already inside me. The second I started doing it, it just came out naturally. Taking on the role was such a privilege because I got to bring a little bit of myself into Kanga while staying true to the character everyone knows and loves.
What is Kanga like to voice in both shows, and how was it hearing your voice with the animation for the first time?
Kanga is sweet, caring and has a very playful side to her, making her such a fun role to voice in both shows. Hearing my voice with the animation for the first time felt so surreal! When you’re recording, you’re just in the studio imagining everything, so seeing Kanga actually moving and talking with my voice was such a cool moment. I remember thinking, “Wait, that’s actually me!”. It made everything real.
What does a typical day in the recording studio look like for this role and what do you enjoy most about being part of Winnie the Pooh?
Since I live in North Jersey, it only takes me about 30-40ish minutes to get to the city to record, which isn’t bad at all. Once I get to the city and enter the studio booth, I’m welcomed with a BUNCH of papers, which includes all of my assigned sides and music, and the entire creative team on Zoom via a TV monitor inside the booth.
Recording only takes one to three hours, and I get break times for snacks, water or the restroom. Luckily, a typical recording day never feels long. Once I finish recording everything, we head back home!
What I enjoy most about being part of this show is knowing that, as I record, the result will be little kids watching Kanga and hearing my voice, which is so cool to think about. I also always have so much fun recording her, so it never really feels like work.
You also voice Lucia in the CoComelon spin-off series Nina’s Familia, what is the show like to record, and can you say about your further voiceover projects, which include Canticos and Sesame’s Street Coming Together?
Recording Nina’s Familia was such a cool experience because I got to use both of the languages I speak, English and Spanish, which is a big part of who I am! Seeing the fully animated product of each episode after recording everything is so amazing.
I’ve been really lucky to use my bilingual skills not only in Nina’s Familia, but also on other bilingual voiceover projects like Canticos and Sesame Street’s Coming Together. I love being able to use my Spanish in my work and be part of projects where kids can hear both languages and see different cultures represented.
Doing voiceovers all these years has really become something I love doing, bringing characters to life with my voice. And I’ve been so honoured to have voiced many different characters, so I’m excited to see where it takes me next!
How did you find the experience playing Duffy in Annie Live!, and what was it like broadcasting live on NBC?
Honestly, being part of such an incredible cast and show has been one of the highlights of my career. The fact that I was going to share the stage with such talented and famous people was SO unreal. We had rehearsed so much that, by the time we got to the live show, we were really prepared, but knowing that millions of people were watching us live definitely made it feel different. Like, there were no second takes, so we just had to trust all the work we had done and enjoy the moment!
I remember feeling so excited, nervous, emotional and happy all at the same time! But once the show started, I was just having fun! Definitely an experience I’ll never forget.
How was it rehearsing for the live broadcast, and how did you feel when the show began?
Rehearsing for the live broadcast was intense, but in the best way. We had rehearsed for weeks, and everything had to be so precise because there were so many moving parts, including all of the cameras shooting different angles during our show, moving set pieces, tons of choreography and quick changes. Of course, knowing it would all happen live both scared and thrilled me.
I actually loved the whole process though. As chaotic as everything was the first couple of weeks, all the girls and I became really close and it started to feel like a little family! When the show finally began, I definitely had butterflies. There was this huge feeling of, “Okay, this is really happening!”. But once we started performing, all those nerves kind of disappeared, and I was just in the moment, giving the performance my all.
After rehearsing it so many times, it felt amazing to finally get to share it with everyone watching it LIVE or ONLINE at home!
What are some of your favourite memories from playing Duffy and working with Celina Smith as Annie, Taraji P. Henson as Miss Hannigan, Harry Connick Jr. as Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks and the rest of the cast?
I have way too many memories to count about my experience playing Duffy alongside such an incredibly talented cast, but, if I have to be honest, some of my favourite memories happened when we weren’t even performing. We spent so much time together during rehearsals that we really became close, especially all of us girls playing the orphans. There was so much laughing and joking around between rehearsals.
Celina was amazing to work with, and sharing that whole experience with her was so special. But one of my favourite memories during Annie was when, one day, Taraji P. Henson walked into our tutoring room and surprised us girls with a very early Christmas gift. She let us customise our own Converse sneakers and bought them for us! Literally all of us started screaming because we couldn’t believe it! I still have my customized shoe in my Annie Memory Box.
Getting to share the stage with Harry Connick Jr., Nicole Scherzinger, Megan Hilty, and Tituss Burgess, who all were so kind to us girls! Even during rehearsals, we would all play games, talk and have so much fun!
Can you tell us about originating Young Anna on the North American Tour of FROZEN the Musical, and how was it heading out on your first tour?
Originating the role of Young Anna on the North American Tour of FROZEN was such an incredible experience for me. I’ve loved Frozen for as long as I can remember, so knowing that I got to create my own version of Young Anna – especially since I was the first Latina to originate the role of Young Anna in the show – is something I’m incredibly proud of.
Being able to represent my culture in a Disney role that I had always loved made the experience even more meaningful to me. It was also my first national tour, so everything felt like this huge adventure. I travelled to different cities, performed in beautiful theatres, and learned what it was really like to be part of a professional production, doing multiple shows a week.
I was really young, but I learned so much and made so many memories. FROZEN became a huge part of my childhood, and Young Anna will always be a really special role to me.
What is FROZEN the Musical like to perform in, and what was it like returning to the production in 2021/22 to play Young Elsa?
FROZEN was such a magical show to perform in. The sets, costumes, music and special effects were incredible, and you could really feel the audience’s excitement, especially from all the kids who love Anna and Elsa. It never got old seeing their reactions.
Having the incredible opportunity to have returned to the show, but now playing Young Elsa, was such a beautiful experience because I already knew and loved the production, but this time I got to experience it from a completely different perspective! I had originated Young Anna before, so coming back to play her sister felt like a full-circle moment.
I didn’t only come back as her older sister, but also older in age and with more experience, since I had just finished my time in Annie Live!, so I understood the character and the whole story differently.
To this day, it’s so cool getting to say that I had the chance to play both sisters on tour. But also, being the FIRST one in the musical’s history to have played both Young Anna and Young Elsa is such a privilege!
How different were both characters to play, and how was it performing your musical numbers?
Both characters really were very different to play. Young Anna is a very bubbly, silly and energetic little girl, while Young Elsa is a very concealed, cautious, and more reserved girl.
If I have to be honest, playing Young Elsa was much harder for me than Young Anna because I feel like my personality is much closer to Anna than Elsa! Having to remain serious on stage was definitely a challenge for me, while for Anna, I could smile from ear to ear and be as silly as I wanted to be.
But both characters were very fun to play. Young Anna has her iconic number, Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?, which has always been one of my favourites growing up. So being able to perform that song four times a week in front of a huge audience, with TONS of little girls singing along quietly, was always the best feeling. And let me not forget about riding a bicycle on stage! One of my favourite things about playing Young Anna for sure!
Young Elsa has her little solo moment too, where she sings about a terrible nightmare that foreshadows what will happen once she’s older. That song was also one of my favourites too, but like I said, her reserved nature and concerns about her magical powers were a challenge for me to act out, but it was so much fun.
One of my favourite moments about being Young Elsa though was being able to bring magic onto the stage! Every time I went on stage and showed my “magical powers”, all the little girls in the audience would stare in awe, and it was such an honour to bring that magic to life for them!
How did you get into stage, screen and voice acting, and did you always know you wanted to work professionally in the acting industry?
According to my parents, I’ve always had that desire and passion to perform since I was little. Like, whenever I would see my mom or dad’s phone start to record me, it was time for a whole show! It got to the point when I would reenact movies and have my whole family watch me as I “one-womaned” a whole movie by memorising songs and scenes.
My mom signed me with an agency, Take 3 Talent, when I was about seven years old, and it went from there! Receiving countless auditions and, before COVID, literally all of my auditions were in person, so we’d go into the city every day for a new audition – sometimes more than one every day! But I loved that crazy actor life.
I always knew I wanted to be a big star, whether that meant becoming a Broadway star or starring in a huge movie or TV series. I’ve always had that desire ever since I was little! And to this day, I’m always asking God for His provision and guidance to help me with any audition I receive or booking that I get! But with that being said, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me!
Do you have any favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch?
This is a VERY hard question for me, because I literally love EVERYTHING, and my taste in shows varies so much. But, if I had to say, my favourite TV series are definitely Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee and Smash. I actually just finished watching Smash not too long ago, and I actually loved it so much! Especially since I saw it on Broadway last year too! And Glee is a classic.
Now, theatre shows are a hard one because I have way too many, but here is my Top 5: 1) Wicked 2) FROZEN 3) Waitress 4) MAMMA MIA! 5) SIX.
We understand you are a dancer, can you say about this side of your career?
Yes! I am a dancer as well! I’ve been dancing for such a long time too. I started taking dance classes when I was about three years old, but let’s say that I actually started to take dance seriously around 11 years old.
I’ve grown up taking classes in all styles at my first dance studio in NYC, All Star Studios, including ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre, hip-hop, and lyrical. Then I tried salsa and flamenco at Ballet Hispánico in NYC for about two years.
After that, since I went on tour, I couldn’t continue dance classes. Luckily, we had a few people on tour who would give me and the other girls some dance classes whenever we had the time, which was so awesome!
After my time on tour ended, I came back to dance classes at a studio closer to home, The Next Step School of Dance in NJ, where I started taking bigger steps in my dance career and joined the studio’s Company and Competition Team! I’m still at that dance studio taking classes like ballet, tap, jazz, acro, contemporary, choreography and multiple technique classes.
I’ve honestly always loved dancing. It’s such a big part of who I am, and I’m so grateful I have the opportunity to continue to do what I love!
How do you like to spend your free time?
Well, who wouldn’t want to see a Broadway musical in their free time? I know I would. But besides that, I consider myself a very crafty person, so whenever I have time, I love to get creative and do things like drawing, painting or bedazzling random things, or I’ll hang out with my friends!
As a summer girl, I love going to the pool and the beach, but not to lie down and tan. I’m that one person who will jump and throw herself into the water without a doubt. I also love to go out, whether that means going on walks or bike rides!
What are you hoping the rest of the year brings you, and do you have any projects coming up that you can talk about?
I hope that the rest of this year brings lots of new opportunities! I’m always auditioning, so hopefully some exciting bookings are coming my way. More than anything, I just want to keep growing as a performer, working hard and always doing what I love!
I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason and at the right time, so I’m excited for whatever comes next. And always staying thankful to God for every opportunity, and I’m excited for what the future holds.
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