2025 Fall Arts Preview: Theater actor Lena Ceja is on a fast-moving journey of joy

2025 Fall Arts Preview: Theater actor Lena Ceja is on a fast-moving journey of joy

Lena Ceja was 16 when a drama teacher introduced her to Mimi Marquez, the fiercely independent Latina dancer in Jonathan Larson’s musical “Rent.” It was a life-changing moment for Ceja, a Latina who was born in East L.A., raised in Fontana and now lives in Vista. “I’d never seen someone like her,” Ceja said. “I knew ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Mary Poppins,’ but when I got into ‘Rent’ and the style of the character, fashion and vibe of it all, it was so mo…