This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Juan Carlos: Hi, I'm Juan Carlos. Welcome to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales.

[0:10] Alan Seales: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and our guest today is Juan Carlos, who quite literally drove his 2015 Ford Fiesta across the country on his birthday to go make his dreams come true. This conversation is just a great example of what happens when you stop waiting for the phone to ring and just start making your own noise. We get into the weeds on some fun stuff, including why he thinks acting is basically just an algorithm you have to solve and how a simple act of clearing a clogged toilet might be the ultimate romantic green flag. We also talk about his extrusive thoughts and why he thinks the best thing you can do for yourself is just to scratch your nose and stop trying to be perfect, during auditions especially. This is a deeply honest look at the hustle, the athlete's mentality it takes to stay in the game of Broadway, and the surreal feeling of going from wearing a fan t-shirt to originating a role in that very same universe on Broadway. So head over to Patreon or Spotify to watch the video version of this episode. Find me on the socials, leave ratings, leave a review. Those are still out there, right? Yeah? Okay. Everybody, please enjoy this episode with Juan Carlos.

[1:36] Juan Carlos: Red letter, yellow letter. I do, I do, but I do it, I bite my tongue.

[1:40] Alan Seales: Really? Music is done with the tip of the tongue and the teeth.

[1:44] Juan Carlos: And it brings everything forward and then you say it again, music is done with the tip of the tongue and the teeth.

[1:49] Alan Seales: With the tip of the tongue.

[1:53] Juan Carlos: There you go. You like have to work harder for it, you know? Oh my gosh, this is the hardest thing I've ever done. Yeah.

[2:04] Alan Seales: That's it. Music, it's like, because it helps you make it everything more forward and more. Music is done with the tip of the tongue and the teeth. You have to really work for it.

[2:13] Juan Carlos: Music is done with the tip of the tongue and the top of the teeth.

[2:20] Alan Seales: That's good, man. I really bit my tongue.

[2:23] Juan Carlos: I know. I feel like you're, you kind of sounded like an adaptation of Jack Frost or something. This is your, the Snow Meister, isn't it?

[2:34] Alan Seales: All right. My guest today is a multi-hyphenate creator whose career spans television, theater, and film. You have seen him on screen in acclaimed series such as Grey's Anatomy, The Sex Lives of College Girls, and Elsbeth. He's also a writer and director, having recently completed his own short film, Oh Brother. He is currently making his Broadway debut, originating the role of young Bob Newby in the hit production, Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Juan Carlos, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[3:00] Juan Carlos: Thanks for having me, Alan. Also, that's exactly how you're supposed to say the title of the short film, so I'm happy you picked up on that. That's exactly correct, man.

[3:10] Alan Seales: Well, tell me about that.

[3:11] Juan Carlos: Oh yeah, man. I mean, so that's funny because that's kind of the start of my career. So I kind of decided when I graduated, I was like, I'm going to pursue acting and I'm going to go to LA and figure it out. And I had no connections. I had no representation, but I was like, let me draw. I got my little Ford Fiesta 2015 hatchback, drove from Florida to LA and I met the one guy I knew there, Luke Sawyer, who's now my creative partner. And we went out on a party and he's interesting. So I went to like a liberal arts college. And this is what happens when you go to liberal arts college. This guy was a lacrosse frat bro that dropped out of lacrosse to pursue theater. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. A little crazy. And so we're very different dynamics, obviously, you know, I'm kind of this more, I'm more of a nerd. I like video games and stuff, but we went out to party again. I was like, this, there's something special here about this chemistry. And I remember the day I started driving from Florida to LA was my birthday and also the first day of the SAG actors strike. So I was like, shoot, man, what am I going to do? And I talked to this guy, you know, we're both non-union. We both moved out there to be actors. And I said, hey man, let's make a short film together. And that was kind of the catalyst of my career. Cause the first thing I did after we finished filming and because it was the strikes, we got like a hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment for like, like stupid cheap. We filmed over one weekend. So it counted as one day. We had a great DP grand buyers who, man, he just, he just got such a great deal with his company. And the first thing I did when we finished filming was I made each a reel. And that one reel clip got me my first manager, my first three TV gigs.

[4:51] Alan Seales: But out of the film you created yourself, just the short film I created myself.

[4:51] Juan Carlos: Yes, sir. That's crazy. Cool. Yeah. And again, moving to LA with no representation, that was literally the one guy I knew in LA. I did not know anybody else. Wow. That's cool. What's Oh Brother about?

[5:01] Juan Carlos: So it's about, you know, these two stepbrothers who are complete opposites. One's this, you know, sexy stud jock life of the party. The other is this, you know, more shy nerd who's got a crush on a girl who's coming over. You can guess who I am, obviously the sexy jock. And they, yeah, the, you kind of go into the antics of the party and this guy that, you know, he has this crush on this girl and then she actually has a crush on his brother and yeah, it just shenanigans ensue. I love it. All right. So you were saying you moved from, you moved to LA, but you grew up in Miami.

[5:39] Juan Carlos: Yeah. Miami, Florida, sir. Miami. Yeah. That was the, I think the best, the place to grow up. I kind of came into theater a little later in life than maybe most of my peers. Like I thought I was going to be an animator or something. Yeah. I loved cartoons and stuff. And I was like, I want to do that. And I would draw and I made my parents buy me like this, this drawing tablet. And I bought this expensive animation studio. And then my sister was like really into musical theater. And she always tried to get me in and I was like, musical theater, that's so lame. And then she's like, well, you know, there's a, you know, there's a Shrek, the musical. And I was like, no way there's a Shrek, the musical. Cause I love Shrek at the time. And she showed it to me on Netflix, funny enough. You know, they had the, the pro shot on there and she's like our local children's theater is doing it. You should go audition. And I was like, yes, and I'm going to be Shrek. And I go up there and I bombed my audition and I dug it in. But just from that moment, I was like, okay, I need to figure this out now. And I had become obsessed ever since.

[6:33] Alan Seales: Are you like that in general, where you're just, where we're challenge or something that you can't do is a challenge that you then have to overcome?

[6:38] Juan Carlos: I have to figure it out. I think everything's a bit of an algorithm, a bit of a game, you know, you could figure it out. I feel like, you know, it's crazy because acting is such a big dream and too many on what feels like an impossible dream. But I really do think if you keep going at it and you got the right mindset, you'll be able to figure it out. And like anything in this life, it's got its own algorithm. Yeah. I remember my best friend in college, Mikey, he actually wrote a paper on me and how I feel when I start something, I have to figure it out and be the best. He was like taking like some psychology class and he didn't tell me until after he wrote the paper that he did this deep dive into my psychosis. But did you read it afterwards? And we're like, I actually haven't read it. I'm a little afraid to, I'm a little afraid to, I feel like if I become that self-aware of myself, there's going to be a problem. I'll start thinking, what are we meant to do here in this universe and get all those stoner thoughts. And that's, I don't need that in my life right now. It's basically like everything that I think about all the time anyway.

[7:43] Alan Seales: Yes. That, that, yes, exactly. If you, if you, the moment you stop learning, is the moment you stop being a human, I think really. And that's like where ego comes in and you know, someone might become a bit arrogant. Once you think you've stopped learning, I want to keep learning and you know, I'm young and naive right now. But I want to keep learning till the day I die. You know, I look at someone like Harrison Ford who he says, the reason I got into acting is because I knew they'll need someone to play the older guys when I get older, you know? So I love that quote. Yeah. He said something like that. I'm paraphrasing, but that's me, man. I want to just keep figuring it out. And I know as I get older, the lessons I learned when I was 23 won't necessarily apply to the roles I'm getting when I'm 40, you know? So that is something that I'm very always trying to keep my mind up to that. And I, you know, growing up, well, when I went to my college was like a predominantly white institution. And I think something that is interesting when you're particularly an actor of color, but I think almost all actors can relate to this is you're kind of taught to be a shell of yourself and to blend in, you know, there are all these rules in the theater. And I think those rules are kind of bullshit. It's good to learn them, but learn them so you can break them. Because I'm not for this assimilation of actors where we all sound the same and we go up there and we slate the same way at the audition. We go, hi, my name is Juan Carlos. And I'll be, I'm not, you know, when I look at a monologue and my first impulse, like an audition monologue, my first impulse is to turn my back from the audience. I'm turning my back from the audience. I think if we all go up there and we stand on that little X and we just say our thing, then everyone's going to seem the same. So I think there are some brilliant acting professors out there at acting methods, but if they're not dealt with care and seen as the end all be all, instead of here's actually just something to implement, that's where we get into some dangerous, tricky territory for younger actors in this industry.

[9:45] Alan Seales: Well, you don't want to be a copy of somebody else because you're not, you're not being the best you.

[9:48] Juan Carlos: Yes. Anytime someone at the stage door comes up to me post-show and then they say, you know, I'm an aspiring actor. What is your biggest advice? I say, it sounds cheesy, but be yourself. But what I mean by that is figure out how to be yourself. That's the thing that people don't, you know, you hear people say, no, you actually have to find out what that means. What are the things that make you, you, what are your ticks? And then embrace that. You know, I'm a big fan of Uta Hagen's acting technique for that reason. You know, I remember taking a Uta Hagen class and I remember in college bringing my microwave from my dorm building to the acting class because they wanted us essentially to recreate, you know, an actual scene from your life and not something interesting at all, something very mundane. So I remember I recreated this long day I had, I was a resident assistant, and I had to deal with a particularly tricky situation one night with one of my residents. And so the scene I recreated was just me coming home and microwaving a pizza I had in my fridge. So I brought my microwave. I didn't bring the mini fridge. I was like, I'll just say the pizza was left out and yeah, those were crazy times, but that's one of the things that teach you how to be yourself the most, right?

[11:00] Alan Seales: Well, other than microwaving pizza, what makes you, you, what are your quirks?

[11:04] Juan Carlos: That's a great question. And it's something I'm constantly trying to figure out, but there are, it's funny, a writer, Kate, Kate Tree for, I actually for Stranger Things to first shout out. She caught something and it was a bit of an embarrassing moment for me. And she decided to tell the whole cast it, which is okay as a little bit of a lesson of like, you know, we cast you because we see something of you in this character. You don't have to try, especially after playing characters that are beloved on TV and people know who they are. The urge to do an impression of that is actually something they wanted us to shy away from because they were confident that we saw you, we saw Bob and you, we saw Joyce and you, you don't have to try too hard. So I was at a coffee shop by a rehearsal studio right before rehearsal, grabbing a cup of coffee as I'm leaving Kate's walking in and I go, oh, hey Kate. She goes, hey Juan. And I go, you're having a cup of coffee. She goes, yep. And I leave and I go, all right, good luck. And then I stop in my tracks and I turn around. I was like, I don't know why I told you good luck. There's no, you don't need luck to get coffee. And she's like, all right, Juan, I'll see you at rehearsal. And you know, she came back in with an epiphany and wrote a new scene and was like, guys, this is, this is why Juan is Bob. You know, he doesn't have to try. He's, he just doesn't think before he thinks, or he doesn't think before he thinks clearly, right? He doesn't think before he speaks and, but it's a, it's a genuine earnestness and it's not a destructive version of that, but it, you know, he's just always trying to be positive and in doing so might jump the gun a bit. So that's one of the things that makes me, me, I'd say is, is I call them extrusive thoughts because they're not intrusive. Cause I let them out. They're my extrusive thoughts.

[12:31] Alan Seales: I like that a lot. Yeah. And I, you know, and somehow I'll tell the young actors too. And when you're self or any actor, when you're, you know, you're self-taping and that's kind of a hard thing. Cause you're setting up the camera yourself and then you're feeling very conscious that you just, your iPhone's there. Am I looking good? Something that always brings me down to earth is actually, you know, remember people aren't perfect. So don't try to be perfect. So the first thing I'll do in a self-tape is I'll scratch my nose or my cheek. And that makes me forget about this performance I'm doing and just brings me down. I think almost any acting method, Uta Hagen especially tells you to always find an activity, something to be busy with. So sometimes that's pouring yourself a cup of coffee, but sometimes it's literally just scratch the head, sniff of the nose, you know, something you wouldn't want to be on camera. That's the first thing you should do. That is probably the best advice I could take away for a self-tape is just like, try not to make it perfect because they don't want perfect.

[13:19] Juan Carlos: They don't want perfect. And that is, it's something I still struggle with. I mean, everyone would, but it's just finding the thing that brings you back down to earth. For me, it's just a little scratch, little scratch, little, little nose.

[13:32] Alan Seales: Yeah. I like that so much. I don't, I don't. Yeah. I don't think I've ever heard not to, you know, be pretentious and take credit for this, but I don't think I ever heard someone that was something I just figured out. Yeah. I remember I was watching the movie Blue Beetle. Have you seen it? Yeah. I mean, I think it's a great movie. It wasn't, you know, but I think it was, it was a really solid movie and told a beautiful story, but Zolo in that, in that movie, it's just so expressive. And so not what you would expect from, you know, this young leading star here. And he, he allows himself to be so silly and goofy and not be perfect. And that was kind of the it moment for me. I was like, oh yeah, I can in my real life. If I'm telling a story, I might do a funny voice cause I'm nervous. You know, I wouldn't do that in a self-tape. I should start doing that in a self-tape. Yeah. Yeah. I liked it so much that that's really good. Like just be yourself, lean into, lean into your extrusive thoughts.

[14:16] Juan Carlos: Yes. I like that. Extrusive thoughts. Yes. Your extrusive thoughts. So then, but going back to Miami for a second, like you said, you got into theater later in life. So what were you doing prior to that?

[14:25] Juan Carlos: Dude, I don't know, being a hooligan. I was, I was, I was, I really liked the idea of animation. I was drawing all the time. I was always a creative. I would write short stories. And I'd show them to my mom and she'd be like, these are something really special. And you know, that's probably what any mom would say. So I can't speak too much to that being, you know, actually any sort of meaningful good work, but I was always wanting to do something creative. So the fact that I ended up in acting and that, you know, and even then I'm not limited to that. I think especially today, actors need to create their own work. That's the only way to do it.

[14:59] Alan Seales: Well, look at the first, the very first story that you told. It got you literally where you are right now.

[15:03] Juan Carlos: Yes, exactly. And actually even, so right before we were, we went into filming, I was on the actors access, you know, this, this website that actors could submit themselves for projects and it was during the strike and I was just submitting myself for anything that, that wouldn't be a conflict to the strike. And one of those, you know, that's actors equity, the theater union. I had sent myself in for an open call for the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tour. Again, no representation at that point. I didn't even have the short film. I just had like a self-tape reel that I had made. And I got a call back and they said, you can choose to be either Albus or Scorpius. And I'm looking at it and I'm like, all right, like Scorpius is Draco Malfoy's son, skinny white blonde guy, Albus, you know, I can maybe get away with a bit more, but I'm reading it. I'm like, but I feel really drawn to Scorpius here in this moment. Like that, that goofier, more anxious character. So I took the swing and I read for that and I made it all the way to the final callback and I didn't get it. But that same casting directors who a year later reaches out to me and goes, hey, this is going to move pretty quickly, but we need someone to read for Bob Newby. Would you mind coming in?

[16:04] Alan Seales: This was in LA, right?

[16:04] Juan Carlos: Yeah. I was living in LA. So I had to, I had to fly to New York at it. I was like, I remember Todd, I was like, is this really worth it? And I was like, what are you talking about? Of course this is worth it. It's Stranger Things. It's Netflix. I was like, yeah, but they're not going to cast me. They're like, you don't know that. I was like, all right, all right, let me do it. And again, just taking big swings, you know, this character, it was, it was a radio monologue. You know, he has his radio set up that he has, but it's all, he's making the sound effects as he goes. So I went all for it. You know, I mentioned the Twilight Zone at one point. So go to do, do, do, do, do, you know, and yeah, they asked me to come to New York and I was there for a week for what was supposed to be one callback ended up becoming four or five and a chemistry read. And I remember after that, that chemistry read feeling like so good, but just, I don't know, not thinking that I had it. You know, they kind of said, this goes to Netflix. Now we don't know rehearsals starts tomorrow, but we don't know when, when they'll get back to us. So we'll cover your hotel. I said, all right, that's, that's very sweet. But I was like, man, I don't think I got her else. They wouldn't be telling me that. And 12 hours before the first rehearsal, I got the call and like American Idol, you know, they go, unfortunately you're not going back to LA tomorrow. That's how they said it. And then, yeah, I went to bed and then the next morning I was like 10 PM the night before I was like, maybe like, yeah, six or 7 PM. And, and, and yeah, man, I could, I mean, I then I went down the list of the 23 people I called and who I wasn't supposed to tell the first being my mom, of course.

[17:35] Alan Seales: Right. Yeah. Well, when were you a fan of Stranger Things prior to all of this?

[17:40] Juan Carlos: The biggest fan I've been watching it since season one, when it came out. And I remember, this is a story I kind of, I've told a few times, but I was such a big fan of the show season one. It came around right around the time my birthday came out. And I remember I asked like, all I, all I want is a Stranger Things shirt. And my family had got me a Hawkins AV club shirt, and now I'm playing the guy who created the Hawkins. Yes, sir. So I, the biggest fan, I think it's, I mean, it's a great show. You know, you fall in love with the kids. And I think that's what our play is captured really well too, is, you know, these adults that you've seen in the show now you get to see them when they were kids and before they figured each other out and figure themselves out. So it's a fun dynamic, man. Yeah. And especially like to, I have to pinch myself and remind myself sometimes that, yeah, I'm in the Stranger Things universe.

[18:27] Alan Seales: Yeah. You originated this role on Broadway. Yeah. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back after this break.

[18:34] Juan Carlos: Welcome back to the episode. And, and so many of the original cast, the film cast, the TV cast has come to see the show, right?

[18:41] Juan Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. We had, Sadie Singh came the day before our opening, you know, when we were in previews, cause she was across the street doing John Proctor. Funny enough, John Proctor is a villain. When they were workshopping that play, they were taking it to a few different colleges. I think either the first or second college they took it to, it's a college I ended up going to. And it was during my audition weekend that they were putting it on. And part of the audition was that, you know, you go watch the show that they're doing. So I remember seeing like the early, early stage of John Proctor's the villain and that lining up with my Broadway debut, a weird full circle moment. And I got to actually meet the writer of John Proctor at the Drama League Awards and tell her that, and just be like, I mean, it's lined up. And I think she was kind of like, oh, good for you, buddy. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, I mean, there's a lot of those weird full circle moments in my life and you have to, I don't know how spiritual I am or any, you know, I don't try to understand what this or that means, but I think at a certain point, especially if you, if you're a big dreamer and a big dreamer and want to succeed in what it is you're doing, I think you have to be a little delusional and take those small coincidences as this is a sign that I'm doing something right. You know?

[19:45] Alan Seales: I like that. So when you started rehearsal though, like coming in and talk about the first rehearsal, like this, the energy of creating this thing that like at the time, nobody knew about, right? It was very secretive, you know, everyone had signed an NDA and I actually hadn't, they took a while to get me the NDA. So I was kind of like on an NDA handshake agreement.

[19:55] Juan Carlos: Exactly. No, no, no. Netflix, I promise I didn't spill any secrets. The red dot on my forehead. No, yeah, it was insane. I remember we didn't even, our director, Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin are just two lovely guys who jumped right into it. We didn't even get to do a table read. We go, let's do the hardest scene of the play, which is picture day, which is kind of the first scene where you meet all the characters, you know, at this school picture day. And it's very reminiscent of like a John Hughes movie, like, oh, there's the jocks, here's the nerds. And we jumped right into that. And everyone had the script for a few weeks by that point, except for me, who had just gotten it the night before. And everyone else was off book. And I remember thinking, well, I can't be the one guy on book. So right before I'd enter, I just look at my script like, okay, and then I just go and do it and just figure it out off book. And yeah, I mean, that was the energy and that was what we, that propelled us in that momentum moving forward. You know, we just kept doing, it was, oh, there was no breaks. It was besides, of course, the breaks that were required from the union, but you're constantly going, there's not a time to think too much about how this or that is playing, which I think helps just helping us jump right into it, not think about what we're doing, just live in what we're doing.

[21:21] Alan Seales: The technical, the technical aspect of the show is so complicated. And there are, you talked about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the same guy who did the illusions for that and did illusions for Stranger Things. So how, how long was the tech process compared to the straight rehearsal process? Because I figured tech would have to be like two or three times as long.

[21:36] Juan Carlos: Yeah, we had a, I think a longer tech than most shows do. I think we had a five week tech.

[21:44] Alan Seales: Oh, wow.

[21:44] Juan Carlos: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I think the best part about is we actually had a lot of time in the rehearsal studio. I think we maybe had a month and a half or two months at just at the rehearsal studio, which was super helpful because it helped us find our characters before the illusions. So that way, when the illusions come in, you know, the directors are focusing on that. You know, they can only focus so much on I don't know if my character would do this and this, you know, they can't think about it. So it was nice that we got to have those character work moments. And a lot of times our co-director, Justin, would come up to one of us and just whisper in our ear, go out of interest, interest. What if you tried it this way instead? And then you just have to, you know, you'd have to go and do it. And then you're like, how did how to go? And he goes, honestly, I was I was watching the demo. I wasn't watching you. Let me catch you next time. I'm sure it's great. So we got a lot of like whispered notes in the wings, which we had to pass down to our understudy or else they would never know because it was so unofficial. But that's the way they work. They act on impulse. And sometimes then they'll watch in the context of the whole show and be like that that didn't work, you know, as our impulse in that moment. But they love making mistakes.

[22:51] Alan Seales: Yeah, which is so important for a director to not make you feel like you need to get it right in a certain time span. It's now let's make mistakes. And he'll tell you, he's like, sometimes one. I don't know. I'm making it up as I go along.

[23:00] Juan Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, part of part of it is once you see everything together and then you see it with with the equipment and the tech and that's one of the characters and then the audience. I always say the audience is the final character. Yes. So once you get it in front of previews, something that you're like, oh, this is going to be great. This is going to work so great. And you're like, oh, just bomb. Yes, 100 percent. We had a lot of that. I mean, we have a completely I wish I wish we could have filmed our first preview, like because it is a completely different show than what we ended up with. I mean, scenes we'd be, you know, two or three hours before we go on for a preview, we'd be handing a new scene. Let's try it. Let's take it real quick and let's try it. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. It was it was constantly changing. It's actually it was so special. I don't know how many shows get to have the writer of the show in the room with you making changes. Right. But it is it is so special because then also the characters are honed into us as well. Whatever it was they saw of me as Bob, that's what they focused on more than in the London production. It's a completely different show, a completely different show. So, yeah, the audience makes a big change. I mean, we were changing things up until we really weren't allowed to anymore. You know, I mean, even actually like we you know, it's a it's a it's exactly the type of process I'd want to do, though. I especially when I hear the other actors who had month long, like months long audition processes, some people had two year long audition processes for me to do it the week before rehearsal starts that I would go crazy if I was if I was waiting for months on months just to hear about this one callback. So for me, it's been jumping right into it every day and just go, go, go. And that's I wouldn't want it any other way.

[24:33] Alan Seales: But so you you got the call to come to to come to New York. And was that a callback was for a first audition because you did a self tape?

[24:39] Juan Carlos: I taped first. But again, I was I was asked to tape after the show was cast. They actually needed to recast for Bob Newby. And I was I was asked to tape for it. And it was like over Christmas break. And I was back home with my family and I did not have my self tape set up. So I asked my best friend, Mikey, who wrote the paper about me. I went over to his place and we found like the most gray wall he had with semi natural fluorescent lighting. Yeah. And we it was like it was probably like the worst self tape set up I've ever put on tape. And it ended up being my biggest audition ever, you know, and I was kind of just that guy. Yes, he's inventive. He just has to kind of create things as he goes along and make them seem as professional as he can. But it's really kind of wonky. So I think maybe they like that, too. Who knows? And I remember when. So it was like three weeks after I taped. I was like, I guess I didn't get it because they told me it would move fast. And three weeks after my tape, I'm with I'm back in L.A., I'm with my buddy, Lexi. I'm helping her build her new bed that she bought. And we're talking about our New Year's resolutions. And I told her, Lexi, I don't know how, but twenty twenty five is the year I'm going to become a full time actor. Five minutes later, I get the call. Hey, they want to see you in New York. Can you can you be there next week? Sure. Let's figure it out. Wow. Exactly. Like some magical manifestation power. You know, I talk about this a lot and my sister and I disagree on it a lot because I don't necessarily believe fully in manifestation or try to at least not understand it fully. Like I can't. But I do know that I think if you shift your mindset a bit, you start seeing doors that look closed, but might be slightly cracked open. Then all of a sudden those doors become wide open when you see that versus if you're thinking the other way around, like, oh, this is too hard. This isn't for me. I'm not going to get this all to self doubt. Those slightly cracked doors look completely shut and locked.

[26:26] Alan Seales: Right, right. So that's kind of how I try to make sense of it. I don't know if I fully believe in the power manifestation, but I'm not naive enough to or arrogant enough to say, yeah, it definitely doesn't work. It's not this way at all, you know, but I think it's a little bit of both. You know, you manifest, be prepared. Luck is opportunity meets preparation.

[26:48] Juan Carlos: Yes, yes. Always be prepared so that when you have the opportunity or the window opens, you can slide through and you're ready.

[26:52] Alan Seales: Yes, that's yeah, that's a constant theme I hear from people who have succeeded in what they want to do. And I think that is kind of the key to manifestation is just like you focus on what you want from an energy level, from a skills perspective and from learning. Right. Like make sure you're always learning about what you want to do. Yes. So that as soon as that window opens, that door opens, you're just like, I mean, walk on. I mean, walk right through it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't need to take. I don't need to wipe my shoes on the doormat or take. I'm ready. Let's get this walk right through it. Yeah, I love that, man. And it's what you got to carry with you. You have to. I keep saying it, but you have to be delusional to make it in this business.

[27:27] Juan Carlos: One hundred percent. Yeah. Especially when you hear the statistics of the actors who, you know, like like one percent of actors actually get paid to do it for a living. Yeah. But you can't look at that and go, well, it's impossible. You look at that and you go, how can I be in that one percent? And for me personally, also, how can I try to be an example or change the industry in a certain way so that one percent can become three percent or percent, you know, and it becomes more accessible to all? That's also something that's really important to me. Even even I mean, this sounds that's kind of cliche, but like in that one percent, you are a minority in that one percent because you're a person of color. Yeah, it's it's it's a fair and I'm a person of color playing a role that's not meant to be a person of color. You know, that's not lost me in that in that last Harry Potter callback I had. I remember it was me and three other guys and they were all skinny, white, blonde dudes. And who am I to think that, yeah, Draco Malfoy's son should be this Hispanic guy with black hair and is a little chubby. And, you know, it was like that really Draco's son. Do we ever see Draco's wife? We never do, right?

[28:29] Alan Seales: I'm not enough of a Potterhead to be able to tell you that. I don't want to.

[28:32] Juan Carlos: I don't think we do. So you never know who Draco is with.

[28:37] Alan Seales: That's always what people say about, you know, my version of Bob Newby, too. It's funny. I think what's funny is I actually think people think about that more than I do myself. Like people find their justifications through it, whether it be my co-stars or people in the audience. I actually find that it's not for this project particularly. It's not helpful for me to think about it. All I can do is is be as honest portrayal of Bob as possible. And if you want to look at it and be like, OK, well, we see Bob Newby's dad, Bob Newby's mom could have been a Latina. And maybe Bob kind of grew up a little paler because he's in Hawkins, Indiana. You know, you could you make whatever justifications. But that to me wasn't essential in finding the honesty behind this character. But I do really appreciate you saying like being in the minority of the minority. That that is something I strive to be a leader and change there. I hope that doesn't sound too pretentious or or self, you know, pat myself on the back there. But it's more just like constantly trying to be the change you want to see. Yeah. And advocating for others who aren't as fortunate as you. But I always you know, I was on a little college tour for a little bit, going to different colleges and talking to young actors. And I just tell them there's no one set path in this industry. And it feels like there is because there's a lot of talk about nepotism, you know, these NEPA babies. But that is a valid and real thing that we should talk about. But you can't let it dictate your life. I'm a I'm like, you know, I have three siblings. I have a single mom. We grew up on food stamps in Miami where I grew up. People either worked at a grocery store and worked their way up to be a manager or went and sold drugs, you know, to make ends meet. So and I was like, I want to be an actor. What does this kid think he is? But you can't think about how the odds are against you. That's part of the delusion that you're talking about. And I want to rephrase this. I don't feel like it's delusion. I feel like it's just not not letting yourself get overwhelmed by what could be interpreted as insurmountable challenges.

[30:37] Juan Carlos: Yeah, because everything is surmountable. Everything.

[30:42] Alan Seales: Yeah, I agree. I think I mean, and again, you always have to be cognizant of there. There are people less fortunate than you. And I could say, I believe you could if you want to be achieve your dreams, you can make it happen. But if you want to be an NBA player and, you know, you're you're four foot eight, you know, what's what's the dream within the dream? I'm not I'm not the Bogues. Is that there we go. But yeah, so it was a five, even then. And we got a who's that guy who plays on the Grizzlies? I'm forgetting his name, but he's five eight. And everyone loves watching him play because he's just the best.

[31:06] Juan Carlos: So there always is a way of achieving those dreams, even if it might be a non traditional path. But if David thought he couldn't take on Goliath, you know, it's literally this morning, I responded to a Spotify comment that somebody left about my Emma Pittman episode for this podcast. And they were like, I love Emma Pittman. I want to be on musical theater, but I'm not a good enough singer. I'll never make it. No, no. Then they said, I want to be on Broadway, but I'm not a good singer. And I responded to this comment. And I was like, listen, there are so many things you can do to get on Broadway that don't have to do with singing. And you can be in a musical and not even be a good singer. And I'm a big believer also in that there's this kind of myth of this industry that you either have it or you don't know. And there are maybe people who it comes more naturally to them. But this is a completely teachable career. And it's case by case with your creative team and the character work, what the character is, what the story is. Because you may have somebody who came in and was writing Stranger Things that wrote it in a completely different way that would not have ever worked for you. So it's all of these stars aligning to make it happen. But that sounds like it's this rare occasion, but the stars align all the time. And like you said, if you're looking for it, then you can see it.

[32:29] Juan Carlos: Yeah, then you can see it. But if you're not looking for it, it just looks like, yeah, whatever. Stars aren't even that bright in the sky tonight.

[32:33] Alan Seales: Too much light pollution.

[32:36] Juan Carlos: From my mental state, too much light.

[32:40] Alan Seales: Yeah. So just strive to be the change you want to see. If there's, you know, make the movie that you want to watch in theaters that no one's producing, you know.

[32:54] Juan Carlos: That's legitimately why we are sitting here today is because I started this because I couldn't find anything else that I wanted to listen to.

[32:58] Alan Seales: That's awesome. But that's exactly—

[33:02] Juan Carlos: I am serious.

[33:02] Alan Seales: Yes. And this is no shade to any other Broadway podcast out there, because there's also a discoverability problem. I couldn't find what I also listen to now. Anyway, sorry, my colleagues, not throwing you under the bus. You're all very good. But yeah, so now that you're in New York and you're living this life, like, I mean, I want to go back and like that 15, 16-year-old kid that you're struggling. I will say struggling. It's—making ends meet might be tough in Miami when you're a teenager with a single mom, right?

[33:35] Juan Carlos: Dude, I mean, it was—I started working at 15, and I went up to the owner of the children's theater I would perform at. And I always see him working alone post-rehearsals on the sets. He'd be—you know, he's a carpenter. And I told him, Tim, I don't know anything about carpentry, but I would love to start working with you and building these sets. Like, would you want to teach me? And he goes, why, I don't think I—yes, of course I would. And that guy is like my dad now. Like, we—I just was talking to him yesterday on the phone. They're all such lovely people, and they really shaped who I am. But that was part of it. So I was—you know, I was homeschooled, and we did school online. So I'd do school online in the morning until about like two or three. Then I'd go and work carpentry with Tim before rehearsals, go to rehearsals, and then work after rehearsals until like pretty late at night. I won't want to talk about the child labor laws there, but it was—you know, it was my choice to continue to stay there. And it brought something to my acting career too, I think. In college, I did the production of Sweat by Lynn Nottage, and I played this barback Oscar. And there was something so special about building the bar that then later in the show I'm cleaning or maintaining. It felt—it was mine. It was earned. And yeah, there was just no—I remember having a conversation with my mom when I was about 16. I was talking about applying for colleges, all these exciting ones I was wanting to go to. And she stops the car, and she goes, Papo, you have to stay here and go to college. I can't afford to—and I said, don't worry. I'll figure it out. And I did. It's just this constant belief that things will work out because you'll make them work out and finding the ways to work it out. And I remember in college when I—my senior year, I got a few extra grants, and I was able to stop working in carpentry and really hone in on my craft. I was working three jobs at the time. I was an Uber Eats driver, I was an RA, and I was a carpenter. So just to release one of those jobs was such a huge blessing and allowed me to focus on my career a bit more. But also, doing all those things outside of acting also shaped me as an actor because the better and more worldly of a person you are, the better an actor you are, I really do believe.

[35:50] Alan Seales: Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back after this break.

[35:55] Juan Carlos: Welcome back to the episode. When I was in my early 20s, I supplemented my acting career by being a GC's personal assistant—a GC's assistant. And so it was just me and him. He was an independent contractor. So the two of us would just go around. For three years off and on in North Carolina, I would just build roofs and doors, put in windows and doors, and tile work and floors. And the ability to sit down for a couple hours, sweat your ass off, build something tangible that you can touch and that people use and that they enjoy. The satisfaction of that, I still get. A couple years ago, I renovated my basement and went completely gutted it and now it's a playroom for the kids. It's one of those things where these life skills bring you forward, but now the ability to look like you could use a power tool, that's pretty important.

[36:50] Juan Carlos: That's pretty cool. I'll tell this story. I'll tell the pre-story to the story because I think it's kind of funny. I show up to my audition. It's me and two other guys who are called in for Bob and this girl who's the casting monitor. She's taking our scripts, making sure we don't keep them with us because of the NEA. I remember thinking, man, she's so pretty. She's really nice and she's pretty funny. We're kind of chatting it up before I go in. Then I go in, I do my scene. I end up just shooting the... Can I curse on this show?

[37:22] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[37:22] Juan Carlos: I remember just shooting this shit with Stephen Daldry, this big Oscar Tony BAFTA. We just talked for like 40 minutes. I think that one, that's what got me the job, I think, not the scene. The scene was whatever. It's the fact that I could talk with him and just shoot the shit for 40 minutes. I left feeling pretty good about myself. I still didn't think I was going to get it, but it was just a practice in confidence. I remember going up to the casting monitor and saying, hey, I'm in New York for a few days. Don't know what's going on, but I'd love to grab a drink with you. I was hoping you'd ask. She's my girlfriend to this day.

[37:52] Alan Seales: What?

[37:53] Juan Carlos: Yeah. To bring it back to this working with your hands, the first time I went over to her place, her roommate was there. I said hi to her. I was like, can I use your restroom real quick, though? It's clogged. I come back out. I was like, hey guys, it wasn't me, but your toilet's clogged. Do you mind if I fix it for you? I remember her to this day, she tells that story that that was like the biggest green flag to me and my roommate. We're just like, oh yeah, we got to keep him around.

[38:15] Alan Seales: I'm getting unclogged. Oh my God.

[38:19] Juan Carlos: Young men trying to woo some ladies out there or whoever.

[38:22] Alan Seales: Learn how to use a plunger.

[38:23] Juan Carlos: Learn how to use a plunger.

[38:25] Alan Seales: That's the takeaway.

[38:26] Juan Carlos: That's the takeaway. That's the soundbite.

[38:29] Alan Seales: Yeah. If you want to be successful in Broadway, use a plunger.

[38:31] Juan Carlos: Use a plunger.

[38:33] Alan Seales: That's it. Then you get the monitors, you get the job.

[38:36] Juan Carlos: There you go.

[38:37] Alan Seales: That's so funny. Let us begin to wrap up. I haven't looked at my notes once. This is incredible. Now we're going to play plot in 60 seconds.

[38:46] Juan Carlos: Oh boy. Okay, let's do it. I imagine it's pretty self-explanatory.

[38:50] Alan Seales: Yes. I have a list of 16 musicals.

[38:53] Juan Carlos: Oh no.

[38:54] Alan Seales: 17. Sorry, I can't count. 17 musicals and you give me a number one through 17. That means you will pick from my list. I'll tell you what you picked and you give me the plot in 60 seconds.

[39:00] Juan Carlos: Give me five.

[39:07] Alan Seales: Give me five. That's Mary Poppins. Go.

[39:10] Juan Carlos: 60 seconds. Okay. Mary Poppins is a magical woman who has a wonderful bag that is endless and a big umbrella that makes her fly. She comes down to nanny these two children who meet her ragamuffin situationship, Bert.

[39:26] Alan Seales: 45 seconds remaining.

[39:27] Juan Carlos: The sound, those 45 seconds got me nervous.

[39:30] Juan Carlos: And they learn how to step in time and they're all practically perfect in their own way. It's just the names of the songs. They feed some birds and learn how to fly a kite.

[39:41] Alan Seales: 30 seconds remaining.

[39:42] Juan Carlos: Their kind of absentee father learns to be a good father and love them a little bit more thanks to good old Mary Poppins because it's always a jolly holiday with Mary.

[39:52] Alan Seales: And she flies away.

[39:54] Juan Carlos: And she flies away.

[39:56] Alan Seales: Far under the umbrella. That was good. That was good.

[39:59] Juan Carlos: They step in time.

[40:02] Alan Seales: I was just going through the song list in my head.

[40:05] Juan Carlos: I was a tech for Mary Poppins at the children's theater that I worked at. We had this big set that was the house and you could turn it around and it'd be above the apartment building where they can step in time. And we had to like turn it manually. There's like ropes. We didn't have like a revolver or anything. And it was in a blackout and I just was turning with the rope and I just walk right off the stage. And I just fall off the stage, jump back on, finish the move and run back into the wing.

[40:30] Alan Seales: Did the audience see you?

[40:32] Juan Carlos: Probably.

[40:32] Alan Seales: Was it like a gasp?

[40:34] Juan Carlos: There was a gasp.

[40:35] Alan Seales: And then someone laughed, you know, there's always that one unserious person whose first instinct is to laugh.

[40:39] Juan Carlos: Yeah.

[40:39] Alan Seales: So yeah, that was a fun time. And I remember the stage manager came up to me and she's like, you can't do that. I was like, yeah, no shit, Sherlock.

[40:46] Juan Carlos: I wasn't trying to.

[40:48] Alan Seales: Do you think I did that on purpose?

[40:50] Juan Carlos: Like, what is this?

[40:52] Alan Seales: So then every show after that, once I got to that point of turning it, I would actually hop on to the set and just travel with it until I was in a safe enough place to turn over.

[41:00] Juan Carlos: Wow.

[41:01] Alan Seales: You can't do that.

[41:02] Juan Carlos: Of course I can't.

[41:03] Alan Seales: Of course I can't do that.

[41:04] Juan Carlos: I have a similar story of people always tell me that, I guess, when I mess up. The first day of Broadway rehearsals, I'm feeling pretty good. I had this great, you know, date with the casting monitor and I'm like going to rehearsal. I'm feeling good about myself. And I slip on ice and just eat shit in front of this bodega. And the guy comes out of his bodega and goes, hey, man, you can't do that.

[41:19] Juan Carlos: I wasn't trying to.

[41:25] Alan Seales: Hey, I'm walking here.

[41:28] Juan Carlos: So that's another, I guess, recurring segment of my life is me doing something stupid and someone saying you can't do that.

[41:34] Alan Seales: You should work that into the show somehow.

[41:36] Juan Carlos: Yes, like you tell your castmates. So if you ever like flub a line or something, it's like, hey, you can't do that.

[41:40] Alan Seales: Bob, you can't do that.

[41:43] Juan Carlos: That's great.

[41:44] Alan Seales: All right. So I think you have answered one of these three already, but I have three standard closing questions.

[41:49] Juan Carlos: Let's do it.

[41:50] Alan Seales: First one simply is just what motivates you?

[41:52] Juan Carlos: Man, family is a big one for me. I remember it always comes back to family for me when I was in college. And it's tough when you're, you know, the child of immigrants. There's there's kind of this perception that you stay. You stay in the house, particularly in Latino culture. I think you stay in the house. You find a good job that pays well enough to help support everyone. And you kind of do that. And I had to make the difficult choice to to be the first one in my family to leave Florida. But in a kind of selfish pursuit of my dreams and aspirations. But my mom was always the one to tell me, you go figure out what you need to figure out and we'll always be here for you to come back. So it was always in a sense of to bring success back to my family, to bring whether that be financial gain, domestic out of a rut. You know, my mom, she's the only one in her family, in her immediate family who who left Cuba to come to America. And she's particularly close to her sister who, you know, still to this day, part of the motivation is to to get to a point where we can we can bring her over here and help out with my family in Cuba as much as well. So that that's my biggest motivator for sure is family. And I've also always said I also take kind of an athlete's mentality on acting a little bit. I think as actors, you're kind of trained to, hey, you're you're nothing, you know, you're not the shit. You should take any job you want, whether it's not paying where they treat you poorly, that you are lucky to be doing this. But with athletes, you don't tell them that you tell them what you do is you train, you practice and you become the best you can be. You become the Michael Jordan, you become the Tom Brady, you become, you know, these different goats of their own sport. And I'm nowhere near that at all. But I always aspire to be the best version of myself. I could be and take that athlete's mindset, you know, you know, Kobe back to Kobe Bryant and that that mamba mentality that he always talks about. Those speeches from athletes or watching, you know, game seven of the finals that that always inspired me just as much as listening to, you know, Sir Michael Caine discuss how to act on the camera versus on screen or talk about your Denzel, talk about fences and why it had to be directed by by a black director and all these things that that's just as inspiring as the sports stuff to me.

[44:06] Alan Seales: That's crazy. Cool. All right. So this is one I think you've answered already. What advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening?

[44:12] Juan Carlos: OK, yeah, well, I think to my younger self, I almost don't even want to say anything. I want to just let let him figure it out, you know, because it's working out so far. But yeah, besides the figure out how to be yourself thing, I'd say it's just always treat people with kindness and humility. You know, my mom, the first thing she said when I told her I was cast and I'm going to rehearsals tomorrow was, you say hi to everyone there. I don't care if it's the director or the janitor. You're saying hi to everyone there. And that's that's what I try to keep with me throughout it. And again, I tell it to every actor. Say hi to the PA. Say hi to the grip. Say hi to the janitor. One of my one of my best buddies in high school was the janitor. Her name was Belkys and she was so sweet. And she was from Cuba. And we talk and she had to, like, leave some of her family behind to come here. And, you know, for Valentine's Day, I heard flowers and chocolates, you know, so that's part of it. You know, you have to treat everyone with humility and and chat with everyone as if they're the CEOs.

[45:10] Alan Seales: If you are Bob Newby, I love that.

[45:15] Juan Carlos: OK, last question. This is the hardest one. If you can only see one show for the rest of your life, you can see it as many times as you want. What would you see?

[45:22] Juan Carlos: Ragtime. That's it. I remember I got I was so lucky to do the full production of Ragtime in high school. I played father and and I think that's very rare for a high schooler to be able to do the full production of Ragtime. And it was one of the greatest. It's it's it's the great American musical. That musical is what America is, you know, and I just got to watch it at the at the Lincoln Center. So, oh, gosh, Joshua Henry, especially this production. I could watch forever. I could listen to Joshua Henry's voice for the rest of my life and be happy. So Ragtime, I highly recommend everyone to check it out in any way they can, because it is it is the American musical.

[45:56] Alan Seales: I love that. All right. So where can we connect with you? Find you online. Say hi.

[45:59] Juan Carlos: Yeah, you can find me on Instagram. It's Juan Carlos with two C's because I'm not rich and famous enough yet to just buy Juan Carlos. So it's Juan Carlos on Instagram. You can find me at the Marquee Theater Tuesday through Sunday, playing Bob Newby, introducing the first shadow. You'll find me around. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see I'm doing a lot of developing a pilot with my buddy, my writing partner, and that's going to be really exciting and be in the works real soon.

[46:24] Alan Seales: So if you look for those slightly cracked open doors, you'll find me in there more likely than not.

[46:30] Juan Carlos: Jam a crowbar in there and keep wedging it open.

[46:34] Alan Seales: Yes, sir. That's the way to do it.

[46:35] Juan Carlos: There you go. I am on the theater podcast dot com on part of the Broadway podcast network. You can find me on theater underscore podcast on friends and scream. Tick tock. I'm on Facebook. Leave a rainy review. Tell your friends, leave a comment. Obviously, I respond to those clearly.

[46:48] Juan Carlos: There you go. Thanks to Jukebox, the ghost for the intro, outro music. And Juan, thank you so much. This has been such a fun conversation.

[46:54] Juan Carlos: Lovely. I really appreciate you having me, man.

[46:57] Alan Seales: Deep breath. Make the world a little colorful.