Today we’d like to introduce you to Alejandro
Hi Alejandro, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Alejandro Hernandez and I am currently an actor and a stage manager in the Los Angeles area. I’ve been acting for 6 years and stage managing for 2 years. My first acting exposure was in middle school when i took drama classes as my elective since not much else interested me, but theater in general didn’t interest me until high school when I finally performed a play my senior year. After that, a difficult relationship made me abandon almost everything I loved doing but after that ended I started attending college for business but would sneak in some theater classes. Luckily, I took one class that made me stick to theater full time and to this day I am as happy as ever with that choice!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think I mentioned that I live by a lot of quotes I hear and an important one is, “There’s a reason theater is also called the Drama Department.” So, no it has not been a smooth road. Rejection is the number one bump I think many artists struggle to accept. Even in college it can hit hard. But I think with those tough hits, it really can drive you if you don’t make things personal and think what can be done different next time, not better, but different. I think also is the big reveal to family and friends about pursuing a career in the arts. It took my family quite a while to really grasp the fact that I was serious about this and it was really interesting that journey. My parents would be supportive but always told me to have a backup plan just in case, which I completely understand. Funny enough, I agreed to that backup plan idea which is how I ended up being a stage manager. I’ll tell you one thing though, regardless of any struggle that came my way, so much good has came out of it. It’s made me so much stronger, gave me confidence and a backbone as well, but most importantly I stayed knowing this is where I want to be and Theater is where I want to continue working.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an actor, that’s what got me started. I continue to get coaching, I audition wherever I can, and I love being on stage the most. But I do want touch on Stage Management since that is what I am currently preparing for. Stage Management, and this is my interpretation, is the communication bridge between the the director’s vision and the designer’s vision. It’s a lot of paperwork, requires organization and communication skills. I create schedules for rehearsals, call cues for performances and help keep everything in control during rehearsals and performances. It’s hard to talk about what I am known for, but recently I am known for being able to understand what both actors are going through as well as designers etc. Having work on both sides, it helped me understand how to communicate properly with everyone involved in a production. What sets me apart is actually what I am most proud of as well. Production schedules can really make things difficult with so much to do and so little time which can make tensions flare. While that ended up being the case, I was called out on sometimes raising my voice or sounding very agitated at random. I took responsibility for it then and I will still own up to it because it helps me learn what I need to work on if I want to continue doing this. Nothing in that was personal but unfortunately it can easily be perceived that way and I don’t blame anyone for those matters, we all were able to comfortably discuss it and agree that it was a misunderstanding. I’m glad that I can honestly take responsibility when I make mistakes which may be lacking in the world right now, but we can’t grow if we continue to blame others or not own up to our mistakes,
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
One wasn’t actually a lesson, but a reminder. My father always told me that whatever you have in life that is monetary such as a nice car, lots of money, or the nicest house, do not let that run your life because you can lose it all without warning. I saw many start to lose their businesses and then their homes, cars, and nobody deserves that, but life can really be that cruel and take everything away before you can even say wait. We were lucky not to face economic ruin nor health concerns, but it was a stern reminder to appreciate what you have because it can just go away. One thing I definitely learned was being fine when I was alone and in silence. I remember when the lockdown started to ease its restrictions and I was going through this very bad moment in my life and I just decided I was going to go to Italy. Not the best idea but it called to me. I went for 5 days and on the third day I was in my hotel room and in the silence I just though, “What am I going to do when I go back home? What is going to change? Is anything going to change? Did this fix anything?” and that was actually eye opening. I flew miles away from my problems, but they follow you everywhere. But in that time alone, I actually fixed everything because I could actually sit down and just think. Now I enjoy time alone to just think about everything, even recently I just wrapped up a production and there was no celebration for me. I was proud of the work I did but about 2 days later I just sat by myself and said what did I do right and where did I go wrong? I benefit from those moments more than I thought I would.
Image Credits
Francois Pierre Couture
Jesus Enrique Lopez Vargas
Crystal Ruby Juarez
Aung Kyaw
