Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Corte.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m originally from Mexico. That’s where I was born and raised and where I grew up until I turned 19 years old. I grew up loving the Disney Channel and High School Musical, so the moment I learned about musical theatre I jumped right into it. I spent my whole childhood in choir, theatre, and taking dance lessons. I was able to work professionally as a child actor in Lylo El Cocodrilo and La Villa De Santa Claus, but it wasn’t until I came back home from spending a summer at Interlochen Arts Camp that I knew I wanted to perform for a living. Next thing I knew, I graduated from the American Musical And Dramatic Academy with a Bachelor’s in Musical Theatre, and I was working in commercials for brands like Garnier, I was doing shorts and pilots for TV, and I was doing shows like Rent and Newsies with renown directors and cast-mates.
It’s been a very crazy journey but it I am truly grateful for every up and down. Currently, I’m still performing, but I also teach at The Youth Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lightening Entertainment and Education, and Arthur Murray Pasadena.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This journey has not been easy by any means. I mean, being an international artist, trying to succeed in the capital of entertainment comes with many many challenges, but probably the main struggle any artist faces is identity.
I have the honor and blessing of considering myself a performer with a very unique intersectionality. I am a mestizo Mexican, I’m brown, I’m bisexual, I grew up bilingual, I’m a Gen Z, I’m skinny, I grew up in different cultures, etc. I’ve been developing all these unique qualities about myself that have allowed me to stand out, but at the same time it has become a weapon for people to make me feel undeserving. It is really discouraging to walk into an audition room and be turned down because you don’t look the right way because you are too queer, or not queer enough, or too Mexican, or not Mexican enough, or too young, or too small, and so on, all these things that have nothing to do with your talent or how good you are for a role.
One of the hardest things in my career has probably been finding the strength to embrace these things and make them my secret weapon in an audition. Finding strength in my uniqueness has shown me how many more opportunities are actually available to me and has created many more as well.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am very much a triple threat, which means I act, sing, and dance, but the last one is definitely my strongest and has become the center of who I am as an artist. I do many styles but my main passions are jazz, hip-hop, and partnered dance styles. Even in the musical theatre scene, which is where I started working as a performer, I am known for my dance ability. I’ve never considered myself the best-trained dancer or the one with the best technique, but I’m definitely thankful to my Mexican roots for giving me this intensity and passion when I dance. I have always been able to connect and convey emotion through dance ever since I was little, and in my opinion, that is something that can’t be taught. This quality is for sure the thing that has gotten me gigs, in and outside of dance.
My most proud moment has to be when I got to do Disney’s Newsies with 5-Star Theatricals in the role of Albert. This had been a show that I dreamt of doing, and that I thought I was not even remotely ready to do, but when I got cast in this production directed by the Richard J. Hinds – original assistant director of the Broadway production- I had to get over my own insecurities and just dive in. I had never been more proud of myself! It truly was a project for the books that I will forever carry in my heart.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Your work ethic speaks more than your talent! I think I can’t emphasize that enough, and it has been a game-changer in my career. Out there, in the industry, are so many types of people with multiple personalities and points of view, and outstanding talent, which is amazing! That should always be welcomed and encouraged, but there is also so many individuals that let the worst out of their personalities come to light in a professional environment, and that is so dangerous for a career.
I’ve seen so many dear friends give up on their dreams, get blacklisted, lose a gig or audition just because of their poor work ethic. Just because they walk into this industry with high expectations and lack the will to navigate the field with humbleness and kindness. This is an industry with a really good sense of memory and self-preservation, so people that try to join this circle with strong egos and pretentious attitudes tend to be forgotten or excluded pretty quickly. The best thing to do, especially when you’re just getting started, is to be a hard worker with lots of grace and patience and the most humble of egos. If it comes down to it, a director would rather cast somebody that is easy to work with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kevin-corte.info
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevin_corte/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corte.kevin
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@kevin_corte
Image Credits
Jeffrey Ditto
