Check Out Nick Luis’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Luis.

Hi Nick, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in the city but was raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Growing up in NYC was not easy, especially when my parents divorced at an early age and my mom being a single mother who was and still is very ill and really couldn’t work a job was very hard. I practically grew up homeless, couch surfing from house to house for periods of time and that was my reality for most of my teenage years and early adulthood. Until I turn 25 and decide that enough is enough, I need stability. I need to get this together all on my own. All the while discovery who I was as a gay Latino man. The arts were where I could really find myself, express myself and find solace during these difficult times. I knew I always wanted to be in this industry, especially as an actor and make this my life. While I was training at the Barrow Group School in NYC, I was also finishing my undergrad degree in Psychology which was a lot of the times considered my backup in case the arts didn’t work, but now it’s considered smart to have that under my belt which I can utilize in this industry; understanding the mind is important. When I finished training as an actor at the Barrow Group, I was my classes Associate Producer while we were getting our showcase together and I learned everything there is to know about producing an Off Off Broadway production and when I completed all this education, I feel that is when everything took off from there. I produced my first Off-Off Broadway production of Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegria Hudes in May of 2017, starred in as the main character and it was a successful sold-out weekend.

Later that year, my co-star and best friend and now business partner formed Blended City and began doing monthly showcases and workshops and small theater shows, etc. throughout five years. Within those five I decided to get my Master in Arts Administration at Baruch College and graduated in 2021, the first in my family and transitioned Blended City into a nonprofit and it is our mission to support and connect nontraditional artists in disadvantaged communities by providing a multidisciplinary space to create. All the while gaining opportunities by becoming the Associate Producer to the hit Broadway musical Come From Away, gaining a talent manager for my acting career, having the honor of being a published poet in the anthology series: Out Loud by Read or Green Books publishing house and training to be a meditation teacher to help serve LGBTQ+ creative artists in aligning, balance heal from within. Although life was really hard growing up, I never let it become my life, but actually fuel it to make my life what I want it to be.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The struggles came from not having a stable home to grow up in and just be a kid/teenager and also, being gay in a world that still to this day does not like us. Feeling judged for that, but also not having both parents or a home and being Latino was difficult to manage. However, I always was a person to still be me no matter what even when I was scared, nervous or had no confidence. One of my teachers very early on said this “no matter what happens in your life the most important thing that will make you successful is by simply being yourself” and that helped me navigate this life.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an actor, producer, published poet and meditation teacher. I specialize in the arts in many different disciplines, however, the one that I find is most effective and can effect change is being an arts administrator. As a very young field to be in due to the arts “figuring it out” for many years there is an actual program(s) that you can go through to get professional training which essentially is running your own arts business. Everything I do in the arts world is also through a lens of being in a business; being an actor is a business, how do I market myself, what roles do I pursue, having a manager. Being a producer is all the way a business, bringing things together, people, finances, locations, partnerships, etc and being a poet and getting published, being a meditation teacher and getting work, marketing myself as such, etc. I feel learning the business side of things will definitely help with your artistic endeavors. There are three things I can say I am proud of which are; having a manager, someone who wants to represent me because they believe in me and my talent, shout out to Arcos Management! Next is getting my master’s degree. Many may think differently, but where I come from this is a huge deal. And lastly, having Blended City a nonprofit arts organization based in NYC and it’s our mission to support and connect nontraditional artists in disadvantaged communities by providing a multidisciplinary space to create.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I definitely see it being a bit more progressive and be a bit more healthy as far as everyone can shine in their own way. There is so much sun and light that we do not need to compete with one another to achieve the same goal. We are artists, humans that just want to be seen and heard and if we allow people to have that, we will be in a much better place as an industry but also as a society.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blendedcity.org
• Instagram: mr.nickluis
• Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/nickluis

Image Credits
Most pictures except the picture of me laughing looking down under the umbrellas are credited to Margherita Andreani @imacheesecake on IG and Margherita Andreani Photography on Facebook And the other one that is an exception is the picture of me smiling with a coral shirt that is credited to J. Demetrie Photography. On IG its @jdemetriephotography