We recently had the chance to connect with Alaizabel Cray and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alaizabel, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
Right now, I am definitely wandering! I feel like I’ve lived so many lifetimes, even before covid. For a while, I lived a wild dual life where I was a federal government worker by day, and by night I was walking in fashion shows in the Denver area and doing whatever acting/standup comedy gigs I could pick up. I also used to have this hard and fast idea of where I wanted to be five or ten years after I started acting and modeling professionally. I don’t do that anymore. I’m happy to go wherever the wind takes me and learn as much as I can in the process.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Alaizabel Cray. I am a model, actress (screen/stage/voice), and dancer, although I always pay homage to where I came from as a cosplayer. I got my start in Colorado, although I just recently moved to the Inland Empire to be closer to my family.
I had started cosplaying in 2014 when my partner at the time invited me to Nan Desu Kan, the largest anime convention in Colorado. Although that relationship didn’t work, I fell in love with something even better: the art of dressing up and pretending to be fictional characters! Three years after I attended my first convention, I went to a panel at Denver Pop Culture Con called “Confidence in Cosplay”. Both of the panelists have become very dear friends of mine, and one of them is even a signed model and actress herself and used cosplay to kickstart her career. Having wanted to act and model for years and years, that panel revolutionized how I saw myself and what I thought was possible for me.
Fast forward to the covid pandemic in 2020. All the cons were cancelled. So, I took some acting and modeling classes online through Southwest Model and Talent in Denver. When I graduated, I was signed to their in-house agency. Over the past five years, I’ve appeared as an extra in several independent films, provided my voice to an intense radio drama called “Foreward”, and modeled in several fashion shows in the Denver area. In 2022, I competed at the International Model and Talent Association conference in Los Angeles where I received two honorable mentions, and I won first prize in my age division in the screen test event.
However, my main bread and butter is improvisational acting. My background as a cosplayer served me well when I performed with American Immersion Theater as a murder mystery performer. I also played five of the Disney princesses with AIT’s Princess Party Company.
I still cosplay when I can find the time! I’ve performed in several cosplay-themed variety shows back in Denver. My favorite acts are ones where I take popular Pokemon and imagine what they would be like as humans! I have also been a guest at several conventions including the Colorado Cosplay Party (where I won Best Actor in the cosplay competition!) and at Nerd Con in Mont Belvieu, Texas.
My stage name comes from the cosplay alias I gave myself in 2016. Most cosplayers give themselves a cosplay alias so others in the community can find them. Mine came from my favorite book in high school: The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding. Ultimately, when I got signed to my agency, I asked myself if casting directors were going to remember “Rebecca Ruhter” or “Alaizabel Cray” at the end of the day.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that has served its purpose is my need to please others. I have found this to be true when I produced my first variety show back in Colorado and got my first taste of other people’s opinions of me. And not all of them were pleasant! I can do everything to plan a show that will appeal to as many people as possible, but at the end of the day, one person will still be unhappy for reasons I can’t control and that probably have nothing to do with me.
I also learned that while it’s wonderful to have a muse, they also can’t be the entire focus of my art. This year I met someone who sort of became my creative muse when planning a lot of my photoshoots. However, I also started to lose some of what made me what I am as an artist. Instead of letting my muse serve me as inspiration, I felt like I was making art to make my muse happy.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could say one thing to my younger self, it would be to trust the process and let myself be surprised. I’m dating myself just a little bit with this question, but when I was a kid, I used to have this idea that I needed to get on a reality show like American Idol or America’s Next Top Model to have the kind of career as a performer/model that I used to dream of. Instead, my journey to get where I am was a wonderful surprise that I could have never planned. Furthermore, I’ve gotten to be friends with people who have gone on reality shows, and they’ve trusted me with their stories. And while I wouldn’t be against getting on the right one, I also know it’s not easy for those that participate in them.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me is about as real as I can get. On my fan pages, you’ll hear me talk about things that matter to me. You’ll hear me occasionally share my experiences as to what it’s like for me to live as an autistic woman with ADHD. In fact, those things have helped me secure writing work for two businesses who work with adults on the spectrum. I’m happy to share my lived experiences with others in a candid way that helps someone else know that it’s okay to be themselves. This is especially true since there was a time, particularly growing up, where I didn’t enjoy being me.
One of the best compliments I ever received was from a talent scout named Lala Gentry. She was a talent scout who recruited me for the IMTA conference I competed at in Los Angeles back in 2022. She said, “With you, what we see is what we get.”
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
If you were to strip me away of my name (both my legal one and my stage name), all of the things I do as a model, writer, and entertainer, and if you were to take away everything I own, you would find a woman who, at the end of the day wants three things:
1. To be a good person who still has fun
2. To make sense of this crazy existence we call life
3. To give love to others fiercely and to be loved in return
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/alaizabelcraycosplay
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/alaizabelcraycosplay
Image Credits
Shots by Saku
Yuki Cat Captures
Alex V. Media
Lost Stars Imaging
Enfoque Interno Fotografia
Katya Nunez
