Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Harrison Canals.
Carlos, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Early back when kid, me and my sister used to make fake radio stations, changing our voices to play so many different characters. Also, I was sister’s actor, she definitely was the director, she would dress me like dad or mom or as who whatever came through our imagination at that time. I have to say that since then, I knew the arts, the performance was definitely a part of me. Also, I would like to mention that every year my uncles would have a little play with Skechers for us cousins to perform in little performances and to show to the family on Three Kings Day. Long after, back in high school, I found out theater was that branch of the arts that I’d fall in love with. My first big character to play was Willy Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” this was the first time I experienced a big audience, still remember the humbling proud pleasure of that experience. Forward in college, I started in philosophy, but that didn’t last long because the arts we’re calling me. Then things started to get serious when students with no budget had to build a whole production from scratch. I went through this experience in different ways my six years of bachelor in “The Public University of Puerto Rico”.
Overall, experiences like these throughout my whole career definitely are the ones that went straight to the veins of my soul. Understanding that we could do so much with so little and that the more innovative we get, the more physical evidence we’ll have in our memories that proves to us, we can overcome whatever the tomorrow brings us. If A big part of us is our actions, then I would have to say, I became a lightning designer and stage designer as well as an actor my college years. One of my lightning designs was on “Hamlet” a college production made by students, after that, my Lightning Design for “Hamlet” was shown at “Theater Albany” in Georgia. Had the opportunity to travel and perform a Play called “Platero An I” by Juan Ramón Jiménez at “The Fringe Festival” in Edinburgh Scotland and at Washington DC “The Kennedy Center”. In the need of travel and perform, these experiences we’re seducing me more every time. I knew it was gonna be my career, my life’s way. I would say that brought me here to Los Angeles and also the need to challenge myself outside of my comfort zone.
First, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I “decided” or went with my “gut instinct “ for the auditioning process of a MFA. Like if something in me knew that I needed more and a deeper understanding of this art form and even know more about myself, who I was and what was the idea I had of me. There is so much that we learn and do throughout mimicking, we just have to look outside of us to know that whatever is inside it’s a mix of all of that we exposed ourselves to. So, I started mimicking everything that I was learning from the teachings of every single professional that I’ve had the blessing of working with. Professionals like David Warshofsky, Natsuko Ohama,
Alexandra billings, Mary-Joan Negro, Vicki Lewi, Gregg Daniel, Luis Alfaro. And the list goes on at USC (University of Southern California) where I spend my last three years mastering the craft of acting for the stage and for the camera with a little bit of every style or techniques such as Stanislavski Method, Classical Acting, Method Acting, Meisner, Chekhov, Uta Hagen, Viola Spolin, Commedia dell’arte, Stella Adler, Clown.
Now I’m in my fourth year here in Los Angeles, it has been a constant hustle and surviving mood to understand this beast of industry, but I do have a good team of managers at “frameworks” working with me along the way. In special moments I’d felt to call myself an artist, in others a craftsman. Lately, I’ve been working in construction, security, gardening, and before the pandemic started a masseuse. I know this is part of the craftsman in me constantly working and feeding ideas and experiences into my inner artist that knows that only through experience we could actually know and the rest is just understanding. (Or vice versa) Every time I can find a moment where I could apply my study’s in my daily day routine, it’s a moment where I feel strong as a craftsman, as an actor, as an artist. Mostly because moments like these are the ones that tell me that I have it in me.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The first thing that comes to mind when I have to talk about an obstacle is the language barrier, my first language is Spanish so literally every day I’m translating my surroundings. I don’t think there is such thing as a smooth path there will be obstacles and we must learn from them. So if I’m gonna mention some obstacles I’ve had in my process as an actor, I will definitely have to mention the change of environment. Living in LA has been definitely a cultural shock to me, let’s just say it’s not as welcoming as where I’m from, which is also my “comfort zone”. Within a year and a half in California, I started to see and feel how it was affecting my social skills and my artistic way of looking at life, the fact that I was born and raised in another part of the world that moves way differently, let’s say slower or is that I do have a slower-paced, because of my nature or dyslexia or, as my therapist mentioned to me, my sensory processing trauma.
This is one of the biggest reasons why I would have to say that moving from my comfort zone was an obstacle, but I’m deciding to use the word was, even though it still is. Nothing is forever and Every cloud has a silver lining. These decisions brought me here today and it has given me a big list of who I am under these circumstances, that means I’d have more knowledge of who I am and what I do under different circumstances. As an artist, I truly believe that the more we know about ourselves the more versatile and understanding to others we can be. Another moment that felt like an obstacle during this time here in LA has been going back home to Puerto Rico and somehow feeling that I’m not “ni de aquí no de allá” which means I’m not from there neither from here. Not experiencing a natural tragedy, such as Hurricane Maria, somehow made me feel even more detached from my country. This was a historic moment for my people that everyone has etched in their blood today and to say that as a Puerto Rican, I don’t have that experience cause I’m looking for a dream in the United States… It’s giving me a bit of a bitter taste.
I still work with making peace with that reality. But more than that, also the not knowing anything about my family and friends for months, that brought me a lot of anxiety and sadness and I was separating myself more and more from the arts because I just wanted to be back home helping in everything I knew I could. This “obstacle” that I’m gonna to mention, I believe any artist have struggled with it too and that’s maintaining the stamina, the dream alive, being patient. This is a fast-paced world and being patient, it seems that is key to “success” but as the world goes faster, it’s like patients running out. Maybe there’s this “need” of being where we want to go fast. Somehow we forget to enjoy the ride and it’s the ride that gives weight to every goal that we accomplish.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I don’t think I’m known for the career I’ve had in Puerto Rico or here in LA. The people that know about me are the ones who have worked with me. All the plays and films that I’ve been in, their part of the education institution. I have worked doing voice over for narration in Spanish for Netflix and I gave life to a character for the first time back home in a production called “You Point out and I’ll shoot” written and directed by Ian Ramos. Like I said I’m not known by this works probably for the people that saw me it was a successful play which I was proud to be a part of. Something else I’ve heard a few times along my career is that I bring “good energy” or even “luck” to the project still don’t know if that was something I was born with or a skill that I’ve acquired. Also, some of my coworkers in different productions had mentioned me how I work. I’ve heard that I have a dangerous empathy, and I’m still grasping to understand what that meant, but complements that I’ve humbly received are the ones of a person who gives themselves to the project.
Every time I learn something new, it’s because I work hand to hand with different branches of the production, for example, I’ve seen myself doing a better job to make easier the work of the editor in a film. I understand how important their job is, how much of an influence they have to tell the story that I’m telling. Also, another reason why I believe those compliments to be true is my formation in theater working as a lightning and stage designer that has definitely helped me to understand the tone, the static, the rhythm and the blocking of the production in a way that an actor should understand not only from the characters point of view. It’s worth mentioning my young energy of wanting to play on stage in a serious and humorous way with all my colleagues. I recognize that many times in my work, I am pleased to make my colleagues look good.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I have a memory and we were there to say that I was almost five maybe four years old when I was seeing the same movie over and over again, it was Jack and the bean stock a Black and white Abbott and Costello movie from the 50s. My parents always remind me how much I learned that movie and I was saying the words even though I didn’t understood what they meant. Since then, I think they know the performance was gonna be a big part of my life.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4905 Pinafore St
Los Angeles, CA 90008
United States - Phone: 7879695639
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @cahaca
Image Credit:
Julián Joaquín, Anna Azarov
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