Today, we’d like to introduce you to Tristan J. Shuler.
Hi Tristan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Currently, I am a writer/director/actor currently working on the West Coast premiere of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical A STRANGE LOOP after recently premiering the new Craig Lucas musical world premiere of PRELUDE TO A KISS.
I’ve been working on new works of musicals as an actor, script consultant, and director for a decade now, and I’ve been working as a screenwriter for the last three years. I’ve been a professional storyteller my whole life, with its ups and downs, but it’s been since I was that little Black boy with the form singing “My Chains are Gone” at the altar for my church back in Brooklyn.
I studied music theory and sacred liturgy from the age of 7 or 8 when I traveled around the East Coast with an award-winning boys’ choir, and then I found sketch comedy and long-form improv in middle school at the same time that musical theatre found me. It was the perfect fit, and to be honest, it’s been a roller coaster since. I decided around age 12 that this was what I was going to do for the rest of my life: tell captivating stories that made people laugh, cry, and change.
Since then, I’ve traveled the country with a handful of different musicals, performed at the Drama Desk Awards, taught musical theatre internationally, directed Off-Broadway, optioned a couple of TV series, coached hundreds of screenwriters and actors who’ve gone on to do stellar work, among some other very strange and fabulous accomplishments that remind me each day how odd it is to be in this line of work.
I grew up on a military base as the youngest kid in a multiracial Jesus-loving family, and being the queer-coded little artsy kid was one of the biggest burdens and gifts I’ve ever been given. I work hard. I don’t sleep enough. Unless I’m depressed, then I sleep way too much. I struggle with self-love despite some of the beautiful things I’ve accomplished in this life. I plan to accomplish much more, and I’m just getting started.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve been broken too many times to count. I’ve been homeless. I’ve been (am?) broke. I’ve been ignored.
I’ve been bullied. I’ve been taken advantage of. All the things. But if it was easy, it probably wouldn’t be worth doing.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a multi-hyphenate writer-director-actor who cares deeply about the human experience. I care deeply about leading a life filled with joy, and I think, at its core, that’s what being an artist is about. It’s our job to foster an essence of such unlimited joy that it bleeds out in our work for the rest of humanity to feel, process, and heal from.
That being said, I approach all my work with this sense of heart, including the numerous actors and writers I coach and consult for. I’ve worked with hundreds of actors and writers, dozens of whom have sold their scripts to prominent production houses and streamers, and even more booked acting jobs on major streamers, networks, Broadway shows, national tours, and more.
I have no interest in molding an artist – so much of my training was “how to mold you to the most sellable or the most commercial.” Still, I think what makes you different and unique is what sells you, so as a coach and consultant, I specialize in finding that hook and finding that strange little nuance that makes your art so different and so uniquely you, and I work to elevate that and honor that.
Usually it’s very hard to take your advice – probably why so many of my clients see bigger paychecks than me! But I’m most proud of the fact that I’m starting to take my advice and starting to look at my work objectively outside of myself and my own biases. That, no doubt, is why things have started to pop off in the way that feels right for me.
Within the last six months, I’ve performed in the world premiere of PRELUDE TO A KISS: THE MUSICAL at South Coast Repertory filmed an independent digital TV series co-EP’d by Queen Mutha Keke Palmer, was a principal performer in the revival of the iconic La Cage nightclub at the Hollywood Roosevelt, signed with my first legitimate talent manager, developing numerous pilots and my first feature, crowdfunding for a rom-com workplace dramedy with my fabulous bridal consultant co-writer.
I’m currently performing in the Tony, Pulitzer, and Drama Desk-winning Broadway musical West Coast premiere of A STRANGE LOOP at American Conservatory Theatre and Center Theatre Group… just to name a few of the things I’m working on. Bless.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Joy. I’ve been so busy and booked and #blessed, but I didn’t consider any of that success because I was miserable and I wasn’t working on anything that brought me joy. It took me about a year to do this interview – I’m so sorry! I’ve made so many life changes in the last year – hell, in the last month – that has brought me closer to feeling at peace and full of joy.
And even though I might be making less “money,” I feel more successful than I have in quite a while. Are you living a life filled with joy? That’s a successful life. There’s nothing more radical than living a life filled with joy. Resume and accomplishments are cute and all, but what does it mean if you’re miserable?
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9241721/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
- Instagram: instagram.com/TristanJShuler
- Facebook: facebook.com/TristanJShuler
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristanjshuler/
- Twitter: twitter.com/TristanJShuler
Image Credits
Brayden Hade Photography and Jae Eun Seok Photography
