Many artists travel to the “mecca” of live enteratinment — New York — but few attain such impressive credentials in such a short period of time. Jorge Carrión Álvarez — as he rises — can name-drop quite well.
- Your bio states “Jorge has become a finalist at the world famous Actors Studio” … what exactly does that mean?
The Actors Studio, simply put, is a mecca of acting. It’s like an artistic gym where actors can go to keep their skills sharp. It’s the place where legends like Paul Newman, Ellen Burstyn or Al Pacino have honed their craft. The only way to get in is by auditioning. Once you’re in, you’re in for life. There’s a middle status between being a member and not being one: being a finalist. A finalist gets a lot of the perks that members get—we can attend the acting sessions and present work in front of our peers. In just a couple months I’ll be auditioning for full membership, but until then, being a finalist has been a priceless opportunity.
- Ren Gyo Soh has been interviewed by us many times. She’s brilliant. What was it like working with them?
Working with Ren Gyo Soh has been such a lovely experience. It’s such a fantastic company, filled with artists that I really admire. Their style of work is very physical, very visceral, which I really connect with in my acting. Their performances rooted in the traditional Japanese style of Butoh speaks to me as an artist because of its connection to the natural world. It’s definitely been a collaboration that has impacted every other acting project I’ve done.
- Hamlet Isn’t Dead added you to their residency program after your Shakespeare debut? GREAT! Tell us about it!
The folks at Hamlet Isn’t Dead are the definition of fun. Getting to not just act with them in Antony and Cleopatra, but to join their resident acting company has been a dream. Their understanding of Shakespeare is so deep and so rooted in the idea of having fun and playing around. It’s a truly freeing experience as an actor.
- What’s next for you?
I just got cast in “Leavers”, a theatrical work by Vietnamese-American writer Trong Nguyen and director Brian Rhinehart. The play deals with the universal refugee experience through the prism of the Vietnamese diaspora by weaving a narrative of seemingly unconnected fragments in unusual ways, from personal archives and modern newsreels, to the aesthetics of ‘TedToks’, bodybuilding, right wing protests, and old Renault car ads. We’ve just started rehearsals for the show, and so far it has been an amazing experience. It’s the kind of material that I can’t wait to share with audiences.
I also got cast in a musical cabaret adaption of Romeo and Juliet by New Place Players titled “The Masque of Night,”
where I will play Romeo. Rehearsals will start later in the month, and I’m going to have to learn how to play guitar, which is both scary and exciting. Above all, though, I’m grateful that I get to dive back into Shakespeare, especially with such an amazing group of artists.
ARTIUM: OMNI 