The 2nd Act Players #MeToo Play Festival will star six amazing actors, each of whom will be playing a variety of roles in our six short plays. Today, read about Shaul Guerrero and then click here to buy your tickets for the festival.
1. What prompted you to become an actor?
I have always played different characters even when I was a little girl. I didn’t know that I had the spirit of an actor at the time. I just found so many characters inspiring and I would take them into myself. If you asked any of my friends to describe my style or aesthetic they would tell you I play a different character with my clothing every couple of months. I have always believed in my past lives and in something bigger than myself. As an actor I can hone into those lives and be all that I am in my heart.
2. How are you preparing for the challenge of playing multiple characters in multiple plays during our staged readings?
I am trying to apply Chekhov technique. Each character leads with different parts of their bodies. They truly do live in me in some way. I just need to evoke them through movement.
3. What feelings/thoughts have the scripts for the festival left with you?
These scripts spotlight familiar emotions and even situations I have experienced or witnessed with close friends. Each script stirs questions with how sexism and abuse buds it’s head and how people deal. I want to bring authenticity to these roles because I think they will resonate with so many women. The feeling of shame, feeling small and powerless and guilty because someone else acted out in a way that was inappropriate and deemed “normal” is all too familiar for many of us. Awareness is here. Now we need to exercise change.
4. What’s your favorite warm-up exercise to prepare for a show?
I love to stretch and feel “in” my body. I play with movement and manifest water, earth, fire and air and try to walk leading with my thinking,feeling and willing centers. A quick prayer doesn’t hurt either.
-Shaul Guerrero