Today we’d like to introduce you to Isaiah Garcia

Hi Isaiah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

I grew up in Wisconsin and did my first show in Kindergarten, I played the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk which is ironic because I’m 5’6. I did theater throughout school and then joined a local theater company when I was in High School. I fell in love with acting on stage instantly and started taking voice lessons as well as some acting classes. I tried my hand at musicals and really enjoy doing them but need to find one with minimal dancing so the audience doesn’t think I am going into cardiac arrest on stage. I met my best friend Will my Junior year and we instantly clicked we spoke the same nerdy semi antisocial language. We spent the next two years watching movies or reading the scrips from our favorites.I told him I was thinking about going to film school and he couldn’t have pushed me to do it more, he’s been the biggest supporter ever since. I moved to New York to go to school when I was 19 and while it was a terrifying experience at times it was the best decision I ever made. From that point I made a promise to myself to do whatever scared me. I was lucky enough to find a friend within my first ten minutes I met Connor from Alaska on day one and we met Sandra from Mexico City within the first month, we lived together for 3 years. Familial doesn’t even begin to cover the bond I have with these people, I am in complete awe of their talent and who they are as people they are truly the other pair of older siblings I didn’t want. Music was also a huge thing in my house I have been singing Sinatra with my mom or Vicente Fernandez with my dad on every road trip since I can remember. Missing those times but also singing Marvin Gaye with my friend Sophia was another part of home I was missing but found a little of in New York.

Alright, 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?

Anyone who is in pursuit of a career in any kind of creative field can tell you that challenges are obstacles are constant but its what you make of them and how much you let them affect you that is often the tricky part, We are in a field of constant rejection and that can be very heavy on your mental health. In the past few months I have had a wave of ups and downs the biggest being getting very very close on roles that would’ve been a huge step and ultimately being told no or projects I was getting ready to shoot my part for crumbling at the last minute and not moving forward. Even something as simple as getting consistent auditions can be a huge obstacle for actors. What I’ve seen happen and done myself which is really harming but in the beginning a very common thing to do is putting your entire self worth as an actor into the outcome of a role. What really helped me overcome that was taking a step back and going to the root of those feelings. “Build that base of who you are as a person and find that self worth outside of the pursuit and you won’t ever be knocked down” is a gem I was given last week that I have been saying ever since.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

Ive been apart of some amazing projects thanks to the people involved. I was in a play called Death Keeps His Court for the Chain Theater festival last year written by Connor Wilson. We had an amazing run and I got to work with a group of actors I would work with again in a heartbeat. I did a play called Our Dad Is In Atlantis for the Lower East Side Theater festival as well as the New York Latino Play Festival. it was my first time acting in Spanish and my co star Daniel and I had a great time, I learned a completely new way of approaching a scene because of him. Ive done small work in Film and Tv and was fortunate enough to get representation through the work I’ve done as well as the help of other amazing actors this past May. Since then I’ve been sending self tapes back to New York as well as Auditioning in Chicago for film, tv and theater. I have a small hand in a couple of exciting projects coming out throughout the course of the year and next.

What are your plans for the future?

I have always wanted to write and direct my own project. Ive been taking notes while I rewatch some of my favorite movies and asking some talented directors I know for tips and tricks. I’m very thankful to have these people to lean on because let’s be real I am going to need all the help I can get.My co writer/director and I are about to send the first draft of our script out to friends who are writers and get absolutely demolished so we can start our rewriting process. The movie is about the aftermath of a small town bank robbery focusing on the only two who have not been caught yet. The idea of directing always terrified me because of the amount of talent and knowledge needed to do it. One of the great things about being on sets as an actor is it’s basically free film school if you ask questions. I’ve been lucky enough to work on some amazing ones and take mental notes whenever I was able to watch them be directed. Will being a very talented writer helps me be able to hand that off to him while I try and figure out what a C stand is or practice saying “action” in the mirror, we start shooting this summer.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isaiah_garcia1234/

Image Credits

@https://www.instagram.com/jerome.is.home/