Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Agustina Cedraschi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Agustina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
I was recently offered a lead role in a production of an Off-Broadway show. I was excited and thankful for this opportunity to come along, and so proud of myself for finally feeling I was doing exactly what I needed to do to get callbacks and parts in this industry. I celebrated my win and started to consider the offer. But there was just something off about it. It didn’t feel right. The contract, the script, the project did not excite me, and I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. – Why was I trying to turn down the first role offer I’d had in a hot second? Was I doing some of that famous self-sabotaging? Was I being a “diva” (whatever that word actually means)? – I got upset at myself, I had asked for this, but I felt I shouldn’t do it. So, I asked for advice and my loved ones supported me to do what I felt right. But I wasn’t convinced, what was the “right” thing to do? So, I did more research, until I finally found out how, if not a scam, this project was close enough to a terribly conditioned place to work at. I took a deep breath and found relief; I had found the permission I was looking for. I could say “no.” And so it hit me, the realization of how saying no and turning down opportunities has become a big burden for some of us in this industry (though it probably happens all over), and I noticed how I tried to silence that voice in my head that knew all along what I had to do. So here I am telling you this because I believe we need to go back to the basics and listen to our instincts. No one knows us better than ourselves. We already know what we want and need. It’s just a matter of listening.
Agustina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Agustina Cedraschi and I am an actor born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was always drawn to the performing arts, my parents would take my siblings and I to see theater or movies every weekend, it was one of our favorite things to do as a family. And so, it didn’t take me long to realize how much I admired those people on stage and on screen. I wanted to be just like them. I started taking acting lessons when I entered 1st grade and by 3rd, I´d discovered I could also sing. It was one of those aha! moments where me, the shy girl in class, raised her hand to sing a verse of a song in music class. I´ll never forget how alive I felt. – So, I went on to singing and eventually figured out that it was only smart to train in dancing as well, as it would come in handy when facing Musicals, the end goal. – I started working in the theater industry back home and eventually decided I wanted to train in the US. I had seen what people on Broadway were capable of a few years before and I wanted to learn that. I attended The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) and graduated in 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic. – The following years became a huge challenge, and I can only say how proud I am of all of us for having pushed through that. I spent time working on my craft but also on myself, away from my family and home but supported nonetheless by a community that wouldn’t give up on me. And so, now I feel immensely thankful to be able to work on those stages I always dreamed of acting on, and thrilled to see what comes next.
My credits in the US include: Theater: Julieta, Odd Man Out Live (Bristol Riverside Theater, PA); Ariel, Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. (NYBAF); Jasmine, Disney’s Aladdin Jr. (NYBAF), Flight Attendant, Odd Man Out Semi-LIve (The Flea Theater, NYC); TV/FILM: The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (Amazon Prime). Some of my Buenos Aires Musical Theater credits are: Bárbara in Aquí No Podemos Hacerlo (Teatro El Cubo); Clara in La Previa (Teatro El Cubo), La Máscara de Hierro, Mar del Plata Tour (Teatro Auditorium), La Lágrima En Su Garganta (Centro Cultural Borges), Anastasia in Anastasia (Espacio Onyx), and Ariel in La Sirenita (Auditorio Oeste). IG @aguscedraschi – www.agustinacedraschi.com
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
To emote. I believe that´s always been my fuel to be on this path. I am a person that enjoys deeply sitting through a film, TV show, or play, and find myself changed by it at the end. There is so much richness in being the messenger that allows someone to feel… anything really. – I am humbled by my profession and everyone that practices it. To be able to modify or help understand our human experience is this world and society, to educate, to inform, to make someone laugh when they feel down, to make someone cry when they are chocked on pain that they don´t know how to express. If I can get even one person to experience an inch of all that, even for a second, well I´ll be fulfilled.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One of my mentors back home was a violent person. Someone who exploited and abused me and my fellow artists in infinite different ways throughout the years. I was young and unlearnt on many aspects of life, and when training and working at his company, I suffered the biggest mistreatment I have been victim of in my life. – I am sharing this not to talk about the abuse or find sympathizers but because I believe we have to talk about it. As a community, we have to talk more and more about all the injustices and set clear boundaries on what is right and wrong, what’s allowed and what should never happen, and to normalize calling out the perpetrators. For the longest time I believed I wasn’t going to be able to enjoy singing ever again, to do it without hearing his voice and words of disdain towards my brilliance, just so he could still have power over me.
But I am happy to share that I love singing and acting and being on stage; and thanks to the love and support from my family, all the good people in this industry, my therapists, and my many inspiring teachers and later mentors, I found my way back to myself, to my talents and virtues. Because no one can take away what is ours, and no one should take away our art or inspiration to create and be the best version of ourselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.agustinacedraschi.com
- Instagram: @aguscedraschi
- Facebook: /agus.cedraschi
- Youtube: @agustinacedraschi
Image Credits
Headshots by Jon Taylor