We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alfretz Costelo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alfretz below.

Alfretz, appreciate you joining us today. Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?

During the covid lock down, I did some soul searching on what really made me happy – it was always acting. And so I spent my stimulus checks on Acting Classes on Zoom to help shake off the 15 year rust that settled on my craft. I took my experience in running hotels in New York and Los Angeles into developing my acting business and incorporated my sales background into taking meetings with agents and finally getting representation. With the self tape boom, I built my own home studio and found a community of actors that were just as motivated and passionate about helping each other prepare for auditions and finding different ways to practice our craft, from table reads to Audrey Moore’s Self Tape May Challenges on Instagram to creating original content for web series. My business model shifted from corporate to creative and I never felt more free. My focus has been building a community of creatives and helping each other be successful in one of the most competitive industries in LA.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born in Manila and moved to Guam when I was three. As a child of the 90’s I was naturally raised by television. I learned English from watching Nickelodeon and learned about American culture from Saved by the Bell and Family Matters. Television was a portal to other worlds and I wanted to be a part of it. But being so far from the mainland it always seemed like just a dream. When I was 17 my family relocated to New Jersey and a year later I moved to San Francisco to go to SFSU only to drop out of college to go to acting school in New York. After a 1 year conservatory I booked my first Off-Broadway show and thought this acting thing was easy! When the show came to a close I quickly realized that finding an agent in New York was tough, but I kept taking classes at The Acting Studio, working on Off-Off Broadway shows, and did background work for 2 years, before finally getting a Union voucher from a gig on Blue Bloods. That year SAG and AFTRA combined and I immediately learned that now I was competing at an Olympic level with seasoned actors. I didn’t work again for 10 years until my survivor job in the hotel industry transferred me to Los Angeles. Where a 2 week background job on Disney’s live action Mulan, reignited my dreams to be a working actor. I took my experience in hotel operations to build my foundation of my acting business: organization, professionalism, and hospitality. Three years now back on my creative path, with my reps at Kreativ Artists we have booked roles on: Station 19, CSI: Vegas, The Rehearsal, Made for Love, and Magazine Dreams. Somewhere back in Guam, a Filipino kid is watching television on his dad’s iPad. I want to help him see himself in the roles I play, see his family in the projects taken on, and know that the mainland is not too far away. It has been a long journey to just get things started out here in LA, but I am not alone. I have my team and my community of fellow creatives and Filipino American storytellers, ready to share our dream.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I booked my first big gig towards the end of the pandemic, for a recurring role on a new television series. It took me 15 years to finally get a line and the character was challenging and had an arc that would develop more by the second season. We shot a promotional video for the show out in Joshua Tree and on my way home from set, I never felt more alive. I knew this was what I was meant to do with my life, and that my purpose is coming to play. A week later my union placed a Do Not Work order on the project due to casting controversy. I reached out to my agent at the time and asked for advice. She said I could either drop the project or go to Fi-Core, meaning I would become a non-voting member, but could work both union and non-union jobs, which would be best since I had no TV Credits. I chose to stick with my Union and dropped out of the show. I did not want to compromise my future for one project and got back to auditioning for other shows. I have yet to book my next big gig, but I am just grateful for every opportunity I get to come to play.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

it’s important to know that you are not alone in your journey. Community is everything. It makes the journey so much more enjoyable, knowing that there are people ahead of you in the game that can teach you to get better to reach their level, and that there is the next generation of artists behind you looking for advice and direction. I am inspired by my friends and colleagues, they are my teachers, my Union brothers and sisters, and my safety net on a bad day. I enjoy being able to celebrate and support others, because they prove that it is possible, and that my turn will come and I won’t have to dance alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alfretzcostelo.wixsite.com/website
• Instagram: @alfretzcostelo
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9489453/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_2_nm_6_q_alfret

Image Credits
Headshot – Cameron Radice Photography, Event – Ray Raymundo, All others are my iphone