We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Regina Carregha. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Regina below.
Hi Regina, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
El Otro Oz produced by Theater Works US, has been an extremely special project I’ve worked on. Being part of a Latinx adaptation of the legendary story of The Wizard of Oz, was such a gift. The cast was conformed by Mayelah Barrera, Gerardo Esparza, Rafael Hernandez, Juan Danner and Indra Palomo. All of our cast and crew were from the Latinx diaspora, and that is extremely rare. Our production embraced our culture, the rich accents, and passion we bring to the table. For me it was a celebration of my roots, my Mexican roots. It was a safe space to make mistakes, and to go all aboard in the passion and intensity while the character development was happening. With the music written by Jaime Lozano and Tommy Newman, we sung to bachata, merengue, and veracruz style. Our costumes designed and created by Christopher Vergara explored the multiculturality within Mexico. The choreography by Andrea Guajardo brought beautiful storytelling with an authentic representation to folkore dance. And with the incredible guidance and direction by Elena Araoz, our story flew to the roof, and resonated with our wonderful audience, making people laugh, cry and dance in their seats, because they felt seen and their stories represented.
I am also currently working on a Day of the day musical titled “Sugar Skull” written by Gregory Van Acker, also directed by the incredible Elena Araoz, and produced by Mexico Beyond Mariachi, and Rhythm of the Arts. This story is so important because we go through the journey of Dia de Muertos, a Mexican cerebration for our loved lost ones. The rehearsal process has been such a wonderful time. We have shared deep moments during the discussions of the text, traditional dances and songs- What I love the most about this project is that it has pushed me out of my comfort zone, as well as connect with my indiginous roots, by learning traditional dances such as “La Danza de los Diablos”, “El baile de los Viejitos”, and getting to sing a traditional song in nahuatl, which is usually sung to praise the Virgen de Guadalupe. We will be touring all over the country and will be my first national tour.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born and raised in Mexico. I was always drawn to the arts, whether it was theater, or dance, my parents always signed me up for classes. At 8 years old, I fell in love with theater, as soon as I was performing on a stage, as “trash #3” in an original play about saving the environment. During high school I was part of local Musical Theater productions and after I graduated I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to pursue a career in Theater. After two years I decided to move to the New York City since I was accepted at the 3 year conservatory at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. After I graduated I started working as an actress, singer, director and playwright. I am extremely proud of the work I’ve done as a Mexican artist in the United States. I love connecting with other immigrants in the arts. Our job as storytellers is to save humanity through our stories. To make the audience feel seen, and recognized. We are beings of community, and I believe that through the art of Theater, Film and TV, we get to connect and truly feel like we belong and we are not the only ones with a certain experience.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
One of my goals is to change the narrative told by the media about the Latine community, specially about Mexicans. I believe, that there’s a lack of accurate representation, and that NEEDS TO CHANGE. Accurate representation is so important. If a child sees someone in a movie/play/series that looks like them, they will grow up knowing that they can achieve anything in the world. Growing up, I would’ve loved to see more people who look, and speak like me, portrayed as presidents, lawyers, and in positions of power. When the stories in the media mirror the diversity we see in the real world, that’s the moment when we will know we have made progress.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Leaving my country at 18 and moving to the US came with a lot of sacrifices. I have an accent when I speak English, and for the longest time I felt the need to assimilate, to pass. In college, all international students had to mandatory take an “American Accent Acquisition” class, which by the way, we had to pay extra for. Looking back at the bigger picture, it’s always good to have that tool in my belt, however some of the ways it was taught didn’t sit well with me. We were encouraged to adopt this as our “New way of speaking”, for every monologue, scene or piece of work, we were constantly reminded to put our General American accent on, like a mask. There was a part of me, at the beginning wanting to acquire that and get rid of my own personal accent. After I graduated, I made the conscious decision to speak the way it felt natural to me, without putting on the mask. My natural accent carries the history of my up bringing, my “R”s and my “J”s liberate the muscles that I use in Spanish. I decided to speak freely and whenever I do an audition for a role that requires a “General American” accent I know I can put it on, but decided that it was another tool, not my essence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/ReginaCarregha
- Instagram: @reginacarregha