Q: Can you talk a little bit about your background as an artist and how you came to be where you are today?

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I specifically remember one of my very first theater experiences when my Abuelita brought me to see a production of “Paquito’s Christmas” here in LA. I remember being fully transformed from that experience. We would go see a lot of shows from ballets to operas, so as a child I was immersed in the arts in a way that I think impacted the rest of my life and made me believe that I could be a theater artist in some capacity. I went to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and studied vocal performance and musical theater there. Then ultimately I went to Syracuse University and studied musical theater. While I was there, that's when the passion of producing came to light for me. I was involved in a student run theater company and that provided me the outlet to explore what it meant to be involved in all of the facets of a production.

Going back to the very first moment of my introduction to the theater arts, I remember with “Paquito’s Christmas”, I saw myself on that stage and I believed in that moment that I had a place in the arts. Now as a professional, working on Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, I always reflect back to that moment. In addition to producing, I manage social media accounts for shows on Broadway and on tour, which has served as a different outlet. I've always felt that the theater industry is behind digitally, compared to other forms of entertainment. So that's something that I've been passionate about, bringing the digital experience to the arts in a better way and reaching young people and impacting them similarly to how “Paquito’s Christmas” did that for me.

Q: How do you think the performing arts can be a platform for social justice?

I truly believe that they go hand in hand. You can't really create a piece of art without having something to say. I am not interested in art that is arbitrary. I feel like as artists, there is too much time, passion and money that goes into a production for it not to have some form of statement or element of vulnerability.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about your involvement with 10glo?  Can you also touch upon how 10glo is different from other digital platforms?

10glo.com is a digital hub for artists, especially during COVID-19 when we can not gather in person. It's a platform for artists to share their work and have “no gatekeepers” in terms of deciding what content belongs on the site. I believe access is the way to create the industry we want to see. We inherited an industry that has gatekeepers, and I think with this moment of a pause, we're given the opportunity to re-evaluate how these structures work.

I am very passionate about 10glo because, to me, it’s the next generation of theater artists. It is giving artists a platform to host videos that they're creating during quarantine, share their reels, or educational videos, etc. It's a place where people can have their virtual stage without the noise of traditional social media platforms. As a social media marketer myself, I love the power of connection and how you're able to put your work out there on YouTube or Facebook or Instagram. But what I love about 10glo is that there's the elimination of the number of followers or “likes” that you have. It allows you to hone in on the art itself and the artists that are creating it. The platform is changing day by day, we're really taking into consideration the needs of the artists. Also the consideration of industry members such as casting directors and agents and managers and producers and composers. We are working with them to figure out how they can best use the site to look for x type of singer, or x type of dancer.

Q: In terms of thinking about access, What do you think needs to change and shift in the performing arts world?

My mom is a teacher and recently had to switch everything to virtual learning and zoom education. Therefore, I was looking at data of households that have internet access, and it was just mind blowing to me, the amount of families in the United States that don't have access to the internet. We as artists tend to put work on a digital platform, thinking that it's being “shown” to the world. That is something I'm passionate about, answering the question of: “How do we provide digital opportunities for families who don't have that access?”.

Another example is the casting process. Some people can't get to an audition because they have to work. I think the casting process is something that really needs to be restructured in terms of giving artists the opportunity for other ways to audition, and I think 10glo is part of that answer.

Q: How does your identity influence what you do, especially thinking about equity?

This has been a very interesting journey for me. There was a moment where I was really questioning my place in the industry because I didn't have other Latinx mentors–I didn't have that type of support. I had the opportunity to work for Center Theatre Group (CTG) in Los Angeles and I was living in New York at the time. I was incredibly frustrated at the time and wanted to work with people that looked like me. So, when I got this job at CTG, I jumped on it because I hoped that there'd be someone there that could provide me with some type of mentorship or have the opportunity to learn from a like-minded individual. On my very first day at CTG, a woman named Diane Rodriguez walked up to me and she was like, “You, Lopez? Come here!” And, from then she became my lunch buddy. There was this element of identity that I found within that connection. It was simple, like walking down the street to get lunch, but those moments were so powerful.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected you as an artist, the communities that you're in, and your work?

It's just so devastating what has happened. Not only with the lives being lost, but the jobs that were lost and specifically in our industry. I was preparing to jump into a workshop for the production “Gun And Powder” by Angelica Cheri and Ross Baum that I've been developing. When COVID-19 hit, we were about to get into a rehearsal room in New York City and do a presentation–I was so excited. But then, the moment that this hit, my producing partners and I looked to each other and said we're going to need to embrace this unknown. I think step one was really the acknowledgement of, “Oh wow, this is bigger than anybody has the capability of understanding.” So once I got through that phase of just acceptance, something beautiful happened in terms of our digital community and finding answers together when we don't have answers. I realized that we had been living an unsustainable lifestyle, and having this pause and moment to literally inhale and exhale, just breathe it out! I was able to start meeting new people all via Zoom and connect with other BIPOC folks in our community that I hadn't known otherwise because we just never had the time to really sit down and speak with each other. And to me that has really shifted my way of thinking. Moving forward, I don't want to go back to that lifestyle I had before. I want to sit down and really take in that time with others.

With that pivot and new realization I was able to meet new creators. I'm in the process of co-creating a multicultural commercial investment and producing organization called The Industry Standard Group. We're a group of BIPOC theatre-makers and we're focused primarily on educating and bringing more BIPOC producers into the industry. So, The Industry Standard Group is going to be a fund with stakeholders exclusively from BIPOC communities. We're hoping that this could ultimately open the door for more BIPOC producers to get immediate access into producing on Broadway and beyond.

This time has been very rewarding, despite the fact that we're art makers and we thrive when we're in a room with other people making art. However, I think we've been able to unlock a new side of what collaboration means digitally.