Backstage Blog

Embracing the edge with Esteban

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Esteban was born in Berwyn and raised in Cicero, Illinois and is thrilled to be making his San Diego stage debut with Cygnet, in The Motherf**ker with the Hat. We asked him to share why he is excited to be in this production, and give us some insight into why it is important.

EstebanCruzEsteban Andres Cruz (Cousin Julio)

Esteban is a proud company member of Sacred Fools Theater in Los Angeles. Before LA, Mr. Cruz trodded the boards of many a stage in Chicago and the East coast. He is the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of another Guirgis character: Angel Cruz in Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train. Other Favorite roles include Puck in Britten’s opera version of Midsummer at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Angel (in ‘A Train‘), Angel in RENT (David Cromer, dir.), which the New Yorker called “the most joyful and reckless” performance. In addition to acting, Esteban is a choreographer, singer, dancer, improviser, writer, director and teacher. Mr. Cruz would like to dedicate this performance to anyone struggling with the disease of addiction and their loved ones and to the memory of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

What excites you most about the show?

I’m excited that Cygnet is changing the face of American theatre by producing this show!  If we define what is “American” and what is “theatre” it tends to exclude the stories of the people in this play, for whatever reason; be it language, ethnicity or that they just don’t fit the standard of these two categories.  I love Guirgis’s work and I feel like he is a quintessential voice of contemporary American drama.  I feel doubly blessed that I get to work here in this beautiful city and it feels like home (Chicago) to be immersed in such a thriving and germinal community of theatre artists.

What scares you?

I’m so scared of the fights. I hid every time they practiced during rehearsal. If I do end up catching it, I cry. It really scares me. I’m also scared about people’s reaction to cousin Julio and this society’s needs to define things (gender, sexual orientation, etc), things that in this post-modern day and age can’t adhere to strict binary definitions of identity. Before answering the question about defining one’s sexuality, be it a character or person… there’s a long discussion that needs to be had about defining those very terms with which you are labeling people and their alleged value.

What do you like about working with Cygnet Theatre?

The entire company is one that prides itself on their collaborative nature. This is so empowering as an artist. It is a fine experience to just be told what to do and you do it. However, the way that Robby (the director) works and all the way up to the Artistic Director; everyone has been so generous and willing and open and it is really a lovely experience working with everyone, on both sides of the Artistic / Administrative fence!

Your favorite curse word!

F**k.  It’s the most versatile! It can be a transitive verb, intransitive verb, adjective, part of an adverb, and adverb enhancing an adjective noun. For people who can’t get down with this word: I don’t give a f**kety f**k about those f**king f**kers!

Anything else you want to add?

Please come and see this show! At it’s core, it is a love story and a story of the triumph of the human spirit! I hope that San Diego is able to look past some of the colorful language in this show to see the that these people, these characters are dealing with real human issues that everyone can identify with and hopefully be moved by them. I hope this show helps people accept how even though other cultures might be different than your own, at the end of the day; we’re all human, we all hurt and we all want to be loved.