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[0:09] John Schwab: Hi, John Schwab here, and welcome to Take Your Bow, a new bite-sized podcast series from the Curtain Call Stable that shines a spotlight on the people that make theater happen.

[0:18] John Schwab: In today's climate of increasing isolation, we want to bring you a daily dose of inspiration.

[0:25] John Schwab: Each episode, we're giving someone in the theater a chance to take their bow.

[0:29] John Schwab: From the seasoned professional to the drama student, vocal coaches to the life coaches.

[0:33] John Schwab: You'll find them right here, giving insights into what drives them to be in the business and who inspires them.

[0:40] John Schwab: On today's episode is New York writer Thomas Valorio.

[0:44] John Schwab: Now Thomas trained in London at East 15 Drama School before heading back to New York City via way too many places to mention here.

[1:21] Thomas Vilorio: And over here I went to American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

[1:45] Thomas Vilorio: The acting led me to teaching acting and the teaching acting led me to directing.

[1:49] Thomas Vilorio: The directing led me to producing, and the producing led me to meeting all sorts of people with ideas and their scripts.

[1:55] Thomas Vilorio: So that got me to script doctoring and then translating scripts from English to Spanish and vice versa.

[2:03] Thomas Vilorio: And then I started writing myself.

[2:05] Thomas Vilorio: Um and that's where I am right now.

[2:08] Thomas Vilorio: I have I'm writing, I wrote a play uh two years ago, um, which was meant to be produced in England, but I think I'm gonna do it here in the US.

[2:17] Thomas Vilorio: The story is very British, um, but let's see what happens.

[2:21] Thomas Vilorio: Um, but then I've also started writing for film.

[2:24] Thomas Vilorio: So I've written a film treatment last year, which the production of which, fingers crossed if things continue, will start in the summer.

[2:33] Thomas Vilorio: And I'm in the middle of writing another film treatment, uh, which I still have to pitch and sell.

[2:40] Thomas Vilorio: But that other one that I wrote last year is uh already green lighted and is like I said, scheduled to start in the summer.

[2:47] Thomas Vilorio: I think that from here to there things will calm down.

[2:51] John Schwab: They will.

[2:52] John Schwab: Sure, of course.

[2:53] John Schwab: Um let's we're gonna get back to that, how uh busy busy you are, but I want to take you right back.

[2:57] John Schwab: What made you want to be uh a part of this business and and work in this business, Thomas?

[3:02] Thomas Vilorio: Um, I think it was entertainment, just pure and started out as entertainment.

[3:08] Thomas Vilorio: Um, just the adrenaline of performing.

[3:11] Thomas Vilorio: Of course, that was all the selfish need for attention.

[3:15] Thomas Vilorio: But then as I got older, it's still entertainment, but it's storytelling.

[3:21] Thomas Vilorio: Um, so finding that story that speaks to all of us.

[3:25] Thomas Vilorio: And I think that's why I'm right now I'm in writing because I just enjoy telling a good story, identifying a good story that that um speaks to all of us.

[3:37] Thomas Vilorio: And that's basically it.

[3:38] Thomas Vilorio: It's a social responsibility that we have, right?

[3:40] Thomas Vilorio: As our artists.

[3:41] Thomas Vilorio: A good story well told is the base of our industry.

[3:46] John Schwab: Uh so who inspired you then to get involved?

[3:49] John Schwab: Uh and and kind of uh the second part of that question is who inspires you now?

[3:54] Thomas Vilorio: Okay, um, well, I'm the youngest of six in my house.

[3:58] Thomas Vilorio: Um, and I sort of had to watch what everybody else watched.

[4:05] Thomas Vilorio: This was the choice.

[4:07] Thomas Vilorio: Yeah, this was the time where you know, I'm I'm gonna date myself, but this is the time where we only had one TV in the living room.

[4:14] Thomas Vilorio: So I had to watch what my parents wanted to watch or what my siblings wanted to watch.

[4:19] Thomas Vilorio: So and then my father sh uh shot himself in the foot and introduced me to the godfather films when I was like 10.

[4:28] Thomas Vilorio: Um and then around that time also um Milo Milo Foreman's uh uh version of Amadeus, the film version came out.

[4:39] Thomas Vilorio: Yeah, and he made me watch that.

[4:41] Thomas Vilorio: So I was like, that's it.

[4:42] Thomas Vilorio: I want to be an actor.

[4:44] Thomas Vilorio: So it was those films, and I guess in that because I watched the Godfather film, so it was the same old, you know, usual suspects and so it was Robert De Niro, El Pacino, Meryl Streep, because I also watched The Deer Hunter.

[4:58] Thomas Vilorio: I had a very weird childhood.

[5:00] John Schwab: Sounds ideal.

[5:01] John Schwab: Sounds ideal.

[5:02] John Schwab: Yeah.

[5:04] Thomas Vilorio: And then today it's sort of God who inspires me.

[5:07] Thomas Vilorio: It's it's still that lot, but uh I want to say Sam Mendes and Steven Spielberg, because he's done everything.

[5:17] Thomas Vilorio: He's done everything from your sci-fi popcorn gorging blockbusters to you know intense dramas like Schindler's List and The Post.

[5:30] Thomas Vilorio: Is an amazing contemporary.

[5:32] Thomas Vilorio: Uh just he's amazing.

[5:34] John Schwab: Yeah.

[5:35] John Schwab: And Bail those people.

[5:36] John Schwab: Great.

[5:36] John Schwab: Yeah, the list is long.

[5:37] John Schwab: Yeah, yeah, isn't it?

[5:38] John Schwab: It's great to have a long list, you know, because that because then you you have a lot of uh a meat on the bone to kind of give you the inspiration.

[5:45] Thomas Vilorio: Absolutely.

[5:46] John Schwab: Um tell you what, let's keep going.

[5:48] John Schwab: Um do you um you know I you talk about multi-skill, take you back to that.

[5:52] John Schwab: How many things that you've done?

[5:53] John Schwab: How about juggling from you know, from writing into acting, I mean, if you stood in the world?

[5:58] John Schwab: Acting and into the teaching.

[6:00] John Schwab: Take me through any of that kind of juggling, or have you managed to kind of go, this is what I'm doing right now, and I'll leave those other things behind.

[6:07] Thomas Vilorio: Um, no, that's pretty good.

[6:09] Thomas Vilorio: I'm I'm pretty good at making the switch.

[6:12] Thomas Vilorio: Uh it it of course when I'm writing, I need the space and the um inspiration to kind of get, but I have a legal background as well.

[6:23] Thomas Vilorio: Um so writing has always been my forte.

[6:26] Thomas Vilorio: And once I get focused in writing something, uh uh Ernest Hemingway used to say that your first draft is always shit.

[6:36] Thomas Vilorio: So what you have to do is write.

[6:38] Thomas Vilorio: Can I say shit?

[6:39] John Schwab: You can say shit, you can say all kinds of things.

[6:42] Thomas Vilorio: Okay.

[6:42] Thomas Vilorio: So he he would say, like, you just have to write.

[6:45] Thomas Vilorio: You have to get on your typewriter in those days and just write.

[6:48] Thomas Vilorio: Because and it doesn't matter if it's crap or what you're saying is nonsensical, because your fresh your first draft is always shit.

[6:55] Thomas Vilorio: So based on that, I once I get the ball rolling with the writing, I'm good to go.

[7:01] Thomas Vilorio: Uh when I go from teaching, it's just there, there's just a s we're actors, and and and that's you sort of have to have that chip in your head to go, right?

[7:11] Thomas Vilorio: I'm going from my real life to pretend and and there's just like this chip that we're born with, right?

[7:17] Thomas Vilorio: To kind of change from one thing to another.

[7:21] Thomas Vilorio: Um yeah, I I think the the where I may have difficulty is when I'm the actor.

[7:28] John Schwab: Yeah.

[7:28] Thomas Vilorio: And I'm reading something or or getting direction.

[7:33] Thomas Vilorio: I guess I work I'm a good I work well with with different kinds of directors.

[7:37] Thomas Vilorio: But yeah, there is that moment where I have to tell myself, shut up, you are not the director.

[7:42] Thomas Vilorio: I I direct as well, and it's really hard when you're uh acting that uh yeah.

[7:48] John Schwab: What is your family think of you know your job?

[7:51] Thomas Vilorio: I think they've gone through the five stages of grief by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross.

[7:57] Thomas Vilorio: So they've gone from denial to anger to bargaining to depression, yeah.

[8:03] Thomas Vilorio: Until finally they reached acceptance.

[8:06] Thomas Vilorio: And of course, yeah, they go back and forth in those stages.

[8:09] Thomas Vilorio: Yeah, I think in the beginning they were like, Oh, that's really cute.

[8:12] Thomas Vilorio: And then it was like, you know, kind of looking at the uh wrist exercise of so when are you gonna stop?

[8:17] Thomas Vilorio: Like when are you gonna get a real job?

[8:19] John Schwab: Yeah.

[8:19] Thomas Vilorio: Until finally they've seen the fruits of my labor and they're like, all right, fine, if that's what makes you happy.

[8:24] Thomas Vilorio: If you're if you're okay with being unemployed every now and then, then you know, more power to you.

[8:29] John Schwab: Well, even even better for having all the skills and the multi-hyphenates background and and being able to dime.

[8:36] John Schwab: Um and uh we you we we might have a little bit of time on our hands.

[8:40] John Schwab: Everyone does these days.

[8:41] John Schwab: Oh, how are you gonna feel your days, Thomas?

[8:43] Thomas Vilorio: Just going back to the writing, like I said, thankfully I'm still in the middle of a story.

[8:48] Thomas Vilorio: Um I'm working with a German uh artist.

[8:52] Thomas Vilorio: Uh he's an up-and-coming actor in Germany, and we had started this back in June or July of last year.

[8:59] Thomas Vilorio: So we're on our third version of the treatment.

[9:03] Thomas Vilorio: Um and I guess, you know, it it just I think this is the perfect time to collaborate internationally as well.

[9:12] Thomas Vilorio: I mean, we have the platform, look at us right now.

[9:14] Thomas Vilorio: You're you're in London, I'm in New York.

[9:17] Thomas Vilorio: Um, and and I just I've always liked, even in my days of East 15, where we were thrown in in uh a various cultural groups, so people from different walks of life were doing this program.

[9:30] Thomas Vilorio: I've always liked working with in an intercultural setting.

[9:34] Thomas Vilorio: So right now, working with someone from Germany and identifying a story that speaks to both countries is quite awesome.

[9:41] Thomas Vilorio: It's quite cool to do that.

[9:43] Thomas Vilorio: Um so that's what I'm doing right now.

[9:45] Thomas Vilorio: Maybe when I finish the treatment in its final version and then I have nothing else to do, then I'll freak out.

[9:51] Thomas Vilorio: But right now I'm quite busy doing that.

[9:55] Thomas Vilorio: Um I also translate and like I said, I still do a lot of translation of scripts from English to Spanish.

[10:02] Thomas Vilorio: I still do script doctoring.

[10:04] Thomas Vilorio: So far, I have two of those um that I'm working on.

[10:08] Thomas Vilorio: Uh yeah, so that's that's that.

[10:12] John Schwab: That's good stuff.

[10:12] John Schwab: All right.

[10:13] John Schwab: Um, before I do the little quick fire fun questions, uh where can people follow you?

[10:18] John Schwab: And let this is the time to take your bow.

[10:19] John Schwab: Where's where can people follow you or get in touch if you want to put that information out there?

[10:23] Thomas Vilorio: Great.

[10:23] Thomas Vilorio: If not, it's also great.

[10:25] Thomas Vilorio: Yeah, on Instagram, Thomas Valorio, uh V as in Victor, I L O R I O, Thomas.

[10:32] Thomas Vilorio: Um, that's a good way to contact me.

[10:34] Thomas Vilorio: And if it's through an email, um, yeah, sure, why not?

[10:37] Thomas Vilorio: Uh Thomas Thomas, F as in Friday, Vilorio, and at gmail.com.

[10:43] Thomas Vilorio: Thomas.

[10:44] John Schwab: And you heard you got yes, so many things you could do.

[10:47] John Schwab: I love it.

[10:47] John Schwab: Thank listen.

[10:48] John Schwab: Thank you for reaching out uh to to kind of take part in this.

[10:51] John Schwab: And uh, you know, but I'm gonna ask you uh a couple of quick questions that um oh god and and we'll just see they're one or the other.

[11:01] John Schwab: You ready?

[11:02] John Schwab: This or that.

[11:02] John Schwab: It's it's a this or that.

[11:04] John Schwab: Yes, this is your hot seat.

[11:05] John Schwab: This or that, okay?

[11:06] John Schwab: Uh movies or theater.

[11:08] Thomas Vilorio: Both.

[11:10] John Schwab: You've coped out on the first question.

[11:15] Thomas Vilorio: Uh oh god, I want to say uh it's just I love them both.

[11:20] Thomas Vilorio: Uh film.

[11:21] John Schwab: Okay.

[11:22] John Schwab: Uh Dickens or Shakespeare.

[11:24] Thomas Vilorio: Shakespeare.

[11:25] John Schwab: Sondheim or Lynn Manuel Miranda.

[11:29] Thomas Vilorio: Lynn Manuel.

[11:30] John Schwab: Twitter or Instagram?

[11:31] Thomas Vilorio: Instagram.

[11:32] John Schwab: Broadway or West.

[11:33] Thomas Vilorio: Hey Twitter.

[11:35] John Schwab: Oh, great.

[11:36] John Schwab: Put me put me there.

[11:37] John Schwab: Because you've been to both.

[11:38] John Schwab: I'm gonna put you on that spot.

[11:39] John Schwab: It's such a jam.

[11:43] Thomas Vilorio: Um, I'm living in New York, so Broadway.

[11:47] John Schwab: There you go.

[11:47] John Schwab: Okay.

[11:48] John Schwab: Uh clotted cream first or jam first.

[11:51] Thomas Vilorio: Now you'll know.

[11:52] Thomas Vilorio: Yeah, clotted cream.

[11:53] Thomas Vilorio: That's a no-brainer.

[11:54] John Schwab: Okay, dogs of cats.

[11:56] Thomas Vilorio: Dogs.

[11:56] John Schwab: Wicked or lame is uh lastly, yeah, Netflix or Amazon Prime.

[12:03] Thomas Vilorio: Netflix.

[12:04] John Schwab: Okay, and that's I think I put you on the spot enough.

[12:06] John Schwab: Um listen, Thomas, thank you so much.

[12:09] John Schwab: Um everybody get in touch if you've got something, you know, if you want some translations, you want to get in touch about an idea.

[12:16] John Schwab: Tom's a writer.

[12:18] John Schwab: Um, actor, teacher, translator with a lawyer background.

[12:21] John Schwab: Come on, we'll see.

[12:22] John Schwab: Script doctor and a script doctor.

[12:24] John Schwab: Bam.

[12:25] John Schwab: Thomas, thank you so much.

[12:27] Thomas Vilorio: Thank you.

[12:31] John Schwab: Thomas Vilorio, writer, actor, at Well, you heard the man.

[12:35] John Schwab: He just about does it all.

[12:37] John Schwab: Now we all need a little bit of inspiration and happiness these days, and hopefully today's guest and chat gave you just that.

[12:43] John Schwab: Thank you to everyone who has responded to our call out so far.

[12:46] John Schwab: And if you'd like to take your bow on this podcast, get in touch with us by any of the social media platforms that is at Curtain Call or email me at John at CurtainCallOnline.com.

[12:57] John Schwab: Join us tomorrow when another theater professional somewhere across the globe will be taking their bow.

[13:03] John Schwab: Bye.