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[0:00] Alan Seales: Welcome to the Theatre Podcast. Intimate, personal conversations with theatre's biggest names. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and this episode is with George Salazar. I've known this guy for a while. Met him about two years ago, I guess, and we've run into each other in the Broadway circles and worked together on a few projects. And just in the last year, year and a half, especially now with the pandemic and being isolated, his journey of self-discovery just got incredibly accelerated. And he tells a story, and it comes out of this whole works and process artists video that he made, it's commissioned by the Guggenheim. And he wrote about what he knows, which is growing up as a mixed race kid and having no idea where he fit.

His father's Ecuadorian, his mother's Filipino. He didn't know literally which radio button to choose on standardized tests when it asks you what your race is. He didn't belong. And it was reminded of that fact by his peers quite frequently. But like a lot of people, he has a story of finding his tribe through theatre. He accidentally discovered theatre. I will attribute it to Weird Al. You have to listen to the episode to figure that out. So thanks to Weird Al, he accidentally discovered theatre, then went to University of Florida with a biology major before, of course, changing it and graduating with his degree in theatre. But just a damn nice guy. I am honored to know him. Everybody, please leave a rating, leave a review for the podcast.

Find me online. Send me a message on Instagram or Twitter at Theatre Underscore Podcast. You can actually watch the video version of this on Patreon ttp.fm slash p-a-t-r-e-o-n. And the proceeds of that go to making more transcriptions and the ongoing production costs for running a podcast, which is not cheap. And now, everybody, please enjoy this episode with George Salazar. Here you go. One, two, three.

[2:13] Alan Seales: Today's guest catapulted into the limelight after originating the role of Michael Mell in, well, all the U.S. productions of Be More Chill, which garnered him a Lucille Lortel Award before taking the show on to Broadway. In addition, his credits include Off-Broadway's The Lightning Thief, the Percy Jackson musical, and most recently, the Pasadena Playhouse production of Little Shop of Horrors, of course, as Seymour. TV and film appearances include CBS's Bull, HBO's Divorce, NBC's Superstore, and is also currently starring as sleazeball agent Maxwell Furnsby in Broadway's first original soap opera podcast radio play called As the Curtain Rises. I was trying to do my best Alex Brightman there. It's very good. Thank you. It's George Salazar. Welcome to the theatre podcast.

[3:02] George Salazar: Thanks for having me. I'm so happy to be here, man.

[3:05] Alan Seales: Man. Gosh, I mean, this is completely unrelated to you and me, but I'm on like this voiceover kick. I've been watching Big Mouth. Have you ever seen Big Mouth on Netflix?

[3:12] George Salazar: Yeah, of course.

[3:13] Alan Seales: Of course. Like it's I feel like it's a master class in voiceover artistry by Nick Kroll.

[3:17] George Salazar: It is. He's a genius. He's a master.

[3:20] Alan Seales: Yeah, we are all lucky to have that. My wife hates it when I do the I forget what his name is. The old decrepit hormone monster.

[3:26] George Salazar: Yeah.

[3:27] Alan Seales: Yeah. Anyway, anyway, I think you found your calling.

[3:44] George Salazar: Hey, my dudes. Professional Nick Kroll impersonator.

[3:51] Alan Seales: Yeah, I'm impersonating Nick Kroll impersonating everybody else. All right. So back to back to George. You currently you just put out something with the virtual commissions, premieres, works in process artists, right? Or is it that I get that backwards?

[4:03] George Salazar: Works in process, artists, virtual commissions, premieres. Yes, that's it.

[4:07] Alan Seales: OK, so through our friends at the Guggenheim.

[4:10] George Salazar: Yeah.

[4:11] Alan Seales: Yes. So what is the WPA for those who do not know?

[4:13] George Salazar: So works in process. Back in 2019, works in process invited Joe Iconis, myself, Stephanie Shue, Will Roland, Chase Brock and Stephen Brackett and Joe Trace over to the Guggenheim to have like kind of a little talk back discussion about the process of creating Be More Chill, you know, a couple of years ago to bringing it to New Jersey. Then, you know, kind of explaining the process of the show going kind of viral on the Internet and then leading to the show finally making its New York premiere and then eventually Broadway. And so, you know, once the pandemic hit, they were really wanting to get out and support artists. And what they ended up doing was reaching out to every artist who participated in a works in process at the Guggenheim and offered a commission to basically say, like, you have carte blanche, create a video no more than five minutes long about whatever you want.

It can be as personal or not personal as you want it to be and send it over to us. And yeah, so it was their way of kind of helping to support artists who, you know, during the shutdowns were kind of, you know.

[5:46] Alan Seales: So yours, your video that you made, it's a little it's like a couple seconds over five minutes. It's super wonderful and consumable. And it's called My Identity by George Salazar. And I thought it would be a wonderful place to kick off our conversation here because I've heard you talk about this before on other podcasts or even in person. I think we've talked about it once or twice, but like your personal identity being a mixed, a child of, well, you are mixed race. Your father is Ecuadorian, your mother's Filipino. And I mean, I don't want to tell your story here. You're struggling to fit in your whole life, which I think most of us in theater kind of have been.

[6:36] George Salazar: Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, I think it's, you know, that's what initially as an artist, like, attracted me to Joe Iconis' work is that he writes specifically for, you know, those square pegs trying to fit into round holes. Just, you know, what I used in that in that video. But yeah, no, I think we all kind of struggle to fit in. And I think everyone's struggle is different. Right. And so, you know, when I was approached by Duke Dang at the Guggenheim to be a part of this and to create something, I, you know, there's that like old adage of write what you know. And, you know, over the past couple of months living through this pandemic, I really feel like it's been, you know, one of the silver linings of it all is that I've been able to kind of like look within and grow as a person.

Right. Like using this time wisely. And so, you know, part of that had been like, you know, writing a lot about my own experience and then also finally talking to my mixed race friends about their experiences. Right. Like, I think it's something that we all kind of, I don't know, you know, we you always want to like put your best foot forward and represent yourself as like, you know, someone who has their shit together. But like, sometimes you just don't. And so, you know, I've had like a lot of really eye opening and powerful conversations with friends of mine who I've known for like 10 years. Right. And we just like we never really sat down to talk about being mixed race and and all the identity crises that come from that.

And so, you know, that that video that I created was kind of a culmination of the last couple of months of me really like digging deep and trying to, you know, trying to understand who I am and all of my complexity and also like appreciate and value those things that make me that used to make me feel like, you know, a fish out of water and just like, you know, not able to fit in. I now in my adult years can look at those things and say, like, damn, I'm really I'm really glad that I am who I am.

[9:04] Alan Seales: And yeah, yeah. It's interesting to me, you know, hindsight's always 2020 and literally here in 2021. It's actually literally 2020. But corny dad jokes aside. What I hear a lot interviewing people on the podcast is that what makes you different is what makes you special. And you're supposed to go into auditions like their advice is to go into these auditions and make a choice and be yourself. And I forget who said it recently. It was somebody who was like somebody went in and they went and they left the audition and said, oh, I lost that audition. I screwed it up. And and whoever I was talking to said, well, it wasn't yours to begin with. Right. If it's not yours, it's not yours. So be yourself.

But along those lines, it's acting, performing. And I'm bringing this back to you, too, as somebody who, as you said in your video, didn't know which bubble to fill in on when it asks you the question, literally what bubble to fill in of what race are you? And that stumped you and caused you anguish and stress for a long time. Right. Because you chose one and that no matter who you chose, you would have, as you said in the video, erased one of your other parents. Yeah. And I feel like there's so much I mean, there's so much about you that kind of screams self-discovery and introspection. And I think part of what this video very much so, by the way, the notes for those listening in the show notes, you can find the link to the video. But even Michael, Michael, Mel, Michael in the bathroom, it's about this kid who is just like aching to fit in. And and now, you know, you're in your mid thirties and.

[11:00] George Salazar: Sorry, I was looking at your Wikipedia page. It's out there. Yeah. So you're you're saying mid mid twenties, right?

[11:04] Alan Seales: Yeah. Yeah. You're like just turned twenty one, twenty five. You can rent a car. But you've been through a lot, including publicly talking about vocal injuries and now this identity sort of ongoing identity crisis for lack of any existential identity questioning. Right. Yeah, sure. And I guess where I'm going with all of this is is your quest, your desire to be part of of the stage and to be acting like to get that validation or to get that approval that maybe you weren't allowing yourself to receive when you were growing up or even as a young adult, feeling a little bit of imposter syndrome as you start to work the way up the ranks in theater and performing and working alongside these greats that you used to realize that you wouldn't you used to think you wouldn't have contact with. And now you're performing alongside them, but you still don't know who you are. Does that make does that make sense? There's a question in there somewhere and I'm trying to.

[12:11] George Salazar: Yeah, yeah. I think I'm yeah, yeah, no, I'm with you. I it took like many years and I am now I think at the stage where I like feel empowered to share my like journey on the story of my journey. But I I have a pretty solid understanding of who I am now. And so, you know, what I'm.

[12:31] George Salazar: What I'm wrestling with now is less of self-discovery and needing validation and more, you know, I've been really fortunate to be like allotted a platform through Be More Chill, right? And you know, the perfect story to kind of sum up my whole mission now is that, you know, when I was doing Be More Chill on Broadway, I can probably, I would say, like, at the stage door, there were probably, throughout that whole run, 20 kids who looked like me at that stage door. And this kind of fueled my move to LA, excuse me, initially. And it was this idea that, like, you know, I realized growing up, my family, we weren't Broadway people. I didn't know what a Broadway musical was. It wasn't a part of our lives.

And I realize it's because, you know, my parents, they couldn't afford to fly us to New York and pay for hotel accommodations and buy these, you know, really expensive Broadway show tickets for the whole family. Like, that just wasn't a part of our budget, right? And there are so many people out there who can't afford that. Our industry isn't really accessible to the people who, I mean, look at what theater has done for me, right? Like, I discovered it accidentally in high school. But if I hadn't, right, like, what would my life have been? And so, you know, there, I just think about all the people, all the kids who look like I did, who are, you know, looking for a place where they can fit in.

And theater very much was a place for me, right? Like, I didn't have to, you know, try to overcompensate one side of my upbringing over the other. I could just be me. And so, I decided to move to LA and I decided to try to, like, you know, do things here because I realized people can't really afford to go see theater in New York, but everyone has a Netflix password, right? And I saw through Little Shop, actually, at Pasadena Playhouse when, you know, I do the show and we come out the stage door, and there were suddenly, like, the whole line of people at the stage door looked like I did when I was young. And I was like, oh, my God, this makes so much more sense. When the tickets are $40 and not in New York City, when the tickets are $40, they come.

They're here and they want it, right? And so, I, in that moment, realized, like, okay, okay, okay, like, this next chapter of my artistry and my life, just as a human being, a person, is to create for those people so that they have someone who looks like them that they can look to and feel like anything is possible. And so, that's kind of, yeah, that's where my journey has led me today, and, like, that is what fueled that video and creating that for Works in Process. I was so terrified, Alan, like, I was so nervous about putting that out there. As I said in the very beginning of the video, like, I play other people, like, I tell other people's stories. And to just, like, be so honest and vulnerable and not really, like, ask people for advice about this video.

Like, I had a conversation with two friends about it before submitting it. Not having an entire crew of people give me notes on it was really scary, and I had no idea what to expect, and I was fully ready for people to, like, not watch this video at all. And then it ended up, I ended up getting, like, flooded with response from people who are mixed-race and not, who felt like they really, like, were able to relate to the piece. And that made me very happy. And it also, like, made me feel less nervous about putting more out there that's got more of a personal touch to it. So it was overall, I think, a really powerful process for me of, like, making, creating this thing. It was great for my family, too. Like, my parents are, they, my mom watches it every day.

[17:05] Alan Seales: That was my next question, was what their feedback was, yeah.

[17:07] George Salazar: Yeah, no, they loved it, you know? The video, it really is, like, a culmination of a couple of projects, writing projects that I had been focusing on in the months prior to COVID ruining our lives. And then also throughout the pandemic, I'd been, like, writing a couple things and writing, like, specifically this really great piece about my parents meeting, which is, like, kind of an only in America, only in New York, kind of a love story of, like, this, like, Filipino immigrant meeting an Ecuadorian immigrant, like, that just doesn't happen. Like, it's a quintessential, it's called an American love story. That's, like, what the working title is right now, because it is, like, it's an American love story.

Like, that's not a story that you hear in the Philippines or in Ecuador, right? Like, it's so quintessentially American. And so, you know, yeah, it's been, like, quite the eye-opening experience and, like, and getting to share that with people has just been, like, really such a treat and a really nice silver lining, you know, amidst so much darkness.

[19:05] Alan Seales: Your mom watches it every day, I don't see why not. It's a beautiful, it's a love letter to your parents as much as it is sort of exposing, you know, the own struggles that you've had. But did you talk about your own thoughts, I guess, with your parents before it or after it? Or have they changed? Like, the more that, I guess, just like any kid, you know, I'm 40, and anything I put out that's personal, the first thing I always think of is, are my parents going to like me? And I don't know if that's healthy or not, but it's still the first thing that I go to. And it's still, it's, like, ingrained in our head. And I had a pretty decent, I was fortunate enough to have a pretty decent childhood.

And you know, both parents were there, and they came to all my soccer games. And being white, both parents are white, we never talked about race. But when I'm trying to get them to understand it, or putting out anything personal, personally vulnerable, that has to do with my own mental health, I always press send or enter or upload or whatever it is. And then I'm like, okay, when am I going to hear from my parents? That's my first response in my head. Like did that happen with you? Or did you talk about that beforehand? I assume many people have many different slash better relationships with their parents about this kind of stuff.

[20:33] George Salazar: Yeah. No, my parents, I, you know, I interviewed them. I've asked them many questions, you know, specifically when I was like, starting to write that love story piece about them. I wanted to make sure that like, I got, you know, got everything right. I'm very familiar with their story at this point. And so they trust, I know they trust me, and they trust my storytelling. And they are also the type of, I mean, they are the most supportive people. You know, they're a bit more context, like growing up, everyone on my mom's side is like in the medical profession, my older sister's a dentist, and my younger sister's an occupational therapist. Our family is like heavily, deeply ingrained in like the medical field.

And I was, I had always wanted to be a surgeon, I always wanted to be a neurosurgeon, at one point I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. And so when I decided to switch gears and become an actor, it took my parents, well, my mother was like, yeah, like immediately right off the bat, my dad was like, I'll pay for law school. At this point, they are both my biggest fans and biggest supporters. And yeah, I mean, fortunately for me, like I don't ever feel that kind of anxiety. It's less, I know, I know without a shadow of a doubt that no matter what I put out there, even if it's like complete shit, my parents are going to think it's a masterpiece. So that's nice.

[22:20] Alan Seales: Yeah. So you've at least got, you've got two people in your corner no matter what you do.

[22:25] George Salazar: Exactly. We're going to take a short break. Stay tuned for more of the episode.

[22:43] Alan Seales: I want to go back to what you said a second ago about accidentally discovering theater because I don't, I don't think I've heard all of this story. And I know that, that, well, you tell it, you tell it. How did you accidentally just become this Broadway powerhouse?

[22:58] George Salazar: I, like I said, we were not like, I, the theater wasn't a thing. The closest thing to musicals that I ever consumed were like the Disney cartoon movies, you know, specifically the Lion King. I just remember, I mean, I watched the Lion King once a week growing up. I was kind of as deep into musicals as I got. But I was always like a, I was always the class clown. I was always the like family comedian. When I was like 11, my parents, when we'd be at like, you know, family friend's house for like a gathering or birthday party, they would always like say like, do your Bill Clinton impression. I was like 11 years old and they would, I would just stand there and I would just go, I did not have sexual relations with that woman.

And I really don't think it was a good impression, but of course my parents were just like, look at this kid, he's hilarious. And so like, there was always a bit of like a want to entertain. I just, it never crossed my mind that that is a thing that people could do. And it's not my parents' fault, right? It's just, I just, it never crossed my mind that that was a, I couldn't even grasp the concept of like doing that. So, so I was also a big nerd and a huge Weird Al fan. And I used to, I used to read, I used to write parody songs and I, they were always like not safe for school, really vulgar, very graphic. I was always trying to like shock and like push the envelope with my friends. And I wrote this parody of Britney Spears' Hit Me Baby One More Time and it was aptly called Hit Me Baby One More Time.

[25:03] George Salazar: And I sang it for my friends in a computer class, very quietly. And the president of the Drama Club was a year older, but had skipped that class the year prior, so he had to take it again with a bunch of, like, you know, the younger students. So, like, we always, like, we kind of just, like, no one really talked to him because he was not in our, like, year. And he came up to me and he was like, hey, I'm sure he said something like, that song was disgusting, but you, you're a good singer. You should come audition for Little Shop tonight after school. And I'd never auditioned a song. I, you know, I sing for my friends, but, like, it was never, like, an actual thing. And he was really persistent throughout the day.

Because, like, at the time, and there's, like, a picture of me around that age, I feel like. It was just, like, in the video, I was, like, really chubby. I looked like Manny from Modern Family. Like, I was, like, just so round. My face was just, like, it was really round. And my routine after school every day was to just go home and watch, like, Maury Povich or Jerry Springer and eat, like, binge eat, like, pizza rolls. Like, that was kind of my, that was my, like, thing. Which is why I had such a round face. And he was persistent. And he was, like, come, come, come, come, come. I'll walk you through everything. He wanted to be Seymour. He thought that I would be a great plant. And then it ended up that I was cast as Seymour, and he was cast as the plant.

And that was the, that's how I fell into it. And I was just really fortunate to be surrounded by, you know, I had a drama teacher. She's since passed away. But Ann Harris, I remember she had a parent-teacher conference with my parents, and she said, Mr. and Mrs. Salazar, there are, like, a million doctors in the world. But there's only one George. And, like, you know, yes, if he was a doctor, he could change the world. But he's really special. And, like, you know, I think you should, you guys should, like, let him pursue this as a career. My father, being a musician, knew how hard, you know, the artist's life is, and he didn't want that for me, right? He just wanted me to be really comfortable and not ever have to struggle.

And so he was a little resistant for a while. And then I ended up moving to New York. And, you know, of course, like, I made my Broadway debut in Godspell. And, you know, things like that start happening. And then he started coming around. And now they're just the most supportive, my biggest fans. But that's how I accidentally fell into theater.

[28:05] Alan Seales: So you said it was in high school that you auditioned. So what grade was that? Do you remember?

[28:10] George Salazar: It was junior year. So, like, I was, you know, all my friends were like, yeah, I went to, like, theater camp when I was seven. And great. I mean, I started so late, and so I also had a bit of a learning curve, too, because, again, like, I didn't have voice lessons growing up. Like, I didn't start taking voice lessons until I was in college and it was paid for in my tuition. You know what I mean? Like, my parents, obviously, if I wanted voice lessons, I think they would have found ways to make it happen because they, you know, I had piano lessons. I took guitar lessons. I took drum lessons. You know, the reality is, like, I just, I, all these people, all these friends of mine were like, yeah, you know, I started taking voice lessons when I was six.

And it just wasn't my, that wasn't my story, you know? So I, you know, I think a lot of people, when they arrive to New York, they want to have, like, they want to have their shit together, right? But I have to tell you that, like, the bulk of my learning and growing was not in college. It was, like, on a job site in New York City, you know? Like, doing Be More Chill every night taught me so much. And by that point, I was 12 years into being in New York.

[29:41] Alan Seales: Well, I want to come back to that because there's a lot to unpack there. But the reason I asked about what grade you're in is, I was wondering if it was junior year because that's that year when basically you're expected to decide what you're going to be for the rest of your life, more or less, right? You know, you're not even out of high school yet. You have to decide all of a sudden what you want to be and then go to college for it and then get a job afterwards. So junior year, you start doing the fairs and the tours and some people even start doing the preliminary applications and whatnot. So were you, had you at that point already, like, had shortlisted your med schools or the path towards neuroscience or neurosurgery? And then all of a sudden, you're just like, nope, screw it. I'm out. I got to start researching theater schools.

[30:30] George Salazar: Yeah. I mean, financially, I was kind of locked into Florida. I did the international baccalaureate program in high school. And the state of Florida at the time had a huge scholarship program through the Florida Lottery called Bright Futures. And Bright Futures awarded basically anyone who graduates with an IB diploma got a full ride scholarship to a state school. Wow. So I was essentially like trapped in Florida, which was fine. My sister went to the University of Florida for pre-dent and I just like fell in love with that campus every time we'd go to visit her. And so, you know, if I had to choose a state school, I was going to go to the University of Florida. And I did apply as a bio major.

[31:21] Alan Seales: What? Your socks are right there where you left them. Thank you.

[31:28] George Salazar: So sweet. No, leave it in. That's so sweet.

[31:40] Alan Seales: I'm insisting you leave it in. Okay. All right. So where were we?

[31:47] George Salazar: Yeah. So I, the state of Florida had this scholarship through the Florida Lottery that gave you a full ride scholarship to a state school. So I was, I was trapped in Florida, but I did apply as a biology major and got in, got the full ride scholarship. Thank God. Right. Because so many of my friends go to these like huge musical theater schools where, yes, they get like the phenomenal training. Right. And they have huge debt. And the casting directors all graduated from those schools too. Right. So there's like, you know, there's kind of, you almost get a little bit of a sense of like somewhat of a job security in an industry that has no job security. Right. And here I was, I was going to school in Florida where like my professors, they were teaching and preparing us for a New York that existed in 1983.

Like it was not, it was not, it was not the New York we know. Right. It was not New York post Disney theatricals. It's, it's, it was New York, 1983, where you don't take the subway at night. Yeah. And yeah, that's, that's, that was how the, the, the kind of college hunt went for me. It was, it was, I, I wanted to, I remember telling my dad, like, I want to apply to NYU for theater. And this was still at the time where he was like, don't, don't go into theater that you're not going to make any money. It's going to be, you know, again, these are, these are valid concerns from immigrants who moved here. Right. My father knows better than anyone. He was a drummer in the eighties. He had a rock band in, in Staten Island, New York, the Culprits. And they, they were good. And he's an amazing drummer. And it just like, it just didn't click. He had me when he was 26. So that's, I'm probably, it's probably my fault.

[33:57] Alan Seales: Are you the oldest of everybody?

[34:01] George Salazar: I'm his oldest kid. Yes.

[34:05] Alan Seales: Oh, wait, I thought you said you have an older sister. Okay. So you're older.

[34:10] George Salazar: I do have an older sister. I do have an older sister. We have different dads.

[34:14] Alan Seales: Ah, gotcha. Gotcha. That's part of the love story of my parents. But, but yeah, no, he, I remember it was my senior year of college. I did Sunday in the Park with George and played George. And after that, he was like, I ran into him in the, in the, in the atrium of the, of our school university theater. And he was like crying and he hugged me and he said, I, I get it now. Oh. Um, and you know, up until that point, my father had seen me in shows where I was, you know, other than Little Shop when I was the lead, he saw me in a lot of shows where I was, you know, on stage for like four minutes. Um, and, um, and I think equated that to like my worth as an artist and individual. And he's got to see me be the lead in a musical in my last year of college. And he just like understood it. Um, and so, um, yeah, he's now, like I said, they're my, my biggest fans and supporters.

[35:13] Alan Seales: Did you graduate with a biology degree?

[35:13] George Salazar: No, I didn't. I ended up, uh, switching to me. I ended up switching to musical theater.

[35:18] Alan Seales: Okay. Okay. Cause I think that would be super cool. I mean, your path, obviously super cool anyway, but if you could just like, I was going to ask you to spit out some biology facts for me.

[35:30] George Salazar: Yeah, no, I got, I got into the school and then, and then shortly after that I switched majors. So I, I didn't even start, uh, biology. Did your general general requirements. Yeah.

[35:42] Alan Seales: So then out of college, obviously they didn't, did you go to New York straight after college and like show up and say, hello world. Here I am.

[35:49] George Salazar: Yeah. So, you know, um, being this, being in this body and like being not quite Latino, not quite Asian. And, um, in the South where I went to school, you know, every summer, everyone would, um, everyone auditioned for summer stock jobs. And these are, these are theaters that do, you know, your carousels and Oklahoma's and seven brides for seven brothers outdoors, you know, like, um, stuff like that, that like, there's not going to be a role for me. Right. Like these are, we're also talking to the South, right? Like even theaters in the, even theaters in the South are racist. So, um, so I didn't, I never got, I never got summer work. Um, uh, and so what I would do instead was intern in New York city.

Cause I knew that that's where I needed to be. I knew that like, I would never work as an actor staying in the South. I'd work at like a theme park. Uh, I'd be like in a, either chip or Dale, uh, you know, like a costume sweating my balls off, uh, being surrounded by screaming, crying children. Uh, that was like that, that, that would have been it. So I would intern in New York and my first internship was into my junior year of college with a general management firm, Martian entertainment. Um, and at the time they did like title of show off Broadway, altar boys. Um, and then, uh, in my summer leading into senior year of college, I interned for Bono Brian Brown, who's big Broadway press office. And they actually covered, um,

[37:34] George Salazar: Yeah, I remember very, very vividly the exact moment where I cut the strings off of my arms, like, cut the marionette strings off of me and freed myself from the need for validation. And it happened in such a strange, strange way. I was with Nick Blamire. We got stoned and we were throwing ideas around, writing ideas. And we sat in a – oh, crap, what is that store? WeWork? IKEA? No, it's a furniture store. West Elm. We sat in the West Elm on the Upper West Side. And we sat in one of those staged living rooms, like the demo living rooms that they have. We sat in one, and we were so stoned. We sat across from each other. We were throwing ideas back and forth. I just think it's funny, though, that you get – I'm sorry to interrupt. You get stoned and go to West Elm. But anyway, continue. I don't know why we ended up in there. I think we just wanted to sit.

[38:34] George Salazar: Right, right. So we went to West Elm. And we were throwing ideas around. And of course, like, what can I draw from in my own personal experiences? And Nick asks me, completely out of the blue, why do you only date white guys? And I was like – it knocked the wind out of me. And this is like a whole other layer of the identity crisis, right? Growing up, I grew up surrounded by a lot of Filipinos and a lot of Latinos. And I, as I say in the video, really struggled with how much of one, how much of the other. Is there a way to be both? I don't know. The Latinos – I was called a coconut in high school because I was brown on the outside, white on the inside. The Filipino kids would always say – my parents would meet another Filipino family. And then we would all hang out. And the kids – I don't think they meant any disrespect. But they would ask, like, you don't look Filipino. And I would have to explain. I spent my whole life explaining myself.

[39:49] George Salazar: And then I started – then I weirdly was just like – felt around – there's also this obsession with my mother's side of the family with white beauty and white culture. I think this is a very Asian thing. Very Asian, yeah. There's a lot of skin bleaching products in the Asian skincare world. And so that definitely played a huge role in things. But I, in that moment, started to kind of decolonize my mind. And it was – yeah, no, it really felt like a moment where I was liberated from the need for validation, specifically from white people. In this business, 99.9% of the time, my employers are white. So there is a really wild need for validation from white people in the industry.

[40:49] George Salazar: And it was at that moment where I was like – Nick and I had done Tick Tick Boom together. This was like, I think, 2017. I was out of a really terrible, abusive relationship and was starting to find my footing again. And that was a moment where I was suddenly like, I don't have anything to prove. I have nothing to prove at this point. I have to just trust that what I have is unique to me and is all I need. I just need to continue being a good person. I have to continue creating for other people. And I need to stop worrying about other people accepting me. I need to be ready to accept myself.

[41:49] George Salazar: And it was a huge turning point in my personal growth, was having that stoned brainstorm session with Nick Blamire in a West Elm on the Upper West Side. And it all stemmed from this question of why do you only date white guys? So 2017 was, I think, that was between Off-Broadway and Broadway, Be More Chill, right? Or was that as –

[42:19] George Salazar: No, that was right when Be More Chill was starting to get popular on the internet. So this was before – because we brought Be More Chill to New York and Off-Broadway in the fall of 2018. So this was just as things were starting to get really intense with Be More Chill. In terms of my artistry, this lined up right before doing The Lightning Thief.

[42:43] George Salazar: And The Lightning Thief is a moment in my personal process as an artist when things felt very different. And it was the first time where I felt like I wasn't – I was actually encouraged by Stephen Brackett to just listen to my impulses and just create. And I ended up tapping into a wavelength mentally that I had never experienced before in an artistic process. And it changed everything for me. It changed how I approach a character.

[50:37] George Salazar: And yeah, it was when I was able to free myself from the expectation that I'm creating, right? I'm creating expectations that I think other people have of me, and I just threw it all out the window and said, I'm just going to do it, you know? And so what I ended up creating with The Lightning Thief was really powerful and exciting for me. And it was my first time getting nominated for an award in New York. And it was all because, I mean, I really do think it was all because of a kind of a series of events that kind of led me towards realizing my fullest potential, and that it has nothing to do with other people's perception of me or their opinion of me, and everything to do with how much I trust myself.

And so this is an ongoing thing, because I left New York and moved to LA just when I feel like I was finding my footing as a theatre artist. And now I'm like, you know, trying to find my footing in front of a camera. And I'm now also trying to find my footing in a recording situation for voiceover work. And I feel like I'm learning all this stuff all over again. But I, as a human being, as a George Salazar, I feel like I know who I am now. And that sense of that strong sense of self, I think, is the thing that I was lacking for the many years when I was like, stumbling and tripping and falling. I was wondering, that's life, right? Yeah, I was wondering what came first if it was like, the Be More Chill stardom or the self-discovery, because I don't think you would be the person you are now, which is so self-aware and introspective if you hadn't had that stoned experience at a West Elm.

Because my guess is that carrying forward into the fame that Lightning Thief and then Be More Chill brought you, it would have amplified the need to please, or the expectations that you were, in essence, just putting on yourself.

[52:48] George Salazar: Yeah. Yeah. Yes, 110%. I always said, because when I was doing Godspell, and I was meeting Broadway people, and was meeting a lot of people who just graduated college and booked a Broadway show, I always looked at that and was like, I'm so happy for those people, but I would never want that to be my story. I've been really fortunate in that every step, every trip, every fall, every success, every failure, I fully embrace. Because I feel like all those things help to create the person we are in the now. I never would have wanted to make a Broadway debut right out of college, because there's no, where do you go from there? Except down. I mean, more or less. You can go up, you can keep going up, but that's, God, you know, but coming from the University of Florida to New York City, working at a seafood restaurant when I'm very allergic to shrimp, I worked at Bubba Gump Shrimp for three years, working that terrible, terrible job that was so soul-sucking, but so necessary, doing a national tour of a non-equity company of a musical, and doing 72 cities in six months, which equates to many one-nighters of not getting any sleep and just being on a bus all day, and then expected to go do a show full out.

Every step along the way just helped prepare me for the next step, instead of arriving and being like, ah, Broadway, oh shit. Just because you do one Broadway show doesn't mean you're going to be on Broadway for the rest of your life. I think we've learned, I lost my equity insurance back in October, which I think is really telling of the industry and our country in general, but the fact that I was in a Broadway show the year prior and then now had no insurance was really crazy. So every step along the way makes us who we are, and yeah, man.

[55:18] Alan Seales: Well, I cannot wait to hear and see more from you. I mean, it's because you're going down this path and writing, journaling, expressing yourself in the way that you are is going to take you to a place that you've never been before. And like you just said, this video that you put out for Works in Progress, it's the first where, as you said, you're putting it out there. It's yours, no notes from big teams, and it felt good. And learning from that, you're going to do more, and you're going to do better, and I'm so excited to know what you've got in store. Don't tell us now. Of course, we want to be totally surprised when it comes out, but I just think you are such a great person to get to know, and in the multiple ways we've worked together.

And I'm excited. I'm excited for all your success. I'm excited for just even all your internal work. I'm trying so hard to figure out who I am and all the internal workings of being a father and being this and being that, and to talk to somebody who at least is heading down that same path. We're never going to get to the end, but it's experiencing the journey along the way.

[56:35] George Salazar: Yeah, it's experiencing the journey, and it's enjoying the journey as well. Life is hard. Oh, God, yes. For everybody. And I think you can either let it ruin and destroy you, or it can excite you to the point where you're like, thrill you and push you to work harder in your art, in whatever your work is, but also just as a person. We can all afford to be better people. Always. Always learn. Always keep an open mind. Always just listen. Listening. That's what makes a great actor. That's what makes a great friend. I think that's what makes a great business relationship. You just listen. That's it. And I think this is a wonderful segue into our final three questions that I close out every episode with. The first one, and you may have just answered it, is what motivates you?

[57:42] George Salazar: Yeah, what motivates me changes all the time. But right now in this moment, I have, and they make special cameos in the video, but I have three gorgeous mixed race nieces, and a very handsome mixed race nephew. And so what motivates me now is to kind of try to lead the charge and try to create a place for them in the entertainment zeitgeist kind of world so that they don't feel like aliens.

[58:27] Alan Seales: I like that. That's my motivation. So then the next question is, what advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[58:39] George Salazar: I would tell them to start the self-acceptance journey sooner. Stop trying to please other people. Stop trying to live up to other people's ideas of what you should be, and just start learning to love and accept yourself. It's a lifelong journey for everyone. Even the most attractive people can feel empty inside sometimes. So I would just say start the acceptance, self-acceptance part of the journey ASAP. That means, for me, I would tell young George, come out of the closet sooner. Just come out of the closet sooner.

[59:34] Alan Seales: When did you come out?

[59:35] George Salazar: I came out to my mom in college. I didn't come out to my dad until I was 30. My parents are married, so my mom had to keep that secret for a long time.

[59:49] Alan Seales: Yeah, that's pressure.

[59:50] George Salazar: That's a lot of pressure. Yeah, I would have done it earlier.

[59:56] Alan Seales: So then the last question is, if you could only see one show for the rest of your life, but you could see it as many times as you want, what would you see?

[1:00:04] George Salazar: Oh my god. I, in this moment, would see Norbert Leo Butz and Sherri Renee Scott in the last five years at Lincoln Center. I believe that's where they did it. Yes, I think they did it there. I would see that show every night for the rest of my life. And they can be themselves in the early 2000s when they did it, or they can be current Sherri and current Norbert. They can still do it, I'm sure. I'll take them at any stage.

[1:00:39] Alan Seales: Okay. So everybody, please check the show notes. Watch My Identity by George Salazar. And there's a full playlist of his videos and everybody else's videos as well for the works and process artists. Visit him online at thegeorgesalazar.com. Of course, Instagram and Twitter at George Salazar. Is that everything? Did I leave anything out?

[1:01:02] George Salazar: No, that's it. I will say because the URL of my website makes me sound like an asshole, but it's only because georgesalazar.com was already taken. And then years later, the owner of that domain tried to sell it to me for like $10,000, which is insane. So that's the only reason why it's the George Salazar. It sounds very douchey. The URL of my website doesn't sound like it would come from the person that you've gotten to know over the last episode of this podcast. I just want to make that clear.

[1:01:36] Alan Seales: All right. Well, on behalf of all my listeners, we forgive you.

[1:01:41] George Salazar: Thank you.

[1:01:42] Alan Seales: So you can get more of me on Instagram and Twitter at theater underscore podcast. I'm on facebook.com slash official theater podcast. Please leave a rating, leave a review, tell your friends. This has been edited by Matthew Hendershot, music by Jukebox, the Ghost and George. Thank you. Most of all, this has been so fun, so enlightening. And I was telling my friend this morning when I was talking to him, I said, I'm so looking forward to this conversation because I feel like you and I are just on the same path and I cannot wait for COVID restrictions to lift so that we can get together and have a drink and get stoned and just talk about it and talk about life, experience the journey together.

[1:02:25] George Salazar: Love. I can't wait. Thank you for having me, Alan.