In 2017, Gabriel Regojo was just two years out of college, getting to know the theater community and setting small goals for himself as a performer. Goals like trying to land roles at theaters he hadn\u2019t worked at yet, which at that stage, was most of them.<\/p>\n
But it was where he had worked in his young career that caught our attention and landed him on our Ones to Watch list for the year \u2013 notably a lonely university kid in Mildred\u2019s Umbrella\u2019s Dry Land and an immigrant kitchen worker in Stage\u2019s My Manana Comes \u2013 both excellent performances that showed his knack for naturalism and sensitivity onstage.<\/p>\n
We highlighted his work then as part of effort to draw attention to important artistic talent on their way up. Now, almost ten years since we started our Ones to Watch feature, we thought it would be fun to catch up with some of them and reflect on their artistic journey thus far.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat article definitely gave me more impetus to continue pushing and expanding my craft and working with as many wonderful, talented artists as possible,\u201d says Regojo. \u201cI wanted to keep improving and so that it wouldn\u2019t be a one-off kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking at the list of theaters Regojo\u2019s worked with over the years, he needn\u2019t have worried. His credits run the gamut from large\/medium companies like the Alley, Stages, Main Street, AD Players and Catastrophic to small independent productions.<\/p>\n
The time and the breadth of his experience, he says, has led to greater confidence as a performer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an early career actor when we first spoke, I was still very nervous and very, very, very cautious in my approach to roles and now so many years later, I feel more like, oh, I can handle that. That\u2019s something in my wheelhouse. I\u2019m not as intimidated by the things I\u2019ll be taking on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regojo cites his 2024 two-character credit in the Alley\u2019s production of And Then There Were None as an example of how he\u2019s grown as a performer. \u201cI had never done an Agatha Christie, and I always felt it was a little more posh than I was and that I wouldn\u2019t understand the flow and feel of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n
But as a more seasoned actor, Regojo says that fear went away when he got into the rehearsal hall. \u201cI had a great team of creatives with me to help give me little tips, but also just support me on stage so I was able to explore my two different characters for that show as opposed to if I would have done it in my 20s, I would have been nervous and there wouldn\u2019t have been as large a difference between the two roles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Playing multiple roles is something Stages Artistic Director Derek Charles Livingston experienced when he directed Regojo this past holiday season.<\/p>\n
\u201cGabriel has this seemingly preternatural ability to make his characters simultaneously fully vibrant and yet truthful,\u201d says Livingston. \u201cFor Stages\u2019 recent production of It\u2019s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, that talent manifested itself in at least six different characters he played. There was a moment\u2014and it\u2019s a testament to just how talented he is\u2014in which Gabriel played two men, with different accents, in a brief, passionate argument with each other that was just as effective as two actors having the fight. The audience broke into applause every time. What\u2019s more, Gabriel\u2019s just a lovely person with whom to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regojo says part of the credit for his work ethic and actorly presence goes to the smaller theaters in Houston that took an early interest in him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe smaller budget company\u2019s trust in me to take on roles helped a lot because it\u2019s challenging for smaller theaters to produce and there\u2019s a higher risk involved. So, the confidence they placed in me gave me the confidence to go all the way from a small black box to an 800-seat house.\u201d<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s now a wide net of roles Regojo goes after, he\u2019s now focused on his age and what that means for his choices. \u201cI\u2019m aged out of the 20-year-olds, but I\u2019m not quite old enough to be 40, so it\u2019s this weird nebulous region.\u201d Age aside, when it comes to the kind of work he\u2019d like to do more often. \u201cI\u2019m hoping to see more Latine work, and work that is indicative of the unprecedented times we\u2019re living in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regojo says he\u2019s also extremely drawn to surreal work and magical realism, both personally and for how these types of works help with his more classic roles. \u201cThe absurdist helps me find the truth in the form of a classical piece and then the rigidity of a classical piece can help me make sense of the absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regardless of the genre or size of the theater, one thing is certain: Regojo brings a specific feeling to all his characters \u2013 one of earnestness. We trust that he\u2019s a whole person onstage. One with conviction. They might not all be good guys, but Regojo finds sincerity in all his performances and we can\u2019t help but be drawn in.<\/p>\n
Up next, you\u2019ll be able to see Regojo in AD Players\u2019 modern adaptation of Dostoyevsky\u2019s Crime and Punishment, playing Dmitri, the charming, loving, stand-by-you-always friend with a little too much affection for booze. The show runs January 28 to February 22.<\/p>\n