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[0:00] Martín Acuña: Hi everyone, I am Martín Acuña and you are listening to Backstage Talk.

[0:16] Martín Acuña: Jonathan Larson asked how can you make someone take off and fly in one of his songs from Tick Tick Boom, and I, for the past two years, have learned one way to do it, through the power of community. Welcome to the Latinx in Musical Theatre special for Season 3 of Backstage Talk, where we will be featuring artists from across all positions in musical theatre, from several Latin American countries and different Latin heritages. I am proud to showcase my Latinx family. I hope you enjoy.

[0:51] Martín Acuña: Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Backstage Talk. We are in the homestretch of the Latinx in Musical Theatre special, and today's guest is an amazing performer that currently appears as the Evan Alternate in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway, which marked his Broadway debut. Congratulations on that. And his other credits include Trevor, the 2020 cast and workshop, where he played Jason, The Bittersweets, which also another workshop, The Christmas Spectacular, and has been on TV too. He was a Jimmy Award finalist in 2021, a Roger Rees Award as Best Actor, also in 2021. Welcome to Backstage Talk, Mateo Lizcano. I am honored to have you here.

[1:41] Mateo Lizcano: Thank you, I'm honored to be here.

[1:47] Martín Acuña: I'm starstruck because you are one of the youngest people that I've had on the show, and you have accomplished so much at such a young age. So I'm just curious to know, what made you choose the thespian path in life?

[2:04] Mateo Lizcano: Theatre has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. But the thing that really got me into it was I am the youngest of three kids. I have two older sisters, and both my sisters played sports. But my oldest sister was also into the arts. So she went to a performing arts high school, the same one I attended actually, Frank Sinatra High School of the Arts. And she was a vocal major, I was also a vocal major. And I would be dragged to all of our performances just all the time. And at the same time, I was being dragged to basketball games and softball games and a whole lot of sports that didn't really speak to me at all. But for some reason, my sister's performances, they really spoke to me in getting to see her perform.

And I just kind of saw that and I was like, I think that's what I want to do. Like, this is something that I enjoy watching. I was like, I think I'd like doing it too. So I started to do community theater. My very first role ever was Who Number Six in Seussical Jr. Everybody, I think, starts off with Seussical at some point. It's either Seussical or like Charlie Brown.

[3:19] Mateo Lizcano: Yes, yes, which I also did Charlie Brown at some point. But yeah, so that got me into it. And then the community theater company that I was a part of, Random Forms Kids Theater, was doing an industry showcase. And a bunch of people kept telling my mom that she should put me in it, and that I should be seen by representation. So I auditioned for the showcase, I got in, and then I performed there. And all the agents and managers, and I got a few calls. And that's when I signed with a manager and a few agents. And that's where I started off. And I was about nine, I believe, when I started doing this professionally.

[4:04] Martín Acuña: Very young.

[4:05] Mateo Lizcano: Yeah, yeah, pretty young. I mean, I knew this was what I wanted to do. And my parents were so supportive of it. And they still are to this day. I mean, truly would not be where I am today without them because they're just always so... I know that out of everybody, like everyone I meet in this career, I know that they are the ones who have my back the most.

[4:30] Martín Acuña: Yeah. And it's amazing to have the support of your parents. My father was pretty, really supportive with me also pursuing a career in arts. So I get the feeling. Tell me a little bit more about your journey in musical theater, like from the Chimney Awards, all the way to Dear Evan Hansen. And like, why musical theater among the universe of performing arts?

[4:56] Mateo Lizcano: Musical theater has always been my first love. I like to say like, it's the first thing that I really fell in love with and found myself enjoying. It's where I felt the most at home. And I often say like the stage feels like my second home. It's where I feel the most comfortable to be myself. Even if I'm, even though I'm not playing myself, you know, just being on there and being with a group of kids who also enjoy doing the same thing as I do, it really meant a lot at that young age. And it still means just as much now. So I actually, I went to a performing arts high school and there I was a vocal major and I did a few of the musical productions at my school. I did Phantom of the Opera. I did what else did I do?

Oh, Songs for a New World, which was actually the production that got me into the Roger Rees Awards. So we did, this was during the pandemic. It was my junior year of high school. And my teacher decided to put on Songs for a New World because it's a song cycle and it's really easy to put on and we decided to film it. So we have like really good cameras and like really high quality. Yeah. Yeah. Basically a proper pro shot. Like we went to Roosevelt Island to film some scenes. Our school has a rooftop. So we filmed on our rooftop and it was so much fun. Like I had so much fun recording it and all the rehearsals were over Zoom, but then like getting to go back to my school and be on my school's theater and doing all that was just such an amazing process.

It's a unique form of theater, but I think it's still like any form of theater is great. And it just so happened that that year, because of the pandemic Roger Reese, the Roger Reese Awards were taking in virtual submissions for shows. So we submitted our... I actually, my mom pushed me to ask my teacher to ask him to put our production into the Roger Reese Awards. So it wasn't, so if it wasn't for my mom, I probably wouldn't be here at all. So he submitted. And then from there, a lot of kids from my school were actually nominated and my school had, including myself, three finalists in the Roger Reese Awards, which was great. I mean, great publicity for my school, especially too. And both they, both of them are actually like, I'm really close with both of them, both of those finalists actually too.

So that was great. And then I won the Roger Reese Awards, which was mind blowing. I even, I think the more mind blowing part of it was they brought us in to say like, we're going to do, we're doing interviews with a bunch of the finalists and we're going to take some photos of you around New York City. So we took photos around New York City. Then they brought us in front of the, I believe it's the, ooh, which building is it? It's this building in Times Square. It's one of the news broadcasts. I think it's, I think it was ABC. I'm pretty sure. And they're like, okay, we're going to interview you now, but turn around. We turned around and our faces were on the billboard in Times Square. No way.

And it said the winners of the Roger Reese Awards are, and then they showed my headshot and then they showed Catriona, the best actress winner, they showed her headshot. And we were like, oh my God. And you can actually see if you, there's a video of it. I believe, I think Roger Reese posted it. And you can see me curse because I'm just so shocked, but it's muted. So it's like, you just see me mouth it and everyone's like, that's my favorite part of the video. And I'm like, that's kind of my least favorite, but it's okay. It's fine. But yeah, that was an insane experience. And then literally that weekend I had to, it was Jimmy Awards time. Literally that weekend I had to learn a dance for the Jimmy Awards because everything was virtual.

So I had to submit a video for the Jimmy Awards of me dancing, a video of me singing two songs of my choice from their own catalog of songs. They have a lot, giant catalog of songs. And I had to film an interview. Like I had my mom interview me, just so many videos I had to get done within that weekend. And then like, oh, and then I believe like a week later, that's when I started the Jimmy Awards. And that in and of itself was a whole other beautiful and amazing experience. And then I was a finalist in the Jimmy Awards. And throughout this entire period of time with the Jimmys, I was auditioning for Dear Evan Hansen. So I auditioned for Dear Evan Hansen the first time around when I was 15. It was in my sophomore year of high school.

And I got a callback for it, but I couldn't go because I was working on The Bittersweets and the schedule was just conflicted. The second time around, they asked me to submit a tape again, and I believe it was for the tour. And that time was super stressful because I had completely lost my voice the week prior. So I was still recovering from that. And somehow I was able to make it work. Those high B flats were not great, but they were enough, I think. They gave me a...

[10:40] Martín Acuña: Welcome back to Backstage Talk! Today, we have a very special guest, Mateo Lizcano, who is one of the youngest performers we've had on the show. Mateo is part of the Dear Evan Hansen family as an Evan alternate and Connor/Jared understudy. Mateo, thank you for being here!

[11:10] Mateo Lizcano: Thank you for having me, Martín! I'm really excited to be here and share my story.

[11:40] Martín Acuña: Absolutely! So, let's dive right in. You’re part of such an iconic show. Can you tell us a bit about your journey to getting the role in Dear Evan Hansen?

[12:00] Mateo Lizcano: Sure! I started my journey in musical theatre at a young age. I was always drawn to performing, and I knew I wanted to pursue it professionally. I went through a lot of auditions, and when I got the call for Dear Evan Hansen, it was a dream come true.

[12:20] Martín Acuña: That’s amazing! What was the audition process like for you?

[12:30] Mateo Lizcano: The audition process was intense but also really exciting. I had to prepare a few songs and do some readings. I remember feeling nervous but also really passionate about the material. It was a long process, but when I finally got the call, I was over the moon.

[12:50] Martín Acuña: I can only imagine! Now, being part of the Dear Evan Hansen family, how has your Hispanic heritage influenced your acting and your approach to the characters you portray?

[13:00] Mateo Lizcano: My heritage plays a huge role in my acting. It shapes how I connect with the characters and the stories we tell. I think it’s important to bring that perspective to the stage, and I’m grateful that the Dear Evan Hansen team has embraced my background in my portrayal of the characters.

[13:10] Martín Acuña: That’s so important! Representation matters, and it’s great to hear that the team is supportive of that. Can you share a bit about how you incorporate your heritage into your performances?

[13:30] Mateo Lizcano: Definitely! I try to infuse my cultural background into the emotional depth of the characters. It helps me connect with the material on a more personal level, and I think it resonates with the audience as well.

[13:40] Martín Acuña: That’s beautiful. It’s so inspiring to see how you’re using your voice and your experiences to enrich your performances. What has been one of your favorite moments on stage so far?

[14:00] Mateo Lizcano: One of my favorite moments was during a performance when I felt an incredible connection with the audience. It was during a particularly emotional scene, and I could feel their energy. It reminded me why I love performing so much.

[14:10] Martín Acuña: Those moments are truly magical! It’s what makes all the hard work worth it. What advice would you give to young performers who are looking to follow in your footsteps?

[14:20] Mateo Lizcano: I would say to stay true to yourself and never give up. There will be challenges along the way, but if you’re passionate and dedicated, you can achieve your dreams. Also, embrace your unique background; it’s what makes you special.

[14:30] Martín Acuña: Wise words! Thank you for sharing that. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with our listeners?

[14:40] Mateo Lizcano: Just that I’m really grateful for the support I’ve received and excited for what’s to come. I hope everyone continues to follow their passions and supports the arts!

[15:10] Martín Acuña: Thank you, Mateo! It’s been a pleasure having you on Backstage Talk. We can’t wait to see what you do next!

[21:22] Mateo Lizcano: Publicity, almost. And I think oftentimes we let those, again, we let the lines blur between those two and we can't really separate it. I think all it means is just reflecting what our world is today in media and in all forms of media, and especially, especially theater. And especially for Latinx people. I live in a neighborhood that's pretty Latinx, but I also have a lot of Asian-American neighbors. And I live in Flushing, so it's majority Asian-American, but there are still people who are not just Asian-American. We're a very diverse country. We're a very diverse world. And I think that we need to start reflecting that in everything. And it should not just be like, oh, we need a token Hispanic character in this role because we need to meet a diversity quota.

It should just be. It should just be like that. You know, we need to get to a place where we aren't casting just for race, we're casting for talent. And it just so happens that we have all these different races in one room together. And I think we need to start doing that. It needs to stop being about meeting a quota, and it needs to start being about just reflecting real life.

[22:48] Martín Acuña: And how do you think we could increase that specifically Latinx visibility, but in general visibility and representation of everyone on Broadway?

[22:58] Mateo Lizcano: I think that there's a lot of Latinx children and just younger Latinx people who I'm sure love the theater and want to get into the theater, but maybe they just aren't well off enough. Maybe they don't have the resources that I had growing up. You know, I have parents who luckily have really stable jobs and they're able to provide for me, but not everybody has that. And especially, I think, in Latinx communities, when you have families who are immigrating and families who maybe don't have all of those resources, it can be hard to get those kids into these programs. So if we maybe created more programs, if we just did more things to get these kids into theater and doing what they love, that would help, you know, because a lot of kids have that talent.

They just don't necessarily have the place to perfect their craft and really work on it. So if we had more of that, then I think, and then this goes for just like, not just Latinx, like all communities, all races, I think that's a way. And I think that's where it starts, you know, you have to start from the bottom and then work your way up.

[24:13] Martín Acuña: I love it. I'm really curious on asking you, has your Latinx heritage and background affected Evan or the characters you're playing on Dear Evan Hansen right now?

[24:27] Mateo Lizcano: Yeah, actually. Something that I am very grateful for that the Dear Evan Hansen team has started doing is they are a little bit more aware of the family, like especially the Murphys, specifically like the family situations and stuff. And they are pretty good about talking, the associates are very good about talking through that and what that means to each individual character and what that means for the family dynamic kind of thing. Like my first day of rehearsal, the associate director came up to me and just said like, look, he's like, obviously you're Hispanic. He's like, so if you go on for Connor, that makes sense because at the time Ivan Hernandez was playing Larry. And that would make sense that I would be a son because we're both Hispanic and we both look pretty similar.

He said, obviously that would make sense. He's like, but you know, if it was like, the understudy Asa, then you know, that's when we can have that conversation about like, what does that mean to you? And then when we have the Evan conversation, it was just like almost a similar thing of like, we can talk about what that is for you. So whether or not your Evan is adopted or whether or not your father is maybe Hispanic and you just happen to be mixed race. I don't normally talk about like my Evan and like my background and the background work I do for Evan. But for me, I've always been a mixed race child or my Evan has always been a mixed race child because my mom is mixed race. My mom is Puerto Rican and she's also German.

Her dad is German. Her mom is Puerto Rican. And growing up, she struggled a lot with, you know, not necessarily feeling like she belongs to a certain group and that's hard to navigate. And I definitely think that that can kind of add to Evan. If Evan is mixed race, maybe Evan just doesn't like, that's part of like why he doesn't necessarily feel like he belongs in any certain place. And that could just be a factor of it, you know, not just that, his anxiety also as well. But that's kind of what I think about. And that's what I try and pull from because it's true. You know, I'm also mixed race technically, because even though both my parents are Hispanic, I'm still a little German because of my grandpa.

So it's definitely that aspect of it has affected my Evan. And I don't make it like super, super obvious when I play Evan, but I just, it's good to have in the back of my head and it's good to know and to think about, especially when you are a person of color and you're representing a community of people.

[27:16] Martín Acuña: Yes. And it brings me so much joy that this specific conversation happened in the room with the associates at Dear Evan Hansen. It brings me a lot of joy and it's step forward to all this DEI and visibility and representation conversation that it was meant to have long ago, but we're starting to having them in the rooms that really matter. So I love that.

[27:46] Mateo Lizcano: Yeah, I think it was very nice to walk in on the first day and to have that be said to me. It was very nice. And their recent castings and especially the tour alternate as of right now is Black American. So that's another situation where it seems like we're really starting to make some strides in casting, which is very nice.

[28:12] Martín Acuña: I love it. Mateo, thank you so much for joining us. We know that, well, I know that you are on Instagram and other several social media platforms, but if someone wants to reach out to you, where would be the best way to do it?

[28:30] Mateo Lizcano: The best way to reach out to me is to actually on my Instagram. I have my email connected to it. So if you email me on whatever email is attached to my Instagram, I will try my best to get back to you if you have any business questions and stuff.

[28:47] Martín Acuña: Lovely. One last question. Which are your top five favorite musical theater shows?

[28:53] Mateo Lizcano: Ooh, top five. OK. All right. Number one is and always will be Rent. Rent is a big show for me. My sister, who actually got me into musical theater, was a part of the production of Rent. And I think that actually probably really cemented that interest for me. My dream role is actually Mark in Rent. I would love to do that one day. My second favorite show. Oh, my God, this is so hard. There's so many really good shows. I think my second favorite show, it's very cliche to say, but Hamilton. Because of the diversity aspect of it, I really enjoy that it's all played by, I mean, for the most part, it's played by people of color. And the founding fathers were white. And it's nice to see what the world looked like back then, but represented by what our world is like now.

That that's really great. And of course, Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius. And it's really great that he brought rap and musical theater together because now there's things that my uncle and I can enjoy together. What else? My third favorite musical. I think I want to say The Lightning Thief. It's a very it's not very well known, but I love The Lightning Thief. It's amazing, isn't it? It's so good. It's I yeah, I heard Good Kid and I fell in love with it. And that was my audition song for everything for a really long time. And I genuinely like, love Shrek the Musical. That's another one. I really do like that. People think I'm joking when I say it, but I really love Shrek the Musical. And just to throw it in there, Dear Evan Hansen.

Obviously, it's a good show. It's a great show. I personally think it needs a couple of rewrites, as any other show and specifically with certain topics, but it's a really good show. Like, I fell in love with that show thanks to the music before getting into the story.

[31:06] Martín Acuña: Me as well. Yeah, it's I mean, it's a very important story. And it's a very important musical that that everyone should see, and everyone should experience for themselves.

[31:16] Mateo Lizcano: Yeah. Mateo, thank you so much for joining us. It's been a pleasure, not only to meet you, but to listen to you. And I wish you the best. I know that you are a rising star in this industry, and I really cannot wait to see where you're going. So thank you so much for spending the time with us today.

[31:34] Mateo Lizcano: No, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I had a really great time.

[31:41] Martín Acuña: Thanks, everyone, for listening to this new episode of Backstage Talk. Remember to follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Backstage Talk Podcast.