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[0:00] Joe Rosko: Hello, welcome. Welcome to Built For The Stage Podcast. I'm excited. I'm excited. Anyways, welcome to Built For The Stage Podcast, your one-stop shop for all things fitness and theater. Yeah, Broadway's number one fitness brand. We're everywhere. We're in the West End too. We're thankful. We're grateful. We love the fam. Go to BuiltForTheStage.com. Check us out. See what this goofy guy's rambling all about. If you've been following along with us, thanks. Subscribe. Tell your friends about BFTS Podcast. Thanks to Broadway Podcast Network for producing the podcast, putting up with us. You can check them out at bpn.fm. All right. Oh, wait. If you're watching this, if you got this on, I don't know, Instagram or something, this is like our next shirt coming out.

It says, I run this street with the Broadway street sign under it. We're going to be running a 5k with Broadway Cares for the Spring Fling Race on Governor's Island. All funds go to Broadway Cares. So if you want to join our team, you can check out the link in this episode and I'll see you on April 5th and we can run together. Okay. Speaking of running, let's run to our guest. Special guest is always one of our faves in the Built For The Stage fam. Please welcome to the podcast, Julio Rey.

[1:36] Julio Rey: Thanks for having me. Hi, Julio. We're going to get into who you are and if the people listening don't know yet, but if they don't know, they should know and they're about to know. But thanks for carving out the time to chat. You have a show tonight in this little skit called Aladdin on Broadway that's been going on for a long, long time like we discussed. But before we get into that, let's just talk about how good you look in your Built For The Stage merch. Ain't she cute? Ain't she cute? And let's go over your last session that you did. When was the last time you did a sweat? Tell us about that.

[2:12] Julio Rey: Oh gosh. It was actually, well technically, I was sweating last night in my show. There's no pressure here. No pressure from the coach. No pressure. I've had a pretty busy week thus far. So my last workout was this past weekend. Went hard. Went really hard. Amazing. Yeah. And I'm hoping once I'm done with you, I'm going to head right to the gym to get my next session. What was the worst slash best part of the session last weekend? Was there something that was like, oh, this is getting to me?

[2:43] Julio Rey: Anything that's cardio. I'm realizing that I've been slacking on the cardio and I've like sort of been like saving myself to get through the show. But then I'm like, wait, no, actually I need more of this outside of just my show. So I'm little by little trying to bring that back into my routine and prioritizing that I have enough time to actually do more of the cardio and core aspect of the work sessions.

[3:10] Joe Rosko: Yeah. We had a member join recently, Kathy. She is in the tour of Funny Girl and she said, we put it on her Insta because during a phone call with her, she was like, you know what? I found that when I worked out, I actually had more energy for the show. When in the past, I always thought I needed to skip the gym so that I could have more energy for the show, but it doesn't work that way. And I'll always work out the time to lift for sure. But if I don't have the time to do, if I am lacking time, the thing that I always end up getting rid of is the cardio aspect. But every single time I've made sure to prioritize that I have enough time to do that, I always feel so much better afterwards.

[3:54] Julio Rey: Yeah. Okay. Amazing. All right, everyone. Listen to this gospel that Julio is preaching right now. If you are unfamiliar with Julio as far as like his backstory, he has been on the podcast before. We'll put the link to that episode in this description of the episode. You can check that out. But this conversation is going to be about how Julio booked his Broadway debut of Bad Cinderella and had an interesting time there of goods and bads, then booked Lempicka, short lived. And then here he is, though, in Aladdin, and he gets to cover the role. He's in the ensemble, but you've gone on quite a bit. I was lucky enough to also see him. I was in there. I was like, going crazy. But I just wanted to chat with Julio so everyone could just have an inside scoop on the literal ups and downs of Broadway.

[5:07] Joe Rosko: Yeah. And the resilience that it takes, and that the hope is there, whether it's to break into the Broadway circuit, or to stay in it. So, yeah. Do you ever tell this story to anyone? Do you have an overview? If you were me, how would you start this discussion?

[5:28] Julio Rey: Well, a couple of weeks ago, there was a girl who came up to me. I had just gone on for Aladdin. A girl came up to me at the stage door. I forget from what country she was visiting from with her friends. But she came, I signed her playbill. She walked away, and then five minutes later, she comes back, and she was like, how do I get started? Like, was this easy for you? And I was like, oh, honey. No, it was not. No, it was not. And I told her that if this is something you want to do, you just got to go for it. There's no one track path. And as much as talent is a factor in our industry, it's hard to have your mind wrap around the idea that there is a big idea of luck involved in it. And timing, things happen the way that they happen, and you can't control that.

[6:20] Julio Rey: So, I have been very fortunate in how some of these jobs have just lined themselves up. Because like you said, I booked my first Broadway show. When you're in those contracts, you're not looking for the next thing because you're too busy focusing on what's going on right now. That show leaves, and you're like, all right, I have to start from square one again. So, that's basically every single time. Like, I start from square one, and hopefully something comes around the corner. The grind is real.

[6:50] Joe Rosko: Yeah. All right. So, after that first experience, you had a very interesting first experience at Bad Cinderella, because like the hate from either the journalist or the young TikTok crowd was ever so high. But yet, the community or like people like myself that are theater goers were like, maybe it wasn't, I don't know, Sweeney Todd or something. But like, I just had a nice time at the theater. Like, I liked the show. But yet, some people were like, I don't know, going crazy. And then you close, and then Lempicka hits. And it's this inspiring, interesting backstory about this artist, this female artist. And it's awesome to have that story being played. But then boom, like gone. Were you? Did you have the wind just be like, lean into the lowness, if you would, if it was there? Like, did you have the wind just knocked out of your sails of just like, F, I'm catching a break, but I can't catch a break at the same time.

[7:59] Julio Rey: Yeah, I did. I didn't know what was going to happen at that point. But even more so with Lempicka, we, like the Broadway grosses are listed every week online. So like, it's no surprise to any of us that the show was not selling well or making money. So we had a feeling that it was coming. We just didn't know when. But I remember the day I got my notice for Bad Cinderella, the day I got my notice for Lempicka, the first thing I did was call up my agents. I was like, hey, I don't know if you've heard, but I'm going to be unemployed. So let's hit the ground running. Let's go.

[8:30] Joe Rosko: Can we just zoom into that? Because like, that's an amazing attribute that you have that you're like, all right, time to get to work, where I think a lot of people, they wouldn't be calling their agent, they'd be, I don't know, going through all the feels, which I'm sure you were. But at the same time, you took those feels with you and also picked up your phone and was like, okay, let's go. How did you, what, I think we talked about it a bit in the first episode that we chatted, I think about your mom, about just like the influence of the work ethic and just what, how that was bred into you. Is that the same thing with you? Is just like, all right, let's go. What do we got to do?

[9:18] Julio Rey: Yeah, literally. Like I was just always taught that like, all right, there's an obstacle in front of me. What are the steps, what steps are you going to take to get over that? And like, great that I got to do Lempicka and that sad that it was short lived. But once that chapter ends, like I have to keep going, I have to pick myself up. So how am I going to do that? So I was already making sure that I had my side jobs lined up for the moment that that show closed. Though we got our closing notice and we had two more weeks to go. So during those two weeks, every, I was a swing in that show. So I was in the dressing room reviewing material for every single project that I could possibly be going in for.

I was going home, staying up late, doing self tapes because I knew that I wanted to have some form of employment lined up to keep at least my artistic momentum going. So yeah, and then I allow myself time to grieve, of course, and I have my friends that are super supportive and whatnot. So if I allow myself the space to do all those things, things tend to go pretty okay.

[10:25] Joe Rosko: Yeah. Okay, so how from the, what is the journey of Lempicka closes to booking Aladdin? Was that instantaneous? Was that a long road or what was the journey like there?

[10:40] Julio Rey: Sure. So we get our notice for Lempicka. I call my agents and I'm like, hey, I'm sad, we're closing, get me employed. And they're like, great, we got you. And so I just start submitting myself for things. I'm also one of those people that even though I have an agent, I'm still on Actors Access, I'm still on Casting Networks. And if I see something that I might be interested in or that I feel like I'd be a good fit for, I immediately send the screenshot of that to my agents. I'm like, hey, not sure if you submitted me, but I want to be considered for this.

[11:10] Julio Rey: And then something that actually kind of sucked during Lempicka was that we get our closing notice, but then we are still required to do understudy rehearsal because it was already on the schedule. So we get our closing notice. And then the next day, we end up doing a full run of the show with all of our covers and all the swings on for different tracks. And we all were like, okay, cool. This is great. Too bad we'll never get to do it.

[13:11] Julio Rey: One that's listening to this, like please take note, copy this, do it. Life is vibes and the universe setting things up, but also it's like when the door is there, one, you have to be willing to open it and do what it takes to go through it. But two, if the door is not there, sometimes you run through the wall or you build a window or something. And Julio is doing where you're not just like, well, I guess I'll just wait for my agent to call me. You know, like yeah, you have to take initiative. Like yes, your agents work for you, but you are your own entity and company. And like yes, your agents are gonna be able to get you projects and whatnot, but they need to see that you're putting yourself out there just as much. And also if you really want to work, then you got to put forth the effort to get yourself out there.

[14:40] Julio Rey: Yeah, okay, so the second thing is when you were balancing all these different materials and auditioning while already having something booked but still not having learned the role completely yet, do you enjoy that? And is that why you're able to do it? Or how do you balance all the sides and the songs you're learning but yet your actual script of your role? Like yeah, how does that go about in your head? It's pretty difficult, not gonna lie. Sometimes it's fun, other times I do not enjoy it, and you just gotta do it. I will say that I feel like my previous theatrical experiences have sort of taught me to learn material really quickly just because that's the nature of things. Even how I made my principal debut in Bad Cinderella, I had no rehearsal, and then there came a day that someone had to go on, and it was all up to me to learn what my understudy track did.

And same with Lempicka, that was a situation as a swing that no one's there to teach me how to do this, but things happened, and with little preparation, I have to be ready to go on for any of those ensemble guys. And in a show that, because it was so new, things were changing all the time, so we never knew what the show was going to become. And then at that point, once I started Frozen, thankfully Kristoff is kind of a princess track, and I'm really familiar with the movie, so more or less like you go into the rehearsal process at least knowing the material you auditioned with, and I get the grasp of like what's going on. So I'm able to at least compartmentalize like, all right, that's the show, I can do that.

But then like on a break, maybe I'll go and I'll highlight my sides, and I'll just like listen to plunk tracks of my other music. So it's just a matter of like allowing myself to stay organized and separating myself from that and being okay with like, all right, I'm not fully memorized with this, but I can put that aside. I'm going to go play pretend with this material for a little bit, and then I'm going to put that aside. I'm going to play pretend with this material. So it's training, it's all training in different ways.

[17:03] Julio Rey: Yeah, okay, so the last thing is the success of booking the two Broadway shows, the North Shore squeezed in the middle of the eventual Aladdin booking. What do you think, besides talent, is giving you success in these audition rooms? Like what is it about you that you think is bringing you success when you're entering these rooms? Hmm, I mean I like to play. I just like to really, I like working off of other people, and I like the idea of collaboration with people. I also really love what I do, so I'm going to go into it wanting to just like have fun and feel. And even more so lately, because like I've just been doing Disney shows, like part of what we do, like there is this sense of magic and whimsy and whatnot, and your job as an actor is to help the people in the audience forget where they are.

So in the last six months for sure, I've had to remind myself that like if I want those people to have fun, I need to have fun. So always reminding myself I'm coming from a sense of play has been really important.

[18:27] Julio Rey: How do you get yourself in that headspace before entering the room? Because I know like self-doubt or just anxiousness or even if you've done a gazillion auditions, like there's a bit of that that still creeps in. So what do you do before entering the room? It's funny that we're talking about this. I had a, I actually had a callback yesterday for a project, and I was brought in to read with somebody else yesterday. And with how the audition was panning out, I got to actually stay in the room to watch the other person do her solo material that she had to audition with. And it was so eye-opening because I just watched this girl like command the space, be herself, but also advocate for what she wanted in order for her to do better and just like throw caution to the wind.

And then after she did her stuff, I then had to step up and sing my song. And I remember starting, I got an adjustment, and I was like, you know what? She said, "Fuck it." I'm gonna say, "Fuck it." I like grabbed a chair, I like stood on it, I waited for the music to start, and I just like jumped into the air and like landed in a squat just to propel me into the material. And I stopped like caring about how I was being perceived. I was just like, you know what? No, I just need a physical action to get me out of it. Like I stopped caring about what I thought something needed to be or what I thought something needed to look like. Letting things manifest in front of me, it's just letting loose.

I don't think there's like one way for like how I let loose. It's almost like finding a way to distract yourself from your own thoughts, you know? Because we're very introspective people, and you kind of have to silence that.

[20:04] Julio Rey: Okay, I love it. All right, let's jump into Aladdin. When did you first go on? Was it, I'm getting mixed up, September or November of last year? I remember like seeing it on your... I debuted as Aladdin at the end of August. Okay, yeah, so got it. So you probably like, I think you put, yeah, I think the post was like September 2nd or something, so maybe you like, I don't know, gathered your videos or photos or what you wanted to share a few days. Okay, so yeah, wow, it's February, it's been a minute. It's been a minute. What was that? Was it smooth with scheduling or was it out of nowhere? Tell us about that first night you got to go on as the street rat. It was, it was pretty magical. It was really, really cool, not gonna lie.

When I joined the company, and this happens sometimes, but not very often, but it was a unique situation where when I joined the company, we knew I was going to be in the ensemble covering Aladdin. But in that moment in time, since Aladdin's such a well-oiled machine, they know how to keep that show going. But they knew that they were lacking coverage for Aladdin, so they start, usually you start off by learning your ensemble track and then learning whatever other role you're understudying. They had me learn Aladdin right off the bat, so I just sort of got thrown off the deep end. But thankfully, I will say that Aladdin's been a show I've known for a very long time. Like I've been following it since I was like a little kid.

"Proud of Your Boy" was my college audition song. Like I know this show. So the only really difficult part of the process was building up the stamina for the role and also it's just so much, so many words, so many words, and trying to justify how you're going to remember them in the through line of it all. That first night was insane because I think, if I'm not mistaken, I really only had one full-out run of the show as Aladdin before debuting, which I wish I would have gotten more. There's just no time, there's no way to set that up in the schedule. And even like it doesn't matter how many times you get to do it in a studio, like with chairs and like maybe some people holding props and whatnot, there's no way to train yourself to do one jump, jumping off the buildings, jumping off of blocks and carts.

There's no way to prepare yourself for that other than to actually do it on the stage with the people. I feel like, I feel like that's Aladdin. I mean, obviously you can correct me, but I've seen the show four times now. You just, they're like, here, let's just give him the hardest number right out of the gate to just right away. It's so rude to me. I describe that number as organized chaos. It's just absolutely crazy.

[23:03] Julio Rey: Did it go off without a hitch that number or were there like some close calls? You almost got hit in the head with a banner or you almost fell jumping off of the set piece? What was that night like on that number? You know what? I've been noticing that like my first time on for these big roles that I've gotten to do recently, I get in the zone of just like worry about what's happening in the moment, worry about telling the story, and then...

[23:23] Julio Rey: What happened? I don't remember. And I was reading this book, this actor's workbook that talks about being in the state of flow. And if you are in this state of flow, then you probably shouldn't be remembering what happened on stage. If you are in a place where you are remembering every little thing that happened on stage and you're not living in the moment. So once I remember getting off and finishing the whole performance and being like, I don't remember what happened. Okay. I feel good about that.

[23:55] Joe Rosko: Yeah. Yeah. A thousand percent. There is some book either about a cliff diver or like a downhill skier, not just normal skiing, but like, I don't know, extreme skiing. And the whole book is about flow state of just, you're making these split-second decisions of essentially life or death. And there really is no like, Oh, let me think about this. It's just no, let me lean on what I know and let my intuition take care of the rest and my instincts.

[24:27] Julio Rey: Exactly. And even with Aladdin too, like even to this day, I've been lucky enough to go on plenty of times. It's one of those roles that if I'm not thinking about the next thing, if I start to linger on like one thing that's happened, I forget everything else for that scene. Cause he just is so active in the show. If I mess up a line and I get stuck in that line, I'm good. I'm done. I will forget the next thing. Like, it's one of those things that I just got to keep going. If I mess something up. Okay.

[25:03] Joe Rosko: What's a, I mean, obviously not giving secrets away at Disney, but like what's something going on up there that maybe an audience member would consider routine, but is one of the more, I don't know, difficult or mentally engaging things that like you're saying like, Oh, if I blip this up, then I'm going, I'm going in that white room really quickly.

[25:20] Julio Rey: I mean, honestly, for me, physically speaking, as Aladdin, physically, the show feels really good. Like I'm really consistent with my workouts with Built for the Stage. And also like with my background, like I'm in a, I'm in my happy place. I get my little moment to dance and it's not that intense. And even like the jumping off the buildings and the blocks and whatnot, because I push myself so hard in my fitness life, like all of that is great. The hardest part for me really is the through line of remembering all the words, because especially one jump and there's plenty of other songs too, that they're all just like pattery word songs that each verse doesn't necessarily have like a straightforward endpoint to justify like how to remember these lines. So literally every time before I go on for Aladdin, I have my script and I'm just reviewing the show because I know I will forget something.

[26:23] Julio Rey: Another difficult thing, like sometimes quick changes, depending on like who's in different tracks, because that's the other thing. Like every single night I do the show in the ensemble or as Aladdin, everyone's different. Like everyone's getting sick. Everyone's getting injured. People go on vacation. So in that building in particular, I've never experienced where like truly every single night of doing the show, something is different because I'm running out to meet my partner and oh, my partner is so-and-so tonight. Let's go. Let's see how it's going to be tonight. So I guess it's just the fact that like you can't really get comfortable in anything. You might know the material that's going to come out of your mouth, but how it's going to happen and how other people are going to be there to lift you up to do it, that process is always going to be different.

[27:10] Joe Rosko: Yeah. Speaking to someone else about this, that they're in a Disney show as well, or we can just talk about shows that have run for a long time in general. It's a different, first off, it's a different energy backstage and on the stage. The longer a show runs, like you're saying, the more vacation, the more, I don't know, sickness, or it's just more, not that it's corporate, but it's like a typical job. Whereas like maybe, I don't know, a show that is open just a few months or in its first six months or so, like no one's wanting to plan to leave. Everyone wants to be in the show and yada, yada, yada. So everything's always changing when it comes to a show running a long time. What in your cast, speaking of that different energy, is there anything you take note of that you enjoy or that is different being in a show that's been around so long in comparison to what you just experienced with your past two Broadway shows?

[28:10] Julio Rey: Well, one, I like that I have job security for at least a year. Right. Yeah. That's the first thing. That's great. Yeah. I also like that I now get to experience some kind of routine. And I can sense that there is like a family bond in that building. And it is cool to be in an environment of like theater artists, where people are also getting to take the time to focus on like what they're, yes, they're working full time on Broadway, but like, what are their other aspirations? And like, maybe some financial goals, or like some other things that they now get to entertain, because they have a job that they don't have to worry about closing anytime soon. So there is like, that level of stress doesn't necessarily exist in that building, which is cool to experience.

It is also cool, just to see how many people have been a part of Aladdin. And to watch how the stage management team, the dance captains keep the show running, even if like all of their full-time people are out, they will have someone on speed dial ready to be like, Are you around? Do you know this track? Do you want to go on tonight? Like, it's, it's crazy. And then just like from that, even like from a friendship networking place, you end up just like meeting so many people that are going off and doing their own things. And then you end up collaborating with them in some capacity outside of the show.

[29:53] Joe Rosko: Yeah, there's a few things. It's really cool, the environment that they've built up over there. Nice. All right. Well, with this, like, ease or comfort of or, you know, the relaxation of I got a year here, what are some passions or what do you think you might dive into more that you know that you're kind of going to be around for a bit?

[30:13] Julio Rey: Sure. Like outside of, you know, outside, are you going to like, knit some sweaters? Are you gonna? I've been crocheting a lot. I love to crochet. I've definitely been diving into some more difficult projects because I can. Same as like, I was I was speaking earlier about like that, how actors we have to be in the sense of play. Like I've been really wanting to push that like, I can embrace things that make me feel like a kid again. So getting back into video games, like I want I want to play on my Nintendo Switch more. I'm playing more board games, just like doing stupid stuff that like makes me feel like a human.

[30:56] Joe Rosko: Again, I just I just got a Nintendo Switch. You got any games to recommend? What are your favorite games? What do you like?

[31:01] Julio Rey: I'm a Pokemon guy. I love Pokemon. I just finished Pokemon Scarlet. Before Bats and Gorillas started, I had Pokemon Violet. And I was like, I love this game so much. I'm gonna I'm gonna buy the second one. It's great.

[31:17] Joe Rosko: How do you keep the color straight? Like, how do you realize? Oh, this is that game just by the colors. Like, what's that all about?

[31:21] Julio Rey: I mean, it's the thing is, it's the same game. It's literally front and back. It's the same exact game with just like different names within the game. And like the main Pokemon is different. But I just liked it so much. I said, I want to do it again.

[31:39] Joe Rosko: Yeah. I think I started with like, one of the Mario Brothers things, you know, when you go to the different worlds. I don't even know what they called it, though. But I was having a major nostalgia of like, because my ass is old. And I had the original like Nintendo, you know, with the blocky Mario and the blocky Luigi and all that. And I didn't realize how musical Bowser was. I don't know if you're, if you remember the game, but like, when I'm playing this game, it's like, wow, I'm like having to, I don't know, syncopate these rhythms and things to make sure I literally look at us just talking about Nintendo Switch and being nerds.

[32:23] Julio Rey: Nerds. Honestly, that's been the biggest thing that I've like, really embraced now that I've had this time. I'm like, you know what, I just want to nerd out and have fun when I'm not at the show now that I have this time. Like, good for you. That's one of the things that I do to get myself out of my head to silence those voices and just to have more fun. And that I let that influence how I go into a room.

[32:43] Joe Rosko: Yeah. Okay. I love it. Well, not much exploring of the city is probably going on right now because it's been frigid. I got warmer though. It got warmer. Yeah. It's gotten warmer. So as spring is hitting before I let you go, what's like, because I was talking about the spring fling 5k, I'm going to be running with Broadway cares. What's like some spring thing that you always love about New York? What's speaking of magic, you referenced magic earlier with Disney. What's a magical New York City thing you like to do during the spring?

[33:16] Julio Rey: I mean, once it starts getting warmer, I love to just like, even to go out and go on walks, I love to go out and tan and go on a jog. Like, I just am looking forward to not having to stay but I love being bundled up. And I love to stay warm.

[33:32] Joe Rosko: Oh, you do?

[33:33] Julio Rey: To like, enjoy outside and get it like I'm at the beginning of when I joined Aladdin, I just moved to Brooklyn. Like I'd love to be able to explore this area more once it starts getting warmer. And I also get much more explorative of the city. Once again, I'm an outdoor brunch boy. You'll find me at brunch all the time.

[33:55] Joe Rosko: I will say that's one struggle about being on Broadway is that you don't get to do brunch anymore.

[33:58] Julio Rey: Yeah, I miss brunch.

[34:02] Joe Rosko: Only Monday brunch. That's it. Just Monday brunch.

[34:05] Julio Rey: Yeah, so go on a nice brunch for me sometime, Joe.

[34:08] Joe Rosko: I will. I'll let you. I'll send it to you and you can go on a Monday.

[34:12] Julio Rey: Or we'll go on a Monday. We'll go on a Monday sometime.

[34:15] Joe Rosko: I'm down. I'm down.

[34:16] Julio Rey: All right. Well, as always, Julio, such a pleasure to chat. You're always such a good person. So can't wait to, I don't know, give you a squeeze on the next one. Keep training hard. Thanks for joining us.

[34:28] Julio Rey: Thanks for having me, Joe. It was a pleasure.

[34:30] Joe Rosko: Yeah, my pleasure. All right, Julio Rey, BFTS fam, a fave. Make sure you give him a follow on the gram at Julio.iguana. You can check that out in the description of this episode. Don't forget about our 5K Broadway Cares sprinkling April 5th. Check out the link in this description of the episode. Billforthestage.com. Joe Rosko signing off. Actors are athletes. Train like one. Later.