Years
ago, performer
Jade Esteban
Estrada got
some great
career advice.
But he didn't
know that until
fairly recently.
"(Actress) Zoe
Caldwell — I was
her assistant
when I first
went to New York
— I said to her,
'Do you have any
advice? I want
to be an actor.'
She looked at me
and she held my
hand and said,
'Jade, in order
to be a real
actor, you must
do everything.'
And I was like,
'What?'
"And I know now
what she meant.
Living life,
falling in love,
having your
heart broken,
buying a house —
these
experiences
deepen our
souls. Actors
have a lot in
common with
psychiatrists in
that both are
about the study
of life, of
human behavior.
I can't
understand human
behavior unless
I experience
it."
The native San
Antonian poured
some of his
experiences into
a couple of
one-man shows.
He'll bring the
second, "ICONS:
The Lesbian and
Gay History of
the World, Vol.
2" to the
Bonham Exchange
this weekend.
The performance
is part of the
Diversity
Center's
celebration of
National Coming
Out Day.
The show is a
little hard to
explain, Estrada
said, because
it's a little
bit of
everything.
"There's tap
dancing, musical
theater, opera
and dancing in
it," he said.
"It's (similar
to solo shows
by) John
Leguizamo, Lily
Tomlin, Whoopi
Goldberg, but
it's not. The
format itself is
unique."
Over the course
of the show,
he'll play
diverse souls
such as Ellen
DeGeneres,
Gertrude Stein,
Oscar Wilde and
Michelangelo.
Estrada is
working on a
third "ICONS"
show that he
hopes to launch
at the 2006
Bi-Annual
Columbus
National Gay &
Lesbian Theater
Festival in
Ohio. That will
be a homecoming,
since he
premiered the
first two
"ICONS" shows at
festivals past.
"Then I'll be
done," he said.
©2005 San
Antonio
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