Janyce Caraballo

Emily Santos
Dec 6, 2016
6 min read

ES: Last summer you went to New York to do an internship. How did that go for you? JC: Yes, I worked at the Adirondack Theater Festival, which was in Glens Falls, New York in the Adirondacks, and I loved it. I did administration there. I was the administrative intern for the Theater Festival, which was amazing and I really loved it. It was mostly box office, working with sponsors of the festival, putting up advertisements, really working closely with the patrons of the festival and just making sure that everything went smoothly with all the performances. I also helped with the lighting and made sure all of that went smoothly. It was a lot of work but my favorite part actually was being able to see Broadway performers perform every day and getting to talk to them about their process and how they got to where they are now. One of my favorite people that I met was J. Robert Spencer and Mitch Jarvis. They're both Broadway veterans and it was really cool to casually say, "Hey, what's up?” They knew me on a first-name basis and they would "like" my stuff on Facebook and in my head I thought, "you have a Tony, no big deal" so that was cool. Although I really loved administration because I'm good at it, my passion lies with performing. So as much as I love doing that work it's a little bittersweet not being the one on stage.

ES: So doing Broadway is something you want to pursue after you're done with college?

JC: Yeah, I think it would be cool. I'm definitely not someone who thinks, “Broadway's the only thing out there for me" because I've always been interested in musical theater. I went to a Performing Arts High School and I was a musical theater major there. Then this past semester I studied at the National Musical Theater Institute in Connecticut. Everyone there was Broadway bound and that was their mentality. If I get there, that's super cool, don't get me wrong, but I would do just about anything that comes my way. I really love Stage work, I love musical theater, I like to sing and dance but I think I'm most passionate about acting. Plays and film and TV... that'd be really cool to get into once I graduate.

ES: Did you have anything going on this summer? What were your goals or plans this summer?

JC: After spending so much time away, I was in Ohio and in Connecticut for most of the year, so it was really important for me to come back to Chicago for the summer. I worked at the American Theater Company and that's actually my theater company that I've been a part of since my junior year of high school. I did box office administration there and front of house and that was really cool because I got paid for it. The past couple summers I've been doing that work, but for free as an intern, so it was the first time I actually got paid for it and I thought, "I could get used to this.” That was a lot of fun, and then I also took classes at the Black Box Studio. It's a really great Studio and I loved it so much. It was mostly acting technique in Mizner and viewpoints, which are my favorite acting techniques. I was the youngest in class, and I was really learning from other Professionals in Chicago. One of my goals was actually to get my foot into the Chicago scene and just get to know other actors who are around Chicago who I might be running into once I graduate. It was perfect. I really loved the experience.

ES: Do you think things come easier or harder for you on campus being a Latina? For example, is it difficult getting rolls or being involved in general? Have you experienced any racism on campus?

JC: Yeah, that's a good question but something that has benefited me on campus is being a Latina. A Chicago public school education wasn't enough for some reason. I didn't like speaking in a big group setting, but I think being a Latina was a large part of that, I just felt like I wasn't good enough.

ES: How do you think your neighborhood shaped you as a person, which in turn affected your career?

JC: Humboldt Park is a huge part of who I am. That's all my childhood memories, like playing in the playground, watching my dad play baseball and my whole family plays actually. That's how my parents met, in Humboldt Park. I went to Jose de Diego Pre-K through 8th grade. Everything is here, going to the Puerto Rican fest, and the carnival and all of that, the parade, I have always been around my Puerto Rican roots since forever. I think that affects my career just because I bring that with me, I bring this passion and I'm just always concerned whether or not Latino voices are heard. That's exactly what I look for when I do different projects and things like that.

ES: When did you finally decide that doing Performing Arts was the career path you wanted to take?

JC: Growing up at Diego we didn't have a drama program and I never did theater prior to High School. I just knew that I really liked to sing and I really like to be in school choir, and church choir.

ES: I was going to say, you're really involved in church and you do a lot of activities with church. Was that what started your interest with Performing Arts?

JC: Actually what started it was my grandma. She had a folk dancing group called Las Semijitas and as soon as I could walk I was thrown into that. My grandma and I went to performances all over Chicago and it was all plena, merengue, and salsa. That's where it started and with my whole family it was just a given that when I grew up I would be in this band too. There are videos of me being three, on stage. I remember in 8th grade my friends came to me with an application for Chi Arts. I didn't go to the high school fair for some reason but my friends told me, “This is a school for dancing and singing and you should check it out", so I did and I looked into it and I thought, "I want to go here". I didn't think at that time I knew I wanted it to be a career, I just thought, "I like to sing and dance, how could I do that?" My friends said, "Musical theatre. You can sing, dance and act.” I think it wasn't until probably my junior year of high school where I really thought, "I want to do this forever.”

ES: Did you ever have doubt in yourself or from your family when you decided to fully take on Performing Arts as a career?

JC: All the time, even to this day, especially since no one in my family is an artist really. Everyone dances but that's just their hobby. I think whether or not they realize they do it, they still for many reasons make me question myself. They ask, "Are you still doing theater?" but they don't understand what goes into it and all the training I'm getting, and there's also so much technique and hard work to it. They don't understand and now that I'm coming into my senior year, I get that questioning a lot about what's coming next. Whenever I explain to them, "I'm going to be a professional actress,” I feel like I have to…

ES: Own it?

JC: Yeah! I have to own it or I have to defend myself. I find myself quickly thinking, "I'm also good at administration", you know?

ES: You have to give them a safe answer?

JC: I have to justify myself, that's what it is.

ES: What is a quote you like to live by?

JC:

Love grandly

Work forcefully

Listen Humbly

Risk intelligently

Risk stupidly

Scare yourself