Hello and Welcome, I'm so glad you are here!
My name is John and I'm an actor, mover, and maker that performs in film, tv, and on live stages all over the world. My work has taken me to over 30 cities, across 20 countries, 12 states, and 4 continents. I love being an artist!
I'm a native New Yorker originally from Washington Heights, NY and the first person in my family born in the US. I'm proud of this background and feel that it uniquely shapes how I see the world and how I express myself in my acting and the projects I create.
I studied acting/theater at NYU Tisch School of the Arts (BFA) on a full scholarship and later attended the Terry Knickerbocker Studio which specializes in a Meisner approach to acting.
Thats just the blurb, there's so much more to me folks!
Film and TV
I made my feature film debut playing opposite Teyana Taylor in the Sundance Grand Jury prize winning film 'A Thousand And One' (Focus Features) written and directed by AV Rockwell. Shout out to Avy Kaufman, an incredible casting director for bringing me in to be part of such a stellar cast.
A huge accomplishment for me was getting cast in Law & Order: SVU, a staple of NYC and my first time tv booking. My sister and I grew up watching the show and I remember it playing in the background at home as a kid trying to learn English. Being on set and getting to play opposite Ice-T was a dream come true. He even got them to add a line for me!
A few years later I got to play opposite Rick Gonzalez in my first Recurring Guest Star role on Law & Order: Organized Crime! It was my first time acting with another Dominican actor and I'm glad they kept in the Spanish lines we were able to lend to the script in those episodes. My first time hearing the Dominican Spanish I grew up with, on national television. Thank you NBC and thank you Jonathan Strauss Casting for bringing me back.
Theater and Dance
Theater and acting changed the course of my life, discovering my love for it at such and early age saved my life...
I've ventured into various corners of performance - experimental theater, downtown dance, cabaret, drag, all kinds of incredible stuff working with directors and choreographers such as Miguel Gutierrez, Big Dance Theater, Full Circle Souljahs, The Ridiculous Theater Company, Andre Serban, Pilobolus, Andrew Schneider, Raja feather Kelly/ the feather theory, MOTUS of Italy, Ivica Buljan of Croatia, Allyson Green, Jesse Phillips-Fein, Martha Tornay, Jeanette Stoner, Culture Hub NYC, and many more, performing in venues all over the East Coast, Europe, and beyond - such as BAM, The Kennedy Center, La Mama, Dixon Place, Danspace, Dance Place DC, BAX, and many more.
I'm especially proud to be a member of the legendary downtown theater company, the Great Jones Rep Company created by La Mama Founder, Ellen Stewart, along with Elizabeth Swados and Andre Serban back in 1973. I've toured all over the world and learned some of my most magical lessons within this artistic family.
My work
My personal work combines theater, movement, writing, and original music in English and Spanish, ranging from artistic expressions based in everything from hip hop to postmodern dance. I've been a resident artist at New York Live Arts (Fresh Tracks), BRIC Labs, La Mama, Center at West Park, and Culture Lab LIC. My works been presented at The Rubin Museum, Dixon Place, Gibney Dance Center, Judson Church, BAAD!, La Mama, New York Live Arts, and BRIC. The work is typically collaborative based, often dealing with current and historical interpersonal and systemic sociopolitical issues. Shout out to my collaborators James Clements, Beth Graczyk, and Uwe Mengel!