We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ricardo Marques a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ricardo, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
Risks are fundamental for business to succeed. No risks, no possibilities to grow and achieve success. It is always necessary to take risks so that your results are more significant and so that you get more returns. But it’s not easy to take risks and put everything on the line. I always looked for more relevant results, I never wanted little, I never wanted the simple, I never wanted the most guaranteed. I believe that the team that is winning has to be changed to achieve better results, the world is constantly changing, if we don’t keep up with the evolution of things we won’t be able to take bigger steps. In all my businesses I always took risks and looked for some way to start. Everyone starts one day and we simply have to start, take a chance on a new ocean and explore and discover what is not in our hands. I started my career early, seeking my own achievements, I had everything to live a comfortable life, but I preferred to take risks and undertake, innovate. When I started singing and doing shows all over the country, when I decided to set up the first musical theater school in Brazil and Latin America, when I produced my first musical, when I directed my first film. I didn’t know what I could do, but I had the knowledge, but starting is always taking risks, because at the beginning no one gives us opportunities because we don’t have a history, but to have a history you need a first time, and to have a first time it’s I need to take risks. Of course, over time we will gain experience, but the market is dynamic and there will always be new things to overcome and improve. Learning from mistakes and reinventing yourself is very important to follow. I’ve almost given up several times because the obstacles are too great, the challenges are almost insurmountable, but I’ve never been able to give up because of the love I’ve always felt for what I do. I came across several situations that depended on others, on a theater, on an investor or sponsor, on the public or on people I couldn’t control, but the most important thing was wanting to take risks to make it work, reinvent myself and create my own structures to follow regardless of external issues. Working in entertainment is not easy, it has many ups and downs, and it is in times of lows that we need to take risks and look for new opportunities where there may be no way out. I had years with many projects and years without any projects and I decided that every time I had nowhere to go, I would create my own path, and this is what encouraged me to invest in my projects and make them happen, regardless of others, but simply accomplish for myself, taking risks, but it was in these moments that I had a lot of results and success.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Founder of 4Act Entertainment, started my career as a singer and actor and later I became a director and
producer, worked in the theatre industry for 14 years.
Member of Broadway League, recent productions
include Back to the Future (Broadway and West End –
Olivier’s Award Winner as Best Musical), Grease (UK Tour and West
End), The Wiz (US Tour and Broadway), Burlesque (West End), The Time Traveler’s Wife (West End), Bonnie & Clyde (UK Tour). In Brazil, I was
lead producer and artistic director of broadway and
west end shows like Grease, The Bodyguard, Ghost, In
the Heights, Rock of Ages, Fame, and others.
Directed the Disney’s Newsies Brazilian Workshop.
I also invested in some shows in US and UK and I’m
developing four new shows in US and UK with major
lead producers. Development shows in US: Rio – the
Musical, We are Ameena and The Next Station. I worked
as Director and Producer in the tv series Invisível in
Brazil and as Production Designer and Producer in the
feature film Stalking.
Recently I was the Executive Producer and Director of the
feature films Let Me Go! and The Black Box in Hollywood – California – US.
I’ve studied Musical Theatre in New York, Cinema in New York Film Academy,
Graduating from FAAP in Business and completed a
Masters in Cinema/Filmmaking in LA Film. I also
founded the first specialized musical theatre school in
Brazil and Latin America, the 4Act Performing Arts.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My three most important qualities are Perseverance, Ethics and Creativity. One is completely linked to the other. It is very important to persevere to achieve our goals, nowadays receiving ”no’s” is very common and very frequent, we have to know how to overcome this with our creativity to always overcome ourselves and persist so that one day a no becomes a yes, so that a defeat is just a defeat of a battle but not of the war, if we fight for what we want, one day we will be able to achieve it. But we need to be correct, ethical, honest and fair, without this we can be overthrown at any time, and with that we will remain intact and always have new opportunities.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Family. Always. My family has always supported me and supported me in everything I did, without them it wouldn’t be possible to get where I am. From the beginning they supported me in my career as a singer and in the future as an actor, director and producer. They always went to my shows and plays, they always followed me closely and were my safe haven for problems and challenges. To this day, they follow my achievements and support me and this is essential to my success. In addition to all this support in my career, my family was fundamental in my upbringing, which defines my principles, characteristics and qualities. Education and the way of raising a child greatly defines their character, and I can say that my family was essential for me to become who I have become today.
Contact Info:
- Website:www.4act.art.br
- Instagram: @ricardomarques4act
- Linkedin: @ricardomarques4act
