Meet Natalia Caraballo

We were lucky to catch up with Natalia Caraballo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalia, thank you so much for joining us today. There are so many topics we could discuss, but perhaps one of the most relevant is empathy because it’s at the core of great leadership and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your empathy?

I love how this question is phrased because it really all does come down to the privilege we have of being born into healthy conditions in our early home life and/or from curating our own new environment that purposefully allows to develop our empathy further. I was born into a household of unconditional love, and I don’t take that lightly because I know some people aren’t born into the same circumstances, and not having that empathy and compassion exemplified or given to you as a child is heartbreaking and way too common. We all innately deserve to practice and receive it daily.

My family are immigrants and I’m first-gen, and as an adult I am in even more awe of how much empathy they extended to me with everything they had gone through and sacrificed in their lives before me and when I was a child. The conditions my mother specifically created in my childhood are extraordinary; she never made me feel insecure, scared, ashamed, or repressed when it came to expressing the full range of my emotions. In the latino community there is an unfortunate lack of support when it comes to freedom of expression, but she allowed me to feel it all in every way. She introduced me to theater and the performing arts when I was very young, and that created another doorway into opening up my empathy in ways that only the arts can. The conditions created by filmmakers and storytellers are singular when it comes to feeling true empathy for circumstances that are completely different from our own. I am constantly surrounded by beauty and gracious friends and family, and in moments where I lose my connection to empathy for. a bit I just come back to my community to remind me how lucky I am to have them.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am an actor, director, dancer, teacher, and co-founder of a theatre production company! I’m half Guatemalan and half Puerto Rican, and that part of my identity is at the forefront of my artistic and educational pursuits. I have the most wonderful latino/a/x besties and community around me and take such pride in our culture and history. One of the hats I wear is teaching in several Spanish dual immersion programs in my community, and it’s been a healing experience for my inner child/teen because I really struggled in school. I will scream from the rooftops until the end of time that arts education in K-12 is essential and that it quite literally saves lives. When I was in high school, my theatre program showed me that in moments where I felt huge academic insecurity, I was still able to find freedom and excel in something that connects us all, that connected me even more to my culture, and that (to my huge surprise at the time) I could make a career out of.

I studied theatre in university as well, and since graduating I’ve gotten to act in some incredible short films, plays, national & superbowl commercials, bilingual spots, podcasts, and spend lots of time auditioning for projects my inner child could only dream of. But circling back to college, I was fortunate enough to meet and be supported by the most amazing queer community that are now some of my closest friends, co-founders, and members of our production company The Prophets (@prophethouseproductions on IG). Our name stems from Prior Walter’s line in Angels in America (which was a heavy part of our artistic curriculum) because as cheesy as it sounds, just like he felt he was called upon by an angel, we too feel like we’ve been brought together by some force and called upon to pursue this crazy dream with each other. The friendship and community we’ve built is the biggest gift, and I already feel like I’ve won it all because I have them in my life – shoutout to CSULB for bringing us together! We wrote our first original play based off the 7 deadly sins called SEVEN and put it up in our theatre department, and once we saw what we were capable of we ended up taking it to sold-out runs in Hollywood and Long Beach, and we realized we had started something special (and kind of insane). Then last year, one of our co-founders ended up writing his own original play called The Poppy Void; he presented it to our company and everyone loved the pitch, and then he asked me to direct it… I was gagged. Up until that point I had only considered myself as an actor, never a director. But truthfully, just knowing that he had trust in me to move his project forward really gave me the confidence to dive into a version of myself that I’ve always wanted to grow into: a version of me that stood her ground, trusted her instincts, and took up space as a leader, and I don’t know if I would’ve gotten to that version without this opportunity. I directed the show again just a few months ago, and also ran a few tech elements which granted me with a newfound understanding (and deep appreciation) for the tech teams across all productions. I had the most amazing co-director, production team, writer (obviously) and cast. Every time we get to put up a new show we all learn so much and get to connect with our local theaters, and it’s just the biggest blessing. We plan to keep doing this together until our lights go out.

I am writing so much forgive me, but I also love to travel, I am extremely political (let’s talk!) and I LOVE to dance. I encourage everyone to take a dance class as soon as possible – it WILL change your life!

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?

I think empathy, curiosity, and discipline are the most important parts of my current journey. Discipline is tough, but I know that without it I simply cannot get to where I’m going which is a person at her healthiest and an artist operating at her highest potential. My habits and my routine must outweigh my fluctuating desire and motivation, and that is advice I’m giving myself every second of the day and what I would tell to anyone who is early in their career. Another piece of advice I’d give folks is to put yourself out there maybe a little sooner than you think you’re ready for. Networking isn’t as scary as it sounds! Truly being kind to folks does get you incredibly far, and you learn so much about yourself when you break into new communities. Never isolate yourself. This isn’t to say don’t have alone time (I loooooove my alone time), but prioritize finding a community(s) and immerse yourself in it and be curious about other people whether you’re an artist or not. Take a weekly salsa class, join a book club, a gym, find like-minded people online and set up a meeting, host an event, check IG for open meet-ups happening in your desired field, etc. Putting careers aside, if all these man-made systems were to fall all we’d have is each other and our relationships, so having community as a solid pillar in your life will always have your cup full.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

ALWAYS! I love collaborating and meeting new people. If you want to collab on filmmaking, theatre production, photography, dance, content creation, singing, and honestly anything in the artistic field, I am a sponge and want to learn and experience from as many people as I can. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via Instagram @NataliaAnnette – I love making amigis!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://prophethouseproductions.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliaannette/

Image Credits

– Jeremiah McKibbins
– Karly Coleman
– Leah Huebner