Meet Gabriel Rosario

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gabriel Rosario. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Gabriel, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure I have! Imposter Syndrome is something that, at least for me, comes back from time to time. Luckily, I am surrounded by some of the kindest human beings, ranging from family and friends to co-workers and students. These people remind me that I deserve to be in these spaces and that the work I’m doing is having a positive impact. About a year and a half ago, I was in a particularly deep valley. It was one of those moments in life where you start questioning almost every decision you’ve ever made, asking yourself if you’ve chosen the right path. Well, one day I was speaking with a student at AMDA and they said, “Yeah, if it wasn’t for you and David (another member of the Faculty and one of the most generous souls you could ever meet), I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the program.” Hearing those words reminded me that, while not perfect, I have made a positive impact on a lot of my students.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Gabriel Rosario, I’m originally from Puerto Rico, but been living in NYC for just over a decade. I moved to New York to pursue my passion in theater by way of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. While I was there, I had the fortune of working with some amazing stage combat teachers and I walked out with a fascination for that discipline. I continued training under the head of the stage combat department at AMDA and eventually, he’s the one who offered to take me under his wing.

I never really saw myself doing something other than acting, but I quickly fell in love with teaching and choreographing. After years working in the stage combat world, I was drawn to the budding world of Intimacy work and found yet another source of fascination. It has led me to open up my views and pursue different paths within the world of theatre I love so much.

Currently, I’m fight directing a play I’m incredibly excited about, ‘El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom’ by Matt Barbot being produced at the Long Wharf Theatre in Connecticut. It has been amazing to be surrounded by so many artists who share similar background telling a story for our people.

In the future, my wife and I plan to move back to Puerto Rico and start a performing arts academy and a theatre company.

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 would say one of the most important qualities is patience. Which is easier said than done, I know. But in my opinion, so many misunderstandings come from a lack of patience to take the time and make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Which leads me to an important skill in pretty much any profession or industry, and that is communication. Successful communication relies on one party clearly stating what they want/need/expect and the other party understanding it. If someone doesn’t understand what I explained, it’s not their fault, I have to find a different approach to connect with that particular individual.

Lastly, I believe something that isn’t talked about nearly enough is bias training. Part of my Intimacy Direction training included a lot of self-reflection and bias training because as human beings, we all have biases. If you are unaware of them, you can end up causing harm, even when you do not intend to.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Always! Lately, I have been wanting to connect with more Latinx artists, with the hopes of connecting with more Puerto Rican artists. Teaching at an institution that, as great as it is, does not currently have many Latinx faculty members has made me want to broaden my pool of Latinx creatives so I can connect students who are graduating to professionals they can collaborate with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gabrielrosariopr.com
• Instagram: @gabrielrosarioprfights

Image Credits

Stephanie Hawkins
Theik Smith