Meet Taylor Wendell Lozano

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

Hi Taylor Wendell, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.

Writer’s block has been something I actively work against since starting as a writer. In my years creating, I have seen a number of folks lay claim to it as a mental block to keep from writing, often being afraid of actually approaching a subject. Previously, I worked with adults with developmental and physical disabilities, specifically as an acting coach and writing teacher, and found many folks face issue with simply beginning ideas, due to the expectations they had for themselves and how their work was received. Additionally, at the same time, I was acting as an artistic director of a new theater company with 2 other co-writers on our creative team. Since they were used to working together, they often approved one another’s ideas and rejected mine, which created this constantly insurmountable wall to try and overcome. It got to the point where I found myself less represented, because I would present ideas and be shut down before even starting the writing process. What I found is that folks are quick to be wary of an idea that doesn’t have substance, and that it’s far easier to just begin and see a concept through to it’s finished product before approaching others about their thoughts on it. Humans are naturally wary of new ways of thought that they have yet to attempt, and sometimes require a diagram of how that thinking can be shaped, and because people wish to share ideas before they are finished (especially now with social media), it has only become easier to quit when feeling rejected. My process involves not discussing too extensively with others any new ideas until you have a beginning, a middle, and an end, because then it just becomes seeing how that full idea works for them rather than finding why it doesn’t work. The temptation as a writer or composer is to create pieces of a thought without having the “why” behind it decided and shaped, but if you make a decision for those “whys”, then the people you present them to no longer go looking for a means to provide answers, because you put the answer out for them.

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

Currently. I am most excited to see my original musical, “Andy, the Creator”, have a work-shopped performance at the Empty Space Theater in Bakersfield, California, as well as what the show will be once I go into the rewriting phase once the production closes. , “Andy, the Creator” is a science fiction one act about a robot with depression trying to sort through those feelings with the toaster, the Roomba, and the Google Dot in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Beyond this play, I have been focused mostly on bringing science fiction into theater spaces, and you can find many of my plays and one acts through my account on New Play Exchange. While I do enjoy creating adult comedies, I also have been working on material for kids and young adults, in order to cultivate cross-field interest in STEM research and live theatre. The goal these days is to build momentum through the community theater circuit throughout California, primarily focused on San Diego as my next hometown. So, if you read one of my scripts and enjoy it, please reach out, especially if you’re interested in putting it up! You can follow my work at www.taylorwendelllozano.com and find me on Instagram under @thealmightyhound where I sometimes release improvised and original work. My music and albums “Doody on the Dance Floor” and “Let’s Be Human” can be found on Spotify and Apple.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Probably the strongest traits I have had to actively work on over the years are my ability to be wrong, actively listening to others, and being willing to finish a piece even if I am not proud of it. They all tie into one another in different ways, and I genuinely believe they are skills everyone needs to learn in the arts, as they all involve how ones energy is passed throughout the world. At the end of the day, being able to accept that you will not satisfy everyone is important, as it allows you to know that finishing a project means you can move onto the next one. I see many of my contemporaries get caught up in a first draft, believing it must be perfect and polished before presentation, not realizing that said polish won’t come until after people see the work for the first time. The opposite also applies, as not having a willingness to rewrite and allow the first draft come to fruition leaves you in a negativity cycle, where you continuously stalemate yourself from seeing a piece to it’s finality so the polish can begin. As well, the fear of what people might say on your journey to polishing can be so vulnerable and painful, but people need to react to work in order for the work to have an effect, and if you never hear what they say, you’ll never learn how to best help your piece. Being able to take in what people say about your work is important, because people don’t speak on pieces they don’t care about, and it is as vulnerable a process of them to share their emotions as it is for you to take them in. Ultimately, there will be missteps, and you don’t necessarily need to listen to them, much in the same way folks might not listen to your emphatic assertion about why their ten minute play doesn’t work. The fact of the matter is, people are scared of being wrong, and it isn’t until you can be “willing” to be incorrect that you can find out how to be right. So, go into these feedback sessions ready to speak your heart, because it is the only way others are going to know how their work had an effect on you. And sure, you might be wrong in some way, maybe even interpreting the material incorrectly. You will learn from it, though, and your peers will learn from it, and they will appreciate you more for being open and honest with them, maybe so much so that they will go out of their way in the future to be open and honest with you. It’s how you feed that creative symbiosis we as artists all share, and it’s also how you are able to take something back and continue to thrive in the very oppressive world of activee feedback.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

I think the one difficulty I have these days is ensuring I continue to keep working on new ideas regardless of how I’m feeling, and finding a means to let my feelings inform how I will get work done on a daily basis. Making plays, musicals, and songs is much like exercising: you need to do small, diverse activities, paced out over time to allow yourself to heal and grow muscle, in order to sculpt the form you feel comfortable with. On some days, it feels like I can’t do any work, and especially since I write and compose on my own usually, on those days it’s best to just try and write them down through some medium, whether it’s on the page or at the piano. Other days, when I have momentum and energy, I count through my activities, like through a journal of my ideas, or by practicing a song on repeat for 2 hours, and even just holding a meeting with another person to talk through things. In fact, right now, my response to this interview is actually a big part of my goals for the day! It doesn’t matter what you are doing, or even how long, as long as you make the effort to do something productive with even a little bit of your time in a day. Not only can it help pull you out of negative feelings, but it can also make overcoming days when you feel down and out just a little easier. People need activities and a social life to succeed, but they also have days where the simplest of tasks can feel insurmountable, so my advice is to always see them as one in the same, and if you can get yourself regularly trying, then you are always on the positive path.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.taylorwendelllozano.com
• Instagram: @thealmightyhound
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-wendell-lozano-71506b228
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPeH1Mxyw6zMpm3tWdmQ7xQ

Image Credits

Main Photo: San Luis Obispo, 2021, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo – Taylor in an original show he cowrote and performed in, “Writer’s Block”. Photo Credit: Brittney App
1. Manhattan School of Music, 2025 presentation of “Second to None” – Left to Right: Taylor with performer Michael Norman, and bookwriter / lyricist writer for “Second To None” Jake Nielsen. Photo Credit: Daniel Larsen
2. Montclair State, 2025 – Dancer Shloka Porwal performing in “Can You Let Go” with Opera On Tap. Photo Credit: Robin Michals
3. Frigid NYC, New York, 2024 – A performance of Taylor’s original one act musical, “The Giant Child”, featuring Jillian Ohayon and Benjamin Swanson with Andy Li on piano.
4. The Empty Space, 2013 – “Cannibal the Musical” featuring Taylor and Emily Anthony. Photo Credit: Michelle Guerrero
5. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 2023 – “Somewhere, a Primer for End Days”. Photo Credit: Brittney App
6. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, One Act Festival 2023 – Featured with Michael Gould in “’69 Honda Civic Hatchback”.
7. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 2023 – Tech check for Student’s Stage Spring Cabaret.
8. NYU Tisch, GMTWP 2023 – Winter Showcase of the first musical number from “Humanity, the Musical”, featuring Trevor Lanford. Chenyue Hu (bookwriter), Sophia Schott, Tess Edwards, and Simon Landsburg-Rodriguez.