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Stephen Alcalá is a Mexican-American voice actor working out of Houston and Los Angeles. After a long, winding journey of burying his head in textbooks at school, being raised under traditionalism and an unbending work ethic, and avoiding anything artistic like drama or theater, Stephen was encouraged by his high school teacher to take an art elective in high school (thank you, Mr. Malek!).
Realizing he was drawn to the arts, Stephen made a risky move to head out to the Midwest for a degree in design and illustration, a plan that fell through, but instead, he met the love of his life, his biggest champion, who has supported him in his acting journey.
And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
It sounds cheesy, but it doesn’t make it less true – I could not live without the relationships I’ve developed within the VO community. Every laugh, every cry, every vent, every celebration with friends and mentors strengthens my desire to be a better performer and to make cool stuff with people that I love. It is my north star, my driving force in every way.
This year I got to announce a dream role – Blue Beetle in DC Dark Legion! The audition felt like an uphill battle (interface crapped out, I was getting over being sick, day job work was picking up in a big way) but I rolled with the punches and let it rip. I stayed confident and persistent when it would have been easy to let my anxiety win. I’m glad I did. To be this character, whose story and background I feel in my bones, to lend my voice to that – it’s an indescribable feeling. I am so very proud and grateful for that chance.
One of my major takeaways from THNEA classes is to fully and honestly commit to my character’s circumstances. Get in the weeds! Get specific! What am I physically doing in these moments, who am I talking to, how do they feel about me, how do I feel about them? Learning to ask myself these sorts of questions instinctively and to flesh them out in such a detailed way has been so helpful as an actor. It lets me bring ME to the story. This has been a core teaching since my first workshop with THNEA – I’ve still got my first character notes pinned in my booth to remind me of that. ❤️
My big advice is to keep it steady and learn to accept (and even appreciate) the lows as much as the highs. I’m a naturally anxious person – shocker, right? – and it can be a struggle when I get in my own way or let life keep me down too long, even very recently. But with a lot of coaching, mentorship, and good ol’ therapy, I’ve been better about reframing my perspective. I only wish I started sooner. Keep the faith, Steve. You have no idea what’s coming.
13 08 26Rest is hard to come by as a creative person. Experts will often tell you to embrace “just being,” but personally, when I try that, a little voice tends to pipe in my head and let me know that I’m falling behind, not doing enough, and then I end up retroactively putting together an in-depth game plan to tackle for when I’m done pretending to “just be.”
09 07 26...networking isn't just about meeting people. It’s about building genuine professional relationships. The challenge is that authenticity has its own etiquette. Industry professionals can usually tell the difference between curiosity and strategy, and the strongest networking happens when the two naturally overlap.
11 04 26I’m curious, if you’re an actor, singer, engineer, composer, dancer, animator — or like, pursue anything in the arts, can you recall a note you’ve received in the past, or a special nugget of wisdom from a mentor that you can say has genuinely helped shape your craft for the better? A note that’s inspired you to strive to be the best artist you can be? On the flip side…have you received a note that felt like a personal attack or perhaps has made you question your worth as an artist?