Adrian Torres is a Theater Teaching Artist with Mariposa Arts, the Arts Council’s after-school program that mentors high school students and brings visual art, music, dance and theatre to more than 2,500 students in schools that have little or no funding for the arts during the regular school day. Adrian has worked with the program for 15 years, specializing in working with elementary and high school students.

Adrian’s also an accomplished actor and theater director. He began his theater career as an ensemble member of the world renowned El Teatro Campesino in 2001, playing roles such as Henry Reyna in Zoot Suit, Satanas in La Pastorela, and El Diablo in La Carpa de los Rasquachis. He then became the Theater Company’s youngest director in 2008, directing large-scale productions including La Pastorela and La Virgen Del Tepeyac. Adrian has since acted in a wide range of theater and film productions, from House on Rodeo Gulch, a mysterious thriller, to Joy!, a touring circus production, to Danny Boyle’s film, Steve Jobs. And, he is currently filming in Monterey for a new Netflix series.

We caught up with Adrian who told us about becoming an actor, finding your creative voice, and bringing Hollywood to Watsonville.

Tell us about your artistic journey.

I was an introverted kid. I drew cartoons and comic books. Even though I was shy, I knew that I had some type of talent; I could make people laugh, but I didn’t know how to hone it. I was approached by El Teatro Campesino, who saw my talent and needed a small role filled in a play called La Pastorela, a nativity story about the shepherds as they followed the star of Bethlehem. My life was completely changed by that experience. I saw people who looked like me doing amazing work. Being involved in theater was like seeing my cartoons come to life.

How does teaching inform your artistic practice?

I love what Mariposa Arts stands for. It reaches so many who have grown up in my community. In my teaching, I take practices I’ve learned from big budget films, bring lessons from El Teatro Campesino, and adapt these into an hour-long class for kids. It’s heartwarming to see kids do the same techniques that professionals do; it adds credibility. I am proud to be a person of color in the traditionally white industry of Hollywood. As a Watsonville-based artist, I can share what I know with those in my community. I can bring Hollywood to Watsonville.

I want my son to be able to see how it feels to follow your dreams, and my students are extensions of my children. If I can get a student to open up and be vulnerable about their life, that’s a win. As a teacher, I want to give students experiences. I want them to make their own discoveries.

How are students lives transformed by the arts?

Many of my students have gone on to become teachers and artists in their own right. In my second year teaching, I met two students who, five years later, I learned were married to each other. She went on to pursue her career in photography at UC Santa Cruz, and he’s an animator and theater teacher at Alisal High School. Another student who was in one of my high school productions went to work as a professional dancer and drama teacher in Mexico. Students over the years email me to tell me it was the production they did with me that sparked their interest in the performing arts. I feel so much pride seeing them grow and branch out.

What else are you proud of?

That I am still creating passionately. Artists can lose their drive if the people surrounding them say to stop being an artist. I’ve worked with so many organizations, and the Arts Council is the best. They understand that artists are also people. I am proud that I have maintained my artistic drive despite hardships. The one thing that has always nourished me, and given me a second chance at life, is theater.