Today we’d like to introduce you to Juliana Cerón.
Hi Juliana, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in beautiful Colombia, in the city of Bogotá, and I started to get a sense of what I wanted to dedicate my life to when I was about 13 years old. At that time, I only knew that music had to be a part of whatever I was going to do, and I finally came across the idea of musical theater as an actual career – not just a fantasy I’d only seen in TV and film – when I found clips of popular Broadway shows in rehearsal. Soon enough, I was researching Musical Theater programs anywhere in the world. Since it’s still a difficult career to pursue in my homeland Colombia, I felt determined to move to the city I ended up falling in love with: New York City. I have lived some of the greatest experiences in New York, I attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy’s Musical Theater program, where I performed in the musical Up the Ladder to the Roof and play showcase Will It Hurt? I also had the pleasure of doing my first production in the City (Jesus Christ Superstar with the Rockaway Theatre Company)… short lived, since COVID came right along.
During lockdown, I mastered the art of acting through Zoom and surviving online tech rehearsals with quite a few virtual productions, including Dracula with Dunvegan Productions and Wounded with Imaginarium Theater Company. All of these were both interesting and fulfilling in the midst of so much uncertainty, but I found myself moving back home to Colombia, looking for opportunities to continue my path in this industry, which is just starting to take shape here.
It’s been a bit over a year since I came back, and I have been fortunate to find people who share the same passion and determination as me. With them, I have performed in original plays like Ciudadano Ideal (Ideal Citizen), and musicals like CHICAGO and, just recently, RENT (which I am proud to say is the first production ever done in Bogotá).
2021 brought live theater back for me, both as an audience member and performer, and I feel honored to have been able to bring this beautiful art form to my homeland.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A couple of challenges I was sure to face when I first left Colombia were the cultural changes, including learning about life in such a giant city and learning about the business as an international actress. It took a lot of getting used to, but I knew every step of the way that it was all part of the process, and I could even use my cultural background to my advantage, not to mention how rich and diverse this business is becoming.
As for a challenge, I believe we could all agree on, COVID definitely changed my original plans as an immigrant actress and what I thought back then would be the next steps in my career. I was staying busy with virtual productions while in lockdown, but my time on my Optional Practical Training permit was almost up and I had to make the decision to come back to Colombia to figure the rest out. As heart wrenching as it was to leave NYC after 2 and a half years, I figured that the new challenge was to figure out my path in a country mostly unfamiliar with showbiz.
And a challenge it was, I spent a few months searching and asking around – feeling pretty unmotivated at times – got a day job and everything. Throughout my time feeling lost I started to meet artists through workshops and zoom projects, all which led to theater reopening and finally being able to get back up on stage.
I’m currently still working on bringing more theater to Colombia this new year, that’s my current challenge; as for a challenge that awaits me (I refuse to call them obstacles), I’m still eager for the day where I get to go back to the US (and beyond) to perform for audiences from all over the world, with dreams and challenges as big as mine have been.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I still feel like I’m just starting to take the industry in and I have been loving every moment of it. I have to say that a huge part of who I’m becoming as an artist was thanks to the rigorous and vigorous training at AMDA, especially to the wonderful teachers, and also thanks to all the passionate artists I have met along the way. In NYC I had the privilege of playing multiple roles in the ensemble of Jesus Christ Superstar with the Rockaway Theatre Company, as well as performing in their concert for Ash Wednesday and being a featured performer at the West End Lounge for their Let’s Broadway! Cabaret series.
Virtually, I worked with Dunvegan Productions in The Yellow Wallpaper as Jennie/John, Dracula as Mina Murray and A Prophet’s Gamble as Vivian; with Imaginarium Theater Company I have performed as ’01 in Wounded and Victoria in The Noise of the Storm; with BroadwayMania I performed as part of the ensemble of their production of 35mm, and as a featured performer for All Together Now!
In my lovely Colombia, some of my work include Velma Kelly in CHICAGO, Berta in Ciudadano Ideal (Ideal Citizen) and Maureen Johnson in RENT.
I am deeply passionate about sharing stories about people, their challenges and their beliefs, and what a better way to do so than through the beauty of live theater. I strive to be a voice for those who are yet to be heard and impact audiences with visual storytelling and music so they feel empowered to reach their own goals and crazy ideas.
Art has been my vessel to express how I live this life as a woman, as an immigrant, as an artist and as a mere mortal trying to figure stuff out; why not do the same for the public.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I am still learning to allow things to flow. I have always tried to be in control of everything in my life, and what a better way to realize how totally NOT in control I am than with a global pandemic. I feel more ready to face challenges as they come rather than get ahead of myself and create them before I have even started. On top of that, I try my best now to relish each moment while it’s there and surround myself with people I love without any reason other than the fact that we should all strive to love fiercely and unapologetically.
Contact Info:
- Email: ceronjuliana24601@gmail.com
- Instagram: @mjulianaceron
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliana.ceron.9/
Image Credits
Ivan Montoya (@ivanmontoyaphotography)
Mano de Elefante (@manodelefante)
Oh!Tero Producciones (@ohteroproducciones)
