Aspiring actor Gabriel Martinez is currently a freshman at Florida State University. He has starred in seven shows, some of his favorites being Peter and The Starcatcher and The Play That Goes Wrong. In 2022, Martinez participated in Northwestern University’s Cherub Program, an intensive five-week summer theater program. Most recently, Martinez will be starring as Leopold Bloom in Theatre Tallahassee’s rendition of Mel Brooks’s The Producers, directed by Jessy Reaves. Here’s what he had to say about it.
Her Campus (HC): To start, tell me a little bit about The Producers.
Gabriel Martinez (GM): The musical was released on Broadway in 2001, and it’s based on the 1967 film by Mel Brooks of the same name. The show follows the story of two producers, Max Bialystock and Leopold Bloom. They devise a plan to produce a poorly written Broadway musical destined to fail, allowing them to swindle all the money from their investors. Unexpectedly, the show delivers a successful premiere, and an unlikely friendship blossoms between the two along the way.
HC: What inspired you to audition for this play?
GM: I’ve never done a musical before, but I was familiar with the property and the team behind it. I’m a big fan of Mel Brooks. I grew up watching History of the World, Part 1, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. So, I thought the production would be a fun thing to join. It would be a new experience, but also an experience that I knew I would enjoy because it was Mel Brooks’ property.
HC: What strengths helped you land the part?
GM: Definitely performance. I’m not the best singer and I wouldn’t say choreography is my strong suit, but I feel like this specific musical is more performance-based than singing. I feel that it doesn’t matter if your singing isn’t top-notch or Broadway-level good; what sells it is the performances. If you’re having fun, then the audience will have fun as well.
HC: How did being in a musical challenge you?
GM: I had to learn and improve my voice, and do voice work. That was the most challenging part. Also, not working with a live orchestra and instead using a soundtrack was very difficult, especially with an audience to be aware of. When you’re doing rehearsals, you must remember when to take pauses and be intentional about delivering your lines. Delivery is really what makes the play. I didn’t want to lack in performance to focus on the singing, so I tried to blend both in, and I found that made my time easier. I’m very grateful that the directors and crew were patient with me throughout the process.
HC: How did you research and prepare for your role?
GM: I was already aware of the role, but to learn more I looked up the original 1967 film where my role was played by Gene Wilder. I studied his performance, not really to imitate it, but to try to draw some inspiration for how certain things should be done. Looking at the musical side of it, I studied Matthew Broderick’s role in the 2005 film based on the musical. I was looking at his performance, but also the singing and actions he does.
Fusing both performances, I strived to not imitate them, but rather to fill in their shoes and make the performance my own. I wanted to have a bit of the energy that they both established that I felt like couldn’t be changed, while making sure to add some of my flare to it, too.
HC: What advice would you give to someone wanting to audition with Theatre Tallahassee or a similar role?
GM: Do the research on the role and the show you’re doing. If you’re striving for a particular role, you have a higher chance of achieving that by doing research. Going into an audition, you need to have in mind what the play is, who its intended audience is, and what it’s trying to convey. Also, it makes it easier for the director to give fewer notes about the basics. I learned that a lack of notes doesn’t mean you’re doing badly — it actually means you’re doing exactly as the director is picturing.
HC: What about Theatre Tallahassee makes it unique?
GM: Theatre Tallahassee is a community theater, so it’s separate from a school-oriented production. What makes it unique is that there’s a lot of existing talent. There are several people in the show who’ve been with Theatre Tallahassee for quite some time. But going into the auditions, I also noticed a lot of new talent who hadn’t been with Theatre Tallahassee or even in a show before. It was different because there were newcomers and mentors in the musical who were all giving each other notes and inspiring one another. With a community environment, there’s an abundance of experienced people you can learn from. Learning felt much more opportune there than in a school setting.
HC: What is your intended career path?
GM: A mix of acting, writing, and directing for TV and film. I don’t want to quit stage acting and musicals since it’s what I first started with. I feel like there’s a lot more I have to learn about it still. It’s not a dying industry, but I feel that it’s slowly becoming less prominent. It’s not even fully about theater; it’s about building a community with other people. Having that diminish over time just doesn’t feel right. You can hold long-lasting relationships with those people. So I want to continue doing what I love, but also strive for the bigger stuff like TV and film, both behind the scenes and on screen.
HC: How will you apply your experiences with on-stage performances to the film industry?
Experience in theater helps with the basics, like when it comes to memorizing lines, learning about your character, or exploring different deliveries. It helps with successfully understanding how to analyze a character, and I feel like that’s very important for an actor to do. If you’re not aware of how to do that, then translating your stage experience to TV or film is going to look lackluster. It’s not going to look how you want it. If that work ethic is properly translated onto TV or film, it only enhances the performance.
Martinez is looking forward to continuing to work with Theatre Tallahassee and has plans to get involved with FSU Theatre throughout his time in college. Find more details about and ticket links for The Producers here!
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