Meet Alejandra Ramos Riera | Actress, Playwright, Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alejandra Ramos Riera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alejandra, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking

I believe that a huge component of being an artist has to do with taking risks. Being a risk-taker can make a difference in your career and can definitely put you on another level. When you take risks, regardless of the outcome, you will be pushed and taken out of your comfort zones. Artists learn to live with uncertainty. There’s always more questions than answers and most of the time you move forward trusting your instincts and knowing that your gut is most likely one of the few certain things you’ll have.

Life (being alive) is about movement. Everything changes and moves constantly: the air, the planet, the cells, the water… To stay still is never possible even if you think otherwise. Taking risks is an active action and will shift things. With the right purpose, focus and direction, these bold-risky decisions can make a positive impact in your life and career.

I have taken important risks in my life that have changed my path completely. One of them was creating a Theater Company in Puerto Rico with no budget at all, transforming my mom’s rooftop into a “pop-up theater”, inviting local artists to work, asking the community for support. Within this effort I wrote and co-directed, jointly with my former partner, tons of short-plays performed by local emerging and professional performers and initiated a Micro-Theater movement -something that was never done before in the island-. The second one was leaving my family, former partner, and jobs behind and move  to New York City alone with $200 in my bank account to pursue my artistic career in broather ways. The quick answer to why I took these risks: a strong need to follow my instincts and a “move forward-mindset”. The result? A published book containing 10 of my micro-theater plays, a beautiful studio-apartment in Harlem, incredible work experience and professional collaborations with theater companies in NYC, and a lot of growth, strength and a high feeling of self-value.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Being an artist is not easy. It takes a lot of courage, determination and focus. I come from an artistic family (musicians, poets, painters, actors, philosophers, dancers, writers, filmmakers). I grew up in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico surrounded by a bohemian-lifestyle, local artists and a highly cultural environment. This inspired me from a very early age to pursue an artistic career, taught me to always follow my inner voice, and gave me a sense of commitment and respect towards any creative process (mine and others).

One of the things I am most proud of with regards to how I’ve approached my artistic journey is I don’t wait for doors to be opened for me. I make sure I find a way to open them myself, sometimes with a key, sometimes kicking them down, and sometimes even building the door from scratch. All of this comes with challenges. Ups, downs, laughs, tears, sleepless nights, inspiring evenings… At the end of the day one of the most important things to do is to follow your own voice, to stay true to yourself and to avoid comparing yourself to others. Art-making is very powerful and it doesn’t come with a handbook. Usually most answers are inside you, we just need to learn how to listen and pay attention.

Every work I develop comes with its own demands, making each process different. As an artist and creator I don’t have a specific or standard approach towards my work. However, there are certain themes that appear constantly and naturally in my work: human connections and disconnections, mental health, relationships, social justice, and the need for love. When it comes to methodology, I follow three guiding rules: to not overthink, to not force ideas, and to listen to my own voice, not that of others. The structure, form, rhythm, and style also change depending on the nature of the work. As a writer I have learned to trust my characters and listen to them -they often have the right hints as to where the story should head-. As an actress, I put a lot of effort into avoiding self-awareness. I try to take these “acting” opportunities to really embrace someone else’s soul and mind… It can be extremely liberating. As a director, I work as if I were directing an orchestra, paying attention to the rhythm of bodies, sounds and words. I have an interdisciplinary approach towards my work in any of these disciplines. I am constantly inspired by visual arts, music, dance and cinematography, mainly because it is how I grew up, it’s my background.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am all about museums, restaurants, nice walks… oh, and happy hours! I also love discovering nice not-touristy places. Start your day going to a local coffee shop near you -I recommend Café 787, a nice Puerto Rican owned coffee shop where you will get to taste a sip of our delicious fresh-farmed-coffee-. There are many “Café 787” throughout the city… Google it!- After your last coffee sip, why don’t you go to the Met and get lost in the museum?! (Don’t worry about reading or following the map, let the paintings find you!) After an hour or so you will get hungry, I encourage you to go outside and, if not a vegetarian, eat a hotdog at the museum’s entrance stairs while enjoying some people-watching. Later on the day treat yourself to a happy hour drink at Kaia Wine Bar -a South african-inspired wine and food restaurant- located on the Upper East Side and walking distance from the museum. Then walk for a beat and end your day eating at Sushi Yasaka -an intimate-great-prized Japanese restaurant located on the Upper West side.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The love and support of my family will always be one of the main reasons I am where I am today. My friends who almost all of them happen to be artists too… inspire me and support me in great manners. A book that really inspired me is Waiting for Godot by Samuell Becket (I first read it when I was 12 years old). My main mentors: Maritza Pérez Otero (founder and director of “Jóvenes del 98” in San Juan, Puerto Rico), Rosalba Rolón (Artistic Director of Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in New York City). The editor of my first published book, Elizardo Martínez. Authors and theater-makers like Harold Pinter, Sarah Kane, Edward Albee, Arthur Miller. Poets like Emily Dickinson, Alejandra Pizarnik, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath. Filmmakers like Luis Buñuel, Pedro Almodovar, Federico Fellini, Godard, John Cassavetes. Dancers like Isadora Duncan and Pina Bausch. The list can go on and on… And also a shout out to my community back in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico who supported my micro-theater project on my mom’s rooftop back in 2012. And of course, to the education I obtained at the University of Puerto Rico and at the University of Murcia, Spain.

Instagram: @aleramosriera

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleramosriera

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alejandraramosriera

Other: aleramosriera@gmail.com

Image Credits
Noelia González Casiano Marisol Díaz-Gordon