Reyes played Angel, a drag queen who suffers from AIDS, in the production of “Rent.” Courtesy of Xavier Reyes
ARTS
From left, Reyes dances with Mona Kelker, who and universities in the United States was played Mimi. The show is about struggling artists. defined by Google searches and troughs Courtesy of Xavier Reyes of uncharted territory. the basement studios where Lee Byron, He applied to several, including The director of “Rent,” Tim Dyster, said because of his angelic chair of the theater department, and Carnegie Mellon University, New York Univoice and confidence, Reyes was perfect for the role. Susannah Berryman, associate profesversity and Marymount Manhattan College. Courtesy of Xavier Reyes sor of theater arts, listened to auditions. Ithaca was his dream. and before Reyes finished saying his last name, Before he knew it, it was his turn. “I felt the training here was what I was lookalmost the entire department was on its feet apHe was brought to a dancing studio. Byron ing for,” he said. “I fell in love with the campus, plauding. He had finally made it. and the town was separated from the mayhem of sat at the opposite end of the room. Reyes sang Now Reyes has four years of intensive theater “A Miracle Would Happen” from the musical a place like New York City.” training ahead of him. He’s already been cast as “The Last Five Years” for Byron and, in another All his parents knew was that he needed to Angel, a drag queen suffering from AIDS, in the room, performed a set of monologues, including leave Puerto Rico to fulfill his dreams. Melodramatics Theater Company production “With the state of the economy, there is noth- one from “Equus,” for Berryman. of “Rent,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning rock opera “And then I was done,” he said. ing in Puerto Rico,” his mother, Belia, said. “But about artists struggling to live in New York City. Now, the wait. he always said, ‘Mami a mi me gusta el teatro.’” “I encourage people to fight for what you A letter came to Reyes’ dorm a few weeks Mom, I like the theater. want,” Reyes said. “People would look at me and later. He took it, left his room and walked away. Reyes’ father would take his son to see plays say, ‘This kid from Puerto Rico, what is he doing If he didn’t get in, he said, he didn’t want anyone when he was still in grade school. One play in here?’ People would hear me speak and ask, ‘Oh, to see the reaction. But if he did, he would be Puerto Rico, “De Belén al Calvario,” captivated you’re a BFA?’ And I’d say, ‘Yes, I am. I may not Reyes when he saw it — the movement, the stag- too ecstatic for most human beings to find even have perfect English, but I am.’ No one has the remotely appropriate. He opened the letter. ing, the expression. From then on, he was set on capacity to dictate your future but you.” In the fall of 2011, he would be a membeing an actor. Cornell senior Tim Dyster, who is directber of the 2015 freshman BFA acting class at “For me it’s something extraordinary,” ing “Rent,” said Reyes brings a fresh perspective Ithaca College. Orlando said. “I have tears in my eyes when I and energy to the production. When Reyes Cue latter reaction. see him because he lives for that. Every part he is auditioned for the role, Dyster said he knew he “I have a future now,” he said. “It’s like seeing given, he lives it. I get very excited, even as I talk was the best choice. the light at the end of the cave that will lead you about it now.” “Everything we were looking for we got from to follow your dreams. You feel so happy that The day of his audition in the spring was no him on his first round of auditions,” he said. “He there’s a purpose in your life.” different, except he walked to Dillingham with was confident. He had a voice like an angel. We When the theater department had its first no books in hand — no black beanie. all had the same reaction: Our actor who would meeting of the semester this year in the HoHe stepped through the side doors of the play Angel had been dropped from heaven.” erner Theatre, Reyes, along with the rest of the Hoerner Theatre and saw an auditorium full of freshman class of theater students, introduced unfamiliar faces. Prospective students from high Some interviews were conducted in Spanish schools across the country buzzed with liveliness. themselves to the entire department. Many knew and translated by Elma Gonzalez. of his journey to becoming an acting major Upperclassmen ushered students down into
“I was very nervous. This was the day that would decide my future.” —Xavier Reyes 93