Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Rivas.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
A Mexican-American born in Grossmont Hospital in 1965. and grew up in El Cajon. My parents, Donaciano & Gloria Rivas migrated to California in the 50’s, from New Mexico. I am the youngest of 4 kids. Jeanette, Donnie and Alex. I attended Chase Ave. Elementary, Emerald Jr. High and Valhalla High School. I grew up basically addicted to t.v. My entertainment of choice was Saturday morning cartoons. Looney Tunes was also the best acting class I’ve ever had in my life. I also watched Little Rascals and was crazy about Abbott & Costello and Danny Kaye movies and of course, Godzilla, Gamera, Mothra, The Red & Green Gargantuans, Japanese and any other Science Fiction Movies. I had already figured out I wanted to be a part of the lives I saw on T.V and naturally re-enacted all that in my room or playing with my friends.
But it was when I first saw the opening sequence of Guys n Dolls on T.V when I was about 8 years old when I realized I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to sing and dance, wear those clothes, be in the stories I saw on T.V & the movies. This lead me to, “acting out” at school in front of my friends. Early on, I was a better performer than I ever was a student. I always struggled with school work. I was more interested in making people laugh in class. I took drama in high school and was amazed at how much I loved everything about the theatre, on stage and off. It turns out I actually had talent. My drama teacher told me I was good enough to possibly get a scholarship into a college/arts program. That’s when my lack of interest in studies reminded me of how important school really was. So, I never did attend university. I did do a few plays in college and professional shows but quickly found out I wasn’t too good at handling all the rejection involved with auditioning for roles.
I ended up following my big brother into emergency medicine. I went to emt, then paramedic school at Southwestern College. I then enjoyed working in hospitals as a nursing assistant, in the field as an emt for a number of years then found my way into the dispatch center. I discovered I liked working behind the microphone and telephone, using my emergency medical training along with some bedside manner, speaking and projection techniques I learned from the theater so emergency vehicles and patients with hearing issues could understand me clearly, I loved the rewarding work but found myself always looking back to acting. I listened to the radio quite a bit and found out that I was quite entertained by some of the funnier commercials like, “Snow Summit” or the ones where there would be a, “celebrity voice impersonated”. But then I would think, “aw man, I could do a better impression than that” or, “I think I’m funnier than that guy.” So, I started looking in newspapers (this was way before cell phones and the internet) for acting classes and any classes or workshops that had to do with speech, speaking or anything having to do with your voice. I found a voice over workshop and was instantly in love. I quickly learned that it wasn’t just about the sound of my voice but how to use it. As a talent, I had to learn how to be a self-sustaining, one-man business.
I was not only the product, I was the marketing person, the courier, the warehouse guy, the art department, the CEO and spokesperson. So, I started learning about all those things as well. I started a never ending, constantly updating processes of learning and working on my talent or my instrument or craft as some call it. I began taking as many classes and trying to get as much experience as I could in acting, singing, dancing, improvisation as well as other things. When I got cast in stage or on camera roles, I found I would also get training in things I never imagined I would ever do like, weapons training, fencing, martial arts, katana sword and staff training, stage combat, make up and costume work and playing musical instruments. It was all and continues to be fascinating. Becoming a better, more well-rounded actor or talent made me not only a better voice actor (because voice over is acting), but a better well rounded, more marketable talent. This all started around the mid to late 1990’s and continues through today and keep going tomorrow and until my final bow in this world. Since all this began, I’ve been working, “my day job” as a 911 fire and medical dispatcher for San Diego Fire and Rescue Service.
When I’m not doing that, I’m usually at some theater, set or in studio working on something or performing. In my stage work, I started gravitating toward the person running the sound. There would be a discussion about a song or sound que, what it would or could be. I would say, “I’ve got that sound. I can bring it in for you.” Then it happened again and again. After years of working as a talent in a recording studio, I was able to pick up on a few things watching the sound engineers work after my session was done. I would always feel guilty that all I did was talk into a microphone. But these sound engineers did all kinds of crazy, cool and impressive stuff. Next thing I knew, I was taking over the sound design for shows I was also acting in. In 2007, I had seen a play at San Diego REP called, La Pastorela, written by Dr. Max Branscomb, Professor of Journalism at Southwestern College, directed by Bill Virchis, retired theater professor at Southwestern College. It was put on by Virchis’ Company, Teatro Máscara Mágica. This show helped me progress into the next phase of my artistic career. First, this was a Latino theatrical company. I didn’t know there was such a thing in San Diego.
I grew up speaking very little and very bad Spanish as the son of a Mexican-American couple that migrated to California in the mid 50’s looking for success in the Golden State. My brothers and sister and I have always spoke English at home. My parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles all spoke Spanish to each other. I’ve come to think that they may have been looking to “fit in” to the primarily Anglo days of the mid 50’s and early 60’s. I’ve also noticed that Latino families from California are the opposite. They may speak English anyone outside the home, but in the home, they only speak Spanish to their family. I’ve always wanted to learn more about my culture and learn how to speak Spanish. But whenever I would, my friends or people that actually speak Spanish would make fun of me. So, I would easily give up on trying. I thought becoming part of a Latino theater group would help me learn more about the language other areas of the culture. It worked! I got into the company and quickly found myself playing Latino roles, even speaking and singing in Spanish many times and what really changed everything for me was that the work I was doing in this company was, there was usually a cultural, educational aspect to the play or roles I was in. In La Pastorela we were giving our audience the story of Christmas told in a half traditional, half contemporary Latino way. Audiences love it and I loved how that felt. We did a musical play about Cesar Chavez called, Let the Eagle Fly. I had always heard of parks, schools and streets with that name.
But I wasn’t really sure what he had done. I not only learned a lot about him, his family and la causa, but I also got to talk to and meet members of the Chavez family. This trend continued and after my performances, members of the audience would tell me, “That was so cool! I never knew that about that person or story. I’m going to look into that more when I get home.” That changed everything. I loved giving people something extra to take home with them besides just entertainment. I concentrated on doing more and more work with a message in it. Something that I believed in and wanted others to know about. Performing La Pastorela with Teatro Máscara Mágica who was renting theater space at San Diego REP every year, I eventually got invited to start auditioning for shows that The REP was producing. That lead to working with many talented professional directors, producers, actors, casting agents, designers, not only at San Diego REP but at other professional theatres like, La Jolla Playhouse and The Old Globe. San Diego REP had an artist in resident named, Herbert Siguenza of Culture Clash who was looking to get some friends together read and help develop plays he had written as well as works from other Latino writers. The REP quickly had us reading plays for them to help them plan future seasons and what new works to develop further. This Lead to forming a new Latino based group called, Amigos del REP.
We sought out all kinds of Latino talent in the San Diego, Southern California area and networked with our Latino friends from all over the country. I had also performed in a play called, “Detained in the Desert” by Josefina Lopez. It was based on the work of San Diego based humanitarian work, Border Angels. Since I was playing the role based on the head of Border Angels, I decided to start working with them to learn more. That too changed my life. I’ve been working with them ever since. I have even written a play based on the work we do and things we’ve seen heard and experienced at Border Angels called, “Letters from the Wall” which is constantly being performed at schools and functions. It is also becoming a series of books and hopefully a series of films after that. I now continue with all that you’ve read up till this point (if you’re still reading). I also run my own one-person production company out of my home, DaveyBoy Productions. I offer voice over, acting workshops and produce and design sound and voice work. I also produce a number of podcasts, projects and special events for various companies and friends in the San Diego area.
Please tell us about your art.
The art I perform as a talent is, acting and voice acting. I can also sing and dance (with some extra help). Over the years I have become a sound designer, writer and human rights activist for social justice. My theatrical work is usually culturally based. There is usually a message in it or something to be learned by the audience. In the theatrical work I create or pursue, I like to say that I like to, “Entertain, Educate and Enlighten” people. I like to share the truths about people and culture. I like to dispel stereotypes and misconceptions about the Latino culture. In doing so, I hope to bring people together, to understand, appreciate and hopefully help each other in life. In my performance group, Amigos del REP at San Diego REP, we primarily read plays to help SD REP develop plays for production.
I organized an event called, Club Cafe to show The REP and our audiences that reading is not the only thing Latinos do. We sing, we dance, we play instruments, we write lyrics, poetry, spoken word, we direct, produce, design and many other things. Club Cafe is an event we’ve done a few times that is basically a variety show that spotlights the many talents of Latino artists. I then created an event called, Historias Tenebrosas to help show (American) people, “Dia de los Muertos is not Mexican Halloween”. But to make it fun and interesting for everyone, I include elements from the Latino as well as American cultures. This event is a series of all over San Diego REP with short spooky plays that are based on Latino folklore like, La Llorona, El Cucuy or La Chupacabra. Also, local, San Diego based folklore like the ghost boy that lives in the Balboa Theatre, The Proctor Valley Monster, The Whaley House, things like that. We also display Mexican Altars for our dead. Audiences get to find out what these are really all about. We have a skeleton puppet theater, coloring and crafts area for kids. There is also plenty of candy, pan dulce and Mexican hot chocolate for everyone. This event also developed into having musicians and cultural dance in the following years. I also invited Amigos and local artists in participating in writing the short stories that are performed on the stages. There is a festival or haunted house adventure feel to the event.
The audience of families can go from stage to stage to see the different shows and experience all the different things to do. It’s a thrilling and fun way for the whole family to celebrate multiple cultures in a non-blood n guts hotel kind of way. The last couple years, I even offered people 5 minutes of open mic storytelling and last year, recorded the live performances for podcasting. The Podcasting show was called, “Where the Nightmares Live” to incorporate not only the Latin cultures but folklore-based stories from anywhere in the world for anyone to write or tell. In my play, Letters from the Wall, I have taken real stories from people affected by the United States/Mexico border wall, immigration policies. These are a series of short stories in the form of a letter based on multiple different groups affected by deportation, separation, loss and death. When audiences see this play, they at one point or another cry. Then they ask questions after about if the stories are true, what they can do about it and how they could relate to the stories because the things they saw happened to, their parents, friends, coworkers or someone they know. These people aren’t always from Southern California or the United States either. People from Canada, Australia, Ireland, London as well as others have told me they too have experienced what they seen in my play. People take away a better understanding of what the real situation is going on at the border, who the people are that cross the border and what motivates the decisions they make.
Being producer for Amigos and of my own events, and through my voice work and sound design, I tend to work with people that have little or no experience performing. I also meet and know people that doubt the talent they have, whether its voice over, acting, writing or any kind of artistic expression. I like to show people how to realize their dreams and ideas by helping them believing and taking a chance on themselves and others. I like to show people how to use what resources and experiences they already have and put them into action. This work is inspired from being someone that has felt as an outsider, being a Mexican kid who looks a little more Asian, coming from a family that didn’t have a lot of money, an alcoholic parent, someone who didn’t have a great education or feel represented when they watched t.v., movies or something on stage. I like to show people how, If I can do things by simply being honest, open minded and trusting, anything is possible and hopes, dreams and ideas can come true. The art I do, is not only my acting, vocal, sound design and writing that can be enjoyed. My art is something that can be appreciated and experienced. It’s something that people can not only be entertained by but can also be educated and enlightened from. The intentions of my work are for people to experience joy in themselves, each other and in life.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
I love connecting with anyone that wants to be creative or work on realizing an idea or project. One of my favorite things to do try mixing mediums or putting together things that you wouldn’t imagine go together. Or just getting creative people and start talking about project ideas, creative hopes and dreams. There is always something amazing that comes out of that.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
www.daveyboyproductions.com
www.sdrep.org
www.borderangels.org
donations, buying tickets, getting on my mailing lists is a great way to stay in the know of what I’m up to and how to keep the work I do going.
I’m also fortunate enough to be invited to speak at a lot of schools and community groups to simply to speak on the work I do or help students in their projects that involve cultural/humanitarian studies or theatrical and media related projects.
Contact Info:
- Address: 10127 Cristobal Dr.
Spring Valley, CA 91977 - Website: https://www.daveyboyproductions.com/
- Phone: 6193004761
- Email: davesvoice911@cox.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daveyboyproductions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaveyBoyProductions/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavesVoice911
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/DavesVoice911
Image Credit:
Andrew Rogers, Timoteus Foe, Carmen Amon, Dave Rivas.
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