Who: Jake Ryan Lozano, 25, CTC conservatory actor.
This weekend he can be seen in Airness as David “D Vicious” Cooper, the reigning national champion of air guitar.
“He’s a showman. He’s a charismatic, present persona on stage that loves to feed off the hate from the audience. That is the juice that gets him going,” Lozano said. “It’s similar to acting. You desire this wash of praise, admiration, just feeling like a demigod at the top of your game, and air guitar provides that for him, and he gets sucked into the ego of it.”
Where he’s from: Lozano is from San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from the University of Oklahoma, where he earned his BFA in acting with a dance history minor. This spring, he got his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
“The real world is waiting for me, and I am journeying toward New York City with each passing week.”
-Jake Ryan Lozano, Conservatory actor, Chautauqua Theater Company
First theatrical memory: Growing up, Lozano was focused on sports and didn’t care much for theater. In eighth grade, a teacher tapped Lozano to play the titular role in Macbeth.
“Even at that time, theater wasn’t something that I was super interested in,” he said. “My plan for the majority of my life was to be an oral surgeon, and that took a dramatic turn at the end of high school when I got pointed in the right direction by this fabulous theater teacher by the name of Gloria Robinson who encouraged me.”
Proudest theatrical moment: At Yale, Lozano staged an original devised piece called the light is… that had “elements of dance theater interlaced with spoken word.” It told the origin story of light and how light has evolved over time and superseded darkness.
“I just wanted to see something different in the Yale cabaret that incorporated things that I love or ways that I communicate,” Lozano said. “There are a lot of racial undertones in the piece. It’s meant to be performed by people of color. It was an important message for me to explore in this wonder- filled, and purposefully obscure at times, piece.”
Lozano said he has continued to develop the piece this summer and hopes to submit the light is… for a grant from the Macro Episodic Lab.
Musical talents: Lozano can beatbox and play the drums and guitar.
“I try to stay musically inclined as much as possible,” he said. “I’m sure I will pick up other instruments throughout my life.”
Favorite food: Lozano enjoys cheese enchiladas with Spanish rice, refried beans and pico de gallo.
“If there was something synonymous with who I am as a person, it might just be food,” he said.
Favorite color: Lozano’s preference recently shifted from robin’s egg blue to midnight blue.
“I just like the color blue and I always have,” Lozano said. “Maybe it’s because I’m a Pisces, and it’s a water sign.”
What he’s reading: Dune, Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction novel.
Dream superpower: Lozano said teleportation would help him save time and cut down on travel costs.
“Then I could just teleport back home to Texas and be with my grandparents or be with my father and enjoy the Texas heat,” he said. “Then when it’s time to work, I could just teleport, go into rehearsal and not worry about the subway.”
What’s next: After leaving Chautauqua, Lozano will spend a few weeks teaching dance classes at Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. He has been with the festival every summer since 2014, with the exception of 2016 when he took a trip to Scotland.
