Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlita Vinciguerra.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be an actress. According to my father, when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I replied “A singer actor dancer because they are all kind of the same thing”.I took my first dance class when I was three years old. Although at that age it was more like a glorified day care. Regardless, I was hooked. The class was at my daycare after school, and my mom remembers me telling her that I wanted to go a “real” dance studio with an actual ballet barre. I did just that when I was in first grade. I started taking classes at Dance Xplosion in the Circle C neighborhood in Austin. At first I was only taking ballet and tap, but over the next few years I would venture into nearly every other style they offered: hip hop, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and musical theatre. The summer after fourth grade would prove to be a pivotable moment for me when I was in my first play. The Zach Theatre in downtown Austin launched a new summer series that year where they would produce professional quality plays and musicals for “pre-professionals” (kids). I thought it sounded cool so I signed up for an audition for the play. I remember going to Dillards with my mom to buy a new dress and sandals for the audition, and I had my first ever voice lesson with a neighbor to practice my audition piece, “Tomorrow” from Annie. Little did I know that there would be no singing in the play, but they let me sing my song anyways at the audition. I got cast as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I had the time of my life performing that show. Something clicked within me. I wanted to do more of these plays. Later that year in the fall my mom received an email from the director of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He said he was directing a production of the musical “Gypsy” at Southwestern University, and he was looking to cast the role of “Baby June”. He knew I could dance, and he heard that I sung well at my audition for Midsummer, so he was offering me the part. I was in my first ever musical. As I went into middle school I started getting more serious about my love for theatre. I was in every play and musical the theatre department produced while also being on the dance team, and taking even more dance classes at my studio after school. I continued to be apart of the summer pre-professional shows at Zach, and I started taking more camps and classes there. By 8th grade I was insatiable, I pitched a plan to my parents. I told them I had found a free online public school that I wanted to enroll in for my freshman year of high school. I wanted more time in my day to audition for the real professional shows at Zach. They were on board and my first semester of high school I got cast in the ensemble of Zach’s production of A Christmas Carol. I also joined Zach’s pre=professional training company (PPC) that year and started taking voice lessons again. I knew I couldn’t uproot my life and move to New York City, but I was going to do everything in my power to be the best performer I could be once the time was right. Throughout high school I would be in more productions at Zach including Matilda, Tortoise and Hare, and Wake Up Brother Bear. I was a part of the Greater Austin High School Musical Theatre Awards (now called The Heller Awards) as well as Summer Stock Austin (now Impact Arts). By senior year I felt ready to take the industry by storm. But then the industry got put on pause due to the pandemic. Broadway was closed and there were no theatre jobs. I decided it would be best to train more in college while the industry came back. I auditioned for 30 different programs across the country and found my home in the B.F.A. Musical Theatre department at Montclair State University. At 18 I packed 8 suitcases and moved to New Jersey. College was amazing for me. My voice and acting skills grew much stronger, and I was able to be in a wide variety of shows that pushed me as a performer. Highlights include learning the original Bob Fosse choreography for the famous “Manson Trio” in “Pippin” and playing Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” I made many connections and even more friends, and was able to establish some roots up in the northeast. I worked at various summer theatres in New Hampshire and Upstate New York in the summers, building up my resume. After graduation I signed with an agent, who has been the most helpful in scaling my career. Nearly a year after graduation I made my off-Broadway debut in Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock LIVE! at The New Victory Theatre. This marked a huge milestone in my career. That leads us to here and now. I am getting auditions for things that would blow little Carli’s mind. I am doing what I love. I don’t get back home to Austin as often as I’d like to, but I know it’s always there waiting for me with open arms.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
After being in Gypsy I fell in love with musicals. This is when I learned about Broadway. I learned that Annie was currently on Broadway, and that there were actual kids in it. I remember asking my mom how those kids were able to be in a Broadway show. How did they go to school? Where did they live? My mom told me that often times these kids would move to New York with one parent during “audition season”. and they would fly back for callbacks throughout the year. They would pay for private tutors to home school them when they were in shows. These kids had agents and expensive headshots. These kids had one parent who made a lot of money so the other parent could move across the country with their kid. It all seemed so unfair to me. Why was I born in Austin, TX and not New York City? Why did my parents have to get divorced and my mom laid off from her job in 2009? All of this felt so out of my control. My mom helped me realize that what I could control, however, was my training. We couldn’t afford trips to New York, but we could afford dance class. I couldn’t be on a Broadway stage, but I could be on regional theatre stage. My mom even saved up and got me my first ever headshots for Christmas one year. Focusing on what was available to me, instead of what I couldn’t do, was critical to me. And hey maybe avoiding being a full-blown child actor was actually a blessing in disguise.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a musical theatre performer. I love the human-to-human connection of live theatre. Nothing can replace it. Making someone laugh in real time, or be moved to tears, or stand and applaud provides the most beautiful feeling. It feels ancestral and raw. Humans have been sharing stories with one another forever, and I cherish getting to continue that tradition on such a massive scale. I find my greatest joy telling stories through expressive choreography. My extensive training in dance gives me an athletic and refined presence on stage, and the intense acting and vocal training I received in college make me a very well-rounded performer.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
When it comes to my career I am calculated and strategic. My career means so much to me, and I would never want to jeopardize it. With that being said though, pursuing a low-funded, low-paying, dying art as your career is in itself a large risk. Now that I am here I can’t afford the trips back to Austin (ironic). I’ve sacrificed time with friends and family to attend important auditions and jobs that come through last minute. I live a humble life below my means to afford my career. It’s interesting because I would consider myself pretty risk-averse, but when I look at the big picture of my life and career, it is filled with risk.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carlitavinci.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carli.vinci/?hl=en
