Meet Chris Anthony Ferrer | Playwright & Actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Anthony Ferrer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris Anthony, how do you think about risk?
As a playwright and actor building a consistent professional career, risk is measured in how you put your entire being on the line. Whether it’s in a bold artistic statement or upending your entire life for a shot at the big time. I always play out the same scenario whenever I am determining whether or not I should take a leap and jump into an unknown scenario. I imagine myself as an old man, I put myself in the mindset of someone in their 80’s looking back on their life and I think about the risk I’m determining now in the present. I imagine myself not taking the chance and reflecting on that as if it happened a long time ago. If in that state of mind I feel any sort of regret, then I open my eyes to the present and tackle it full force. It’s a form of imaginary time travel I practice and it’s given me the confidence to take every professional risk I’ve ever done. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn’t, but I can happily say I’ve never regretted a thing.

This business as well as this craft is all about risks. The act of calling yourself an artist in and of itself is a risk. It’s an act of bravery and masochism entwined with your identity. It’s the risk of accepting every aspect of your humanity and displaying that for the world to remember their own . In this business, as far as I see it, you’ll never make something real if you never step onto the ledge. Art is risk. In time, the risks will evolve as I do and so too will the fruit they bear.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Whether I write a comedic play or a drama, my work as a playwright resides in the raw, unpolished, and unvarnished truth. I do not seek to teach or to garner position on one viewpoint or another. I merely seek to expose life and all its beautiful scars. My stories are of the underdog, the fighters, and the imperfect souls who stumble and fall. Sometimes, as it is in life, that can be funny. Sometimes it isn’t. Those highs and lows are where my stories live. My work is a direct reflection of my upbringing and the people I’ve met throughout my life. It is society as I have experienced it. I do not write for the intellectual elite or the highbrow connoisseurs; my stories are for the working class, those who carry and bury the weight of their human flaws. As a playwright my aim is not to provide an answer but to pose deep questions that evoke repressed emotion within the viewer. Experiencing flawed characters as redeemable as they may be themselves. Which in turn leads to the real prize, catharsis. My work is not to change the world, but to cope with it in solidarity. My plays vary in style but seek the same basic goal. Honesty, character, story, and connection. For me, everything else is just noise.

In the Spring of 2022, my play Swindlers had its world premiere at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, GA and my current play in development loosely based on my Cuban-American childhood, working title How To Break in a Glove, is set to have its world premiere in the Fall of 2024 in Miami, FL. Very excited about that. Most recently, I was the recipient of the 2023 Carbonell Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Male Role, Play, for the role of Peter in Lucas Hnath’s play, Red Speedo (Ronnie Larsen Presents at The Foundry). Member of The Dramatist Guild and Actor’s Equity Association.

Nothing about building this career has been easy. It’s been blood, sweat and tears, (rinse and repeat) with countless rejections and painful dead ends. What keeps me going is the love of the game and boundless ambition. This is who I am. As long as I have a beat in my chest I’ll keep pushing my limits. Whether as an actor or as a playwright. It’s the same feeling an adrenaline junkie has when they jump out of a plane or run with the bulls. It’s when I feel most alive.

My greatest lesson thus far has been to own your truth. Be you in all forms. Falseness fizzles away into obscurity.

I grew up in a trailer park, fairly poor, divorced Cuban parents. I’m a first generation Cuban-American from Miami, FL that grew up on Jim Carrey, Martin Scorcese, and Screamo bands. I’m a father of 2 beautiful girls that I work for every day to provide them a good life. I’m an Everyman that just so happens to love telling stories. It really is that simple.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The beach is a prerequisite for Miami, As is Versailles for the obvious croqueta, though Vicky Bakery is my personal favorite. Mary’s Coin Laundry on 27th ave for the best sandwiches and Los Vatos food truck in Doral for the best tacos/Quesadillas. Best healthy and fresh food we’re going to Michi’s in Doral. If we’re getting fancy for food, Bunbury in Downtown, Amal Miami in The Grove and my personal favorite Mandolin on NE 2nd Ave for some awesome Greek food. I also love Bulla Gastrobar in The Gables. For drinks, my club days are long over, so I’m all about the bar life. Better Days in Brickell (preferably on like a Thursday) Copper 29 in the Gables, Fox’s Lounge in South Miami, Sweet Caroline for some Karaoke in Brickell, Lost Boy in Downtown and if I had a Time Machine, The Vagabond in downtown. RIP.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My trajectory was built off the support of some amazing individuals. From family, to friends, to teachers and mentors and even a stranger or two. And though these wonderful people have all played a major part in the story that is my life, no person has played more part in my path than Devin Caraza. He’s not an artist, he’s actually somewhat of a literal rocket scientist, though he really should have been a stand-up comedian. A man who’s known me since I was in the womb. A man who started off as just a kid who lived next door to me in Courtly Manor Trailer Park and grew up to be the highly successful, sole person who gave me the gift of self worth and inner value. When I was 18 years old and on a very different path, Devin Caraza and I had not seen each other for about 10 years. That’s 10 years of no contact. We happened to bump into each other at a 4th of July event in Hialeah Gardens. After a quick catch up he had learned that I had dropped out of school and had no motivation or intention to return. He took down my phone number and that was the end of that. The following day Devin calls me and offers to fund my return to school to get my diploma, which I, though confused, gratefully accepted. Once I graduated he then offered to fund my 1st year of college if I agreed to enroll. I had no idea why this person who I had not seen in a decade was willing to do this for me. Why would anyone? No one had before, and I certainly didn’t believe I was worth two nickels rubbed together. But he did. He asked me what I wanted to do, I said in my teenage angst, “I’ve always liked acting and stuff, I guess.” without skipping a beat, he said, very matter of fact “Great, do that!” My first year in college I discovered aspects of myself I was a stranger to. I discovered I had the potential to succeed. I discovered I wasn’t a failure. Most importantly, I discovered who I was. I started to feel hope in the future and belief in my capabilities, both foreign concepts. I started to believe I had something of value. That belief and growth was built throughout the years but it would have never been a possibility had Devin Caraza not bumped into me that day on the 4th of July all those years ago and quite literally saved my life. His investment in me ignited a desire to make him proud by investing in myself. I still don’t know why he did it but I am thankful every day he did. I was reborn that day. To me, Devin Caraza is The Patron Saint of Second Chances. I won’t say what my ultimate goal is in this field, but if and when it comes to light, he will be the one I thank first. If you see him or know him, buy him beer, he deserves it. Thank you.

Website: doortothedome.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_anthony_ferrer/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopher.a.ferrer/

Image Credits
Justin Namon