It's a Performer's Life for 2003 Alum

Jesse Gabbard, Class of 2003, reports that he's living in East LA, and "loving" it!

We last heard from Jesse in 2015 when he appeared as Domingo Garcia in the 2016 action thriller, The Finest Hours. Since then, Jesse has continued pursuing his acting career and has appeared in such movies as The Fate of the Furious (part of the Fast and Furious franchise), 6 Underground with Ryan Reynolds and directed by Michael Bay, and Songbird, the first movie shot during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"I have been working very hard and been lucky to have been prepared for the opportunities that have happened. I work for an A-list director out here as an assistant and have been able to also pursue my acting career," he says. 

At the beginning of the shutdown in March 2020, Jesse assembled a group of actors who meet every week or two to read Shakespeare.

"We are working our way through the canon to help keep our creativity flowing and to foster a sense of community since we are all out of the theatres. I think it is difficult for people when you work in such a collaborative space to be distant, and it can feel like you lose some of the magic that theatre and acting give you by not being able to connect with other creatives," he maintains.

The group calls itself Silly Voices and Stupid Choices. Jesse states that the name is in reference to "the antics and fun way we get to approach the material and since we are our only audience. I find a unique joy in a Hamlet from Staten Island or an Italian mafioso popping up in King Richard."

Other ventures include writing an action television show that "has some interest and has a fascinating premise," and starting a side business called The Monologue Mechanic, which has Jesse coaching actors from all over the country and helping them craft audition monologues, scene and vocal work, as well as textual analysis and doing some stunt and combat workshops.