"Go Out and Show It Who You Are and How You Plan to Change the World." - Chatting with Dante Brattelli

I would like you to meet Dante Brattelli. This talented actor will be performing in American Idiot at the Landis Theatre this April. I met him many years ago when we were working together in a new musical in New York City. Since that time, Dante has truly made his rounds performing for many theatre companies on the East Coast. Some of those companies include The Walnut Street Theatre, Fulton Theatre, Media Theatre, Moorestown Theater Company, and The Ocean City Theatre Company just to name a few. He has also performed Off-Broadway in He Love Me Not (Davenport Theatre) and Comfort Women and Dream Babies (Both at St. Clements Theatre).

Dante is such a talented performer who has a wonderful attitude and skin for this industry. I am so happy to have the chance to feature him! 

How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a performer? 

I started performing when I was eleven years old, but I didn’t decide that I wanted to pursue performing full-time until I was sixteen. During my junior year of high school, I was cast in a production of Cats at the Ritz Theater Company in Oaklyn, New Jersey. As a dancer, being in a production of Cats is transformative. As a performer, you learn how to portray a character almost exclusively through movement. Additionally, I had only done educational theater up until then so getting handed a paycheck to perform on stage changed everything for me.

Are there any teachers or mentors in your life who truly helped you become the amazing performer you are today? 

I attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute after moving to New York City. While attending the conservatory, I was fortunate enough to meet Mauricio Bustamante and the late Irma Sandrey. These two powerhouses of the theatre crafted my training and taught me so much about the industry and what it was going to be like trying to make my way in the greatest city on Earth. While attending school, I was cast in my second original off-Broadway musical. Mauricio and Irma were the ones that moved me to the professional track at the conservatory, taught by Irma.

There, Mauricio went from being my professor to being my scene partner. When my production schedule got to be too much to balance with the class schedule, they were the ones that told me to take a leave of absence. The advice they gave me was that I had moved to New York to perform, and I was already doing that and that people attend the school to get to where I already was, so I should focus on my career, not trying to make it to my classes on time.

We are living in some unprecedented times in the world but are very fortunate right now to see a light at the end of the tunnel. For all artists, it has definitely been a time of uncertainty. What has your everyday routine been like during Quarantine, and what are some things you do to keep your spirits up? 

Living during the Covid-19 pandemic had changed the lives of everyone we know. When we first went into quarantine, we all thought our productions would be back up and running in two weeks. That was a year ago. With all the time that the industry has been shut down, it has forced us to find ways to remain active. Every day involves some form of getting the industry back on its feet. During the early days of quarantine, I was able to work on a few very small indie film productions that had taken all of the precautions to make sure the cast and crew were safe. 

I have also been fortunate enough to work with the Moorestown Theater Company as both an educator and a performer. I choreographed several of their productions with their youth performers as well as a production for young adults. They also offered socially distant classes that I was able to teach. It was inspiring to watch these young performers still safely hustling and working on their craft, despite everything going on around them. When the weather was nicer, they even put on an open-air production of Godspell where I was able to play Jesus for a large audience of arts-deprived families and news vans. 

Some theaters have taken to using an online medium to bring arts into the home. I was able to perform in two virtual productions, one for The Philadelphia Fringe Festival and one with Marlton Performing Arts Center. 

Many of my fellow performers have either left the career all together out of fear that it will not come back, or they decided to go back to school while we have the time. I chose the latter. I decided to pursue a degree in psychology because I have watched the fallout in the community around me. I have spoken with a lot of people about how their lives have changed because of the pandemic. I have found that helping them through such difficult times has shown me how much good one can do for other people. I will never be done performing, but I also think that being a psychologist will be just as exciting an adventure. When not teaching or studying, I have enjoyed getting together with a small group of friends to watch movies. This has proven to be very therapeutic for all of us. We all sit in a room with masks on, and we spin a wheel to decide what movie we watch that evening. It has been a great escape from reality while also providing some much-needed human connection during such a time of terrible isolation.

Congratulations on American Idiot at The Landis Theater. It is truly one of my favorite shows to come out in the past 10 years! How does it feel to be getting back on stage, and what are you most excited about with this run? 

I could not be more excited to be performing American Idiot at The Landis Theater this spring. Getting back on stage is going to be surreal. When I first went in for the audition, I was the only auditionee allowed in the room and they had me go on stage to sing and do my monologue. Being center stage under the lights felt so incredible and so familiar at the same time. I went home that night and sent a picture of the view from the stage to friends of mine because we have all been itching to see that view again.

What I am most looking forward to is feeling the energy from the audience. American Idiot is already a high-octane show, but people have gone without the performing arts for so long that the energy in that room is going to be incredible. Having to be tested every week combined with the cleaning regimen at the theater gives me faith that they are doing this the right way.

What advice would you give any young aspiring artists during these times? 

If I pass along any advice, it would be do not waste your time. Don’t sit around and wait for things to happen for you. Go out and audition for everything that is going to let you. If there is nothing happening, or if you are getting rejected from every job, go make your own job. This holds true to the world pre and post-pandemic. The industry isn’t going to wait for you. Go out and show it who you are and how you plan to change the world.

To learn more about Dante please visit his official website at - http://dantebrattelli.com