Daniel Curalli
I began acting informally at some point around the ages of 4-6. Recruiting my younger sister as my occasionally unwilling scene partner, we brought scenes from Winnie the Pooh to life in our living room. Not only were the scenes complete with couch cushion sets and blocking, the dialogue was word perfect, and if it wasn’t, I insisted that we go back over it until it was.
And so began my love of storytelling. It became a part of every aspect of my life. When my friends came over, instead of playing outside, gaming or talking, we would act out scenes from movies over and over again. If I had a free moment, I would disappear into my room to listen to stories on tape, or dance and sing along to music, often from Broadway shows or Disney musicals. Even when I played organized sport, I created situations in my mind to make the game more exciting.
The first time I stepped on a stage was in elementary school for our Christmas concert. Having my crazy antics be encouraged was a powerful drug, and I quickly entered myself in the school’s spring musical, and repeated the pattern every year. In high school, I didn’t take drama and instead focused on the sciences as preparation for university. However, my love of storytelling did pull me into the school’s musicals, and I spent four years singing, dancing, and making some lifelong friends.
The end of high school seemed the end of my theatre career as well. I enrolled in first year science at UBC, but while scrolling through electives, a theatre class caught my eye. I couldn’t help signing up. During the class, I heard talk for the first time ever of a program called the BFA. A friend of mine and I agreed to audition together, and low and behold, I was accepted.
UBC’s BFA program utterly changed my outlook on storytelling. It introduced me to a whole world that I had never known about, but that I loved right away. For three years, I was immersed fully in something I would have done in my free time, learning more than I could have possibly imagined about the power, practice and pleasure of telling stories. When I emerged from the program in 2017, I knew that I had found what I wanted to do with my life.
I enjoy many things about the work I do, but what I enjoy most is the sense of play. It is the same sense that I had as a child, knocking my sister off a couch cushion log, and now it is supported by a desire to learn, a knowledge of the work, and an ever growing tool belt of technique and exploration that opens new ways to play and story-tell every day. I was led on this journey for a reason, and I thank God for placing me right where I belong. So come with me, and let me tell you a story…