ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
JORGE "JAY" RIVERA HERRANS
TASIS Dorado Alumnus - Class of 2016
Playwright, Composer, Lyricist, and Actor
The University of Notre Dame's Film, Television, and Theatre major Jorge "Jay" Rivera-Herrans, wrote and stars in the new musical "Stupid Humans" which premiered yesterday, February 21st, at The University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.
Jay won "Best Actor in a Musical" for his performance in "In the Heights" during the Broadway World South Bend Awards last month.
Back in September 2018, we interviewed Jorge about his experience at TASIS Dorado. "TASIS Dorado's music program catapulted me head first into my creative side. In the band classes, I had the opportunity to play multiple instruments including piano, guitar, bass, and drums. I learned songs from several genres like classical music, rock, pop, movie soundtracks, and more; using these instruments and genres as foundations made songwriting, my favorite thing to do, much easier. I remember creating songs for several events during my time at TASIS Dorado, including songs about Don Quijote de la Mancha, The Great Gatsby, Frankenstein, and more. I remember the flexibility of the music classes and how my voice felt heard. Music ideas that were pitched became songs we ended up performing. We got to learn the types of music we wanted, and TASIS taught us well.
Now, as a junior at the University of Notre Dame, I couldn't be happier. The university will produce an original musical that I've been working on for over a year now in the spring of 2019. It's the first time they produce an original musical, and the theatre department only puts on one musical every year, so I am hysterically excited to see my work come to life. I've been in multiple shows in my time here, including Grease, Spring Awakening and In The Heights, each of which gave me memories I will always look back on with pride. I was recently chosen for a new performance group funded by ND called Gold and Blue, and one of the songs we're performing is actually from my musical. I'm thriving here, and I love it.
While I didn't leave TASIS Dorado with the intent of diving into music and theatre, I can't help but thank TASIS for instilling those interests within me. I look back on the moments where I performed with Mr. Joel's and Mr. Jonathan's band classes, and I just smile. I can only imagine what beautiful, whimsical, and musical futures TASIS Dorado's music program is fostering now".