I had the pleasure of speaking with Victor Carrillo Tracy, the performer of the Broadway musical. Foreignersabout the emotional and physical demands of performance and what remains in the body after the curtain falls.
In a play defined by intensity, violence and loss, Victor Carrillo Tracy moves between several characters, including Paul and the understudy Sodapop and Darrell, sometimes switching roles within a day. Each night requires emotional access, physical precision and interaction with the audience.
“Nothing can prepare you for eight shows a week…as long as the show goes on,” says Victor.
The nervous system is on stage
For actors, dancers, musicians, and anyone whose work requires emotional engagement, the body is activated, even if the mind knows it’s just a performance.
Ours nervous system cannot always distinguish between staged and real threats. Body reactions, such as increased heart rate, muscle tension, tears, laughteror anger can be internalized regardless of context. For performers, this can create a blur between the character’s reality and their own (Balan, 2027).
Unlike other professions where the workday can be closed, it can be difficult to erase the emotional residue of working. The body can maintain its high position if it is not deliberately released.
in emotionally powerful productions such as Foreigners It requires performers to deliver scenes sadnessviolence, love and survival, the conflict on stage feels like a real, live, physical experience in the body.
“There’s no unreal part of it,” Victor explains.
A family in a separate universe
Real communication and support is needed to support this level of psychological demand. Through repeated and shared superior experiences, scene partners become anchors for each other. On stage, they are the Curtis brothers, who are connected like a family in the world Foreigners. The brain encodes experience as real and creates emotional connections that blur the line between performance and reality.
“We are a family in a separate universe,” Victor says. “And we always will be.”
Dissociation as adaptation
Reflecting on his Broadway debut, Victor describes a dissociative experience that many performers can relate to.
“An acting debut is a big deal. There’s so much packed into that one moment that … something smarter in my body shuts down my mind to do my thing.”
When the stakes are high, the body prioritizes performance over presence or reflection. The cost is that the experience may be on autopilot and not fully registered. “I don’t remember my debut,” Victor says.
To save boundaries Between the character and himself, Victor relies on the practice of somatic release after each performance. “I get on all fours … and just shake the open vowel … everything that I put on the floor.” This shaking process allows her to release residual activation, sometimes including tears or laughter, until “something clicks” and she feels herself coming back.
Regulation of cooperation behind the scenes
In Foreignerscast members actively care for each other on and off stage.
Victor remembers being supported on stage by actors like Jason Schmidt. “In stressful I feel a lot from my partners in the scene. During a violent altercation, a fellow dancer physically and emotionally floored her. “He held my head and said, ‘Breathe, it’s okay.'”
These moments of co-regulation are crucial for actors whose relationships are built through moments of powerful exposure and trust.
Behind the scenes, actors reconnect after difficult scenes, get out of character and come back to themselves. These rituals, however small, are restorative and grounding.
Offstage, the company actively works to separate the character from itself. Under the direction of Danya Taymor, the actors reconnect with each other and “drop” the intense scenes. Behind the scenes, they return to themselves through decompression exercises and restore the boundaries between role and role. person.
This process reflects what we understand trauma– informed care. The nervous system regulates relationships. Even in high-performance environments, the presence of aligned others allows for recalibration.
Vision pressure
Victor also talks about the psychological pressure of appearance, incl body image and fear not enough.
“I think in any arena where people look at you … wherever they put you, you understand what you look like … that’s just part of it.”
For young performers with a critical mind to speak for oneselfit normalizes the feeling of not being enough or being established or taught. He is thinking of entering Broadway as a major.
“I thought I spent too much time learning different skills…and I felt like I didn’t have enough vocal or dance training. Foreigners… we did a fighting combo… and I, oh, it’s too easy for me, he said.
“What you think is not good for you … is probably what makes you most unique and valuable.”
Here’s his advice to budding artists:
“You’ve got to put your feet up and pray… trust me, everything that’s meant for you is for you… and if you don’t give it your all… the universe… or whatever force you believe in will just cook something up that may take longer… but it’ll be so much sweeter.”
