Our Laner of the Week grew up in Mar Vista, a neighborhood in West Los Angeles, which is still their home base. Zander has a love for the stage and specifically performing immersive theater. They have a blast interacting with audiences as various characters in different performance settings. Zander's current big project is producing and performing in an elaborate immersive theater show called “The Complaints Dept.” They'll be presenting this experience at The Hollywood Fringe Theater Festival 2024 this Summer! ...a show with many moving parts, including a moving audience track through different rooms as part of the narrative - should be a fun time!
For more info about Zander's show, head to their Hollywood Fringe project page!
and for more info about Zander...keep reading!
What do you like about Mustard Lane or just working events in general?
Mustard Lane is the best! Whenever I book a job with them, I know that they have my back and that I’ll be working with other awesome brand ambassadors! I love the types of events they book me on, especially the theatrically themed ones. Engaging with consumers is something I love and I've even had the privilege through ML to interact with consumers as a full-on character for a couple activations! I got to be an ancient grecian promoting Fox’s animated series Krapopolis at San Diego Comic Con and got to facilitate a Glass Onion themed escape room with Netflix for an entire month as multiple personas!
When you're not on the Lane...what are you doing?!
I love staying creative! Whether that be through various forms of acting, singing, dancing, playing music, making films, video editing, or taking a class/learning a new skill!
Favorite restaurant or food?
I LOVE noodles from a multitude of cuisines!
What is one of your goals for 2024?
I’m currently in the process of forming “The Complaints Dept.” production team, so my goal is to continue assembling a kick ass group of creatives to bring my show to life come festival time! I’m also in the process of starting an immersive, experiential events production company called Chattering Teeth Productionz. “The Complaints Dept.” will be the first project produced by this company. So my additional goal for 2024 is to assemble a stellar team for this company as well!
Name a place you'd love to travel to OR a fun travel story!
One of my craziest travel stories is when I drove from Paris to Berlin overnight! I decided to spontaneously rent a car at Midnight… It’s a long story! Highlights include getting stuck in a taxi-only section of Charles de Gaulle, the rental car’s GPS glitching, and driving for hours through rural country while a thunder-lightning-rainstorm was happening!!!
What's your favorite way to spend a day off from the Lane?
I do love a good TV binge, so catching up on my shows is always fun. I also love to go thrift shopping with friends around town and make a day out of hanging with each other.
Who's your go-to musical artist?
Beyonce.
What's your hidden talent?!
I’m a great melodic whistler, with a killer vibrato and have a fab falsetto singing register!
If you could have your dream job tomorrow, other than Laner of the Week, what would it be?
I would love to have an infinite financial backing to produce my own art and fund other artists’ creative endeavors. Going on tour with a project as an actor or singer would be sweet as well!
What's an essential part of your daily routine?
I recently learned that heated eye masks, which plug into an outlet are a thing and now it’s an essential part of my daily routine! My eye mask has lavender and flaxseed in it, so it’s a very soothing recharge during the day and calming wind down at night.
What life lesson did you learn the hard way?
I’ve had burnouts from saying yes to more than I could balance... I’m learning to prioritize self care and lovingly say no!
Salty or Sweet...?
Ugh, don’t make me choose… it’s fluid, just like my gender identity!
What's a brand or event that you would love to represent or work for the Lane should the chance ever arise?
So I love doing interactive character work at activations as y’all know..Well, special FX makeup and doing creature-feature type dramatic or comedic roles is also my jam! It’d be awesome to get booked as some kind of roaming creature at an American Horror Story pop-up event for the public or an industry-specific premiere!
What inspires you most?
I’m inspired when I get to see people be passionate about whatever their *thing* is! It fills my heart when I see people embracing what brings them joy whether that be a hobby or career field. Career wise, I know it's not always easy for people to find work that not only pays the bills, but also fulfills the soul. Sticking it out until you find it is incredibly inspiring and so worth it!
Pi Day (3.14) was last week! What's your fave pie?!
Oreo Ice Cream Pie!!
To learn more about Zander, check out their instagram @zander_raphael .
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