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EJ Paras

@ej_paras

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Fool. Fluent in Yapanese. | JC, NJ
Film/TV Rep: @presleyartists
@stellaadler 🎭 | TCNJ 🦁
🎥🎸📚📝🏀🤠

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goofy summer taken in New York, New York by @ej_paras

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a month ago

When I interviewed for the @stellaadler Conservatory two years ago, I said to Tom & Lou, “I have a marketing job right now and I’m doing okay, and I could do that the rest of my life. But I want to be more than okay.”  I had no idea how much I’d be affected by all of it. Every day was a blessing. Over-caffeinated at 6:30pm, still taking swigs at 8pm. Learning from & playing with people I admire. This talented bunch moved me daily. Some of the best theater you could see in NYC just had a few blocks under fluorescent lights in a dusty basement.  I wore my Angie McMahon shirt to Closing Night of VSMS. My new closing tradition, I’ve done it three times already. But if I never went to that show, never met Kristie and learned about Stella, maybe I never applied, and maybe I’d just be further along in my corporate career — maybe gotten another promotion. Sounds okay to me.  I graduated from college & business school eight years ago, and if it wasn’t for throwing myself into a corporate job right after, maybe it’d have hit me harder then. This one kinda hurts.  Noah Baumbach said in his recent commencement speech at Vassar, “look beside you, not in front of you.” The greatest thing I’ll probably ever get from this, even with everything I’ve experienced in & out of the classroom, is the people. My friends. My sisters. I loved every minute, even when it was fucking hard. From Celeste being my first teacher in the Intro program to her helping me ace my audition by working with me on Edmund from King Lear; Charlotte telling me that growth can sometimes feel like a spiral staircase — I’m higher than where I was before, even if the view feels familiar.  But it’s not over. It’s really just beginning. Dusting off old scripts, picturing my friends as the characters, embodying the souls. Maybe have an agent by the end of the month if all goes well there. I have no idea what I’m doing.   “I know I sound like a crank, but I’m afraid of change,” Vanya, I understand you. Bishop Sheen said to build your life on a strong foundation, and I’m so glad to have these people lifting me up when I feel like I’m falling backwards into the abyss. Just know I’ll lift you up when you need it, too. taken in Stella Adler Studio of Acting by @ej_paras

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4 months ago

Stills from @riffraff.nyc’s 21st century twist on Susan Glaspell and George Cram Cook‘s psychoanalysis satire one-act play “Suppressed Desires”

🎭: @willdeanjaramillo / @colldegennaro / @ej_paras

💡: @staton_the_facts taken in American Theatre of Actors - ATA - est. 1976 by @ej_paras

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2 months ago

We used to lick postage stamps back then. We used to go to the Blarney Stone on Trinity Place, where you can get a bucket of Pabst Blue Ribbon for $10.

I love this show and cast with all my heart. We have one more run, one more dance tonight. I am beyond grateful for it all. Thankful for such wonderful audiences, helping us to sell out the entire run. Eternally grateful to @stellaadler.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
By Christopher Durang 🦃
Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play

The brilliant team:
Director: Rebecca Frank @bexfrank
Scenic: Sam Tutasi @samnameismy
Costumes: L.A. Clevenson @laclevenson
Props: Chelsey Hall @cheasle_mcmeasle
Lighting: Bryan Ealey @be.lightdesign
Sound: Robert Gonyo @reconsider59

The beautiful cast:
Vanya: guilty
Sonia: Colleen DeGennaro @colldegennaro
Masha: Francesca Calautti @francesca.calautti
Spike: Will Dean Jaramillo @willdeanjaramillo
Nina: Eliza Byrnes @eliza.byrness
Cassandra: Hardeep Bangar @hardeep.bangar

The all-star crew:
Crew Captain / Swing: Brady Allen @hideaki.allen
Soundboard Operator: Stephen John Ramirez @stephenjohnramirez
Lightboard Operator: Loren Roman @lorenromaan
Backstage / Costumes: Natalie Lübker @natalieluebker
Backstage: Jade Jones @jadejonesluv

📸: @msy.nyc taken in Stella Adler Studio of Acting by @ej_paras

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4 months ago

Hey! We open a play this week and we’re very excited for these opportunities to share our work with you. We’ve been having such a fun time rehearsing for SUPPRESSED DESIRES. It’s funny that Vanya, Sonia, and Spike are back together again — the power-balances have shifted but that pining still remains.

We really hope you guys have a good time, have some laughs, and hang out with us after our shows. Suppressed Desires is a part of @riffraff.nyc’s one-act festival lineup for its summer programming and we’re so thrilled to be a part of it. Thank you to @staton_the_facts for running it and including us!

We’ll have four performances at The American Theatre of Actors which is at 314 W. 54th St in Manhattan. Ticket link is currently in my story. I’ll prob blast it some more. I’ll add it to my link in bio, too, for now.

Weds. 8/12 at 8pm
Thurs. 8/13 at 7pm
Sat. 8/15 at 2pm
Sun. 8/16 at 8pm

Let us know if you can make it. We’d love to see ya. And hey, sometimes it’s better to not suppress those desires. Just go for it. Take the leap of faith.

Cool 📸 by: @justin_acook taken in American Theatre of Actors - ATA - est. 1976 by @ej_paras

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2 months ago

🍎🪰3 days left to get you tickets for Throuples Counseling 🎟️ taken in 274 Morgan Ave by @ej_paras

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3 months ago

Ever wish you could hire someone to help make going to parties a little less awkward? 🥂🤝

Our new short film follows Elias, a twenty-something who rents a plus-one for a night out… and ends up in the middle of some hilarious, messy, and all-too-relatable friend drama.

Stay tuned to meet the cast and get a peek behind the scenes as we bring this story to life! 💖🎬

📸: @tayvalentinephoto

#shortfilm🎞📽⚡️ #indiefilm #filmcommunity #behindthescenesphotography #actorslife🎭 #filmmakerslife #filmmakinglife #filmshoot #comingsoon taken in New York, New York by @ej_paras

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a year ago

Sharing the things that moved me immensely in 2025. I also reflected a bit and wrote a few words on dreams and my relationship with art as I head into this new year and this new decade for me on this planet (wow).

I got sick toward the end of 2025, so I had more time to reflect — which can be good, but for an overthinker, it can be a bit much. However, I finally came around to this feeling of gratitude. Grateful for Stella, grateful for the people in my corner, and grateful for the art that has inspired and will continue to inspire me for life. To be exploring art in drama school, and now with just one semester left, I can’t help but want to leave it all out there. It’s a privilege, and I’m trying not to take it lightly.

Anyway, let me know of some your faves that are also here and what I should check out (of which I know there’s still a lot I have to dive into)! Here’s to 2026, y’all. by @ej_paras

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9 months ago

had tape on my nipples while filming these @tdameritrade education vids. I don’t write the scripts, much smarter people do. by @ej_paras

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3 years ago

a little ditty from room on fire. “12:51” has been stuck in my head, so I did this on the roof. it was a warm afternoon in jersey city, but I wouldn’t say it was “on fire” when I recorded this. okay that’s it. have a nice day. #thestrokes #cover taken in Jersey City, New Jersey by @ej_paras

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a year ago

“Buck up — never say die. We’ll get along!”

Charlie Chaplin | Modern Times by @ej_paras

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10 months ago

thank you @26stphotography 📸

it was a joy to hang out with you guys — and of course, Princeton 🐱

we listened to Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, some Dylan and Joan, Bad Bunny, King Gizz, Angie, and a whole bunch more.

Omar & Tashi create such a positive, safe environment and it lends itself to such a seamless session and tons of great shots.

lots of good ones from the 100+ they sent. I went with “friendly guy who can disarm you with his immense sadness” for these selections. But there were many more for other moods & vibes that I’ll look to use soon, too.

I loved working with Tashi & Omar and would recommend anyone in the NYC area to work with ‘em :) taken in New York, New York by @ej_paras

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2 years ago