Tell about yourself and your background! *
My name is Ray Alicaba. I’m an actor and teacher, based in Stockton CA. I’ve lived in Northern California all my life, the son of two loving parents. They immigrated here from the Philippines in their twenties. Dad worked in the post office, and Mom is a medical technologist; no brothers or sisters of my own, but we’re blessed with a big, close extended family. I was a shy kid, but loved comic books, cartoons, TV — and spending time with my friends! Still love ‘em.
What inspired you to become a stunt performer?
I started in radio after college; and during those years discovered that some of my colleagues worked in voiceover, too. Had no idea then, how closely related all the things I loved were to each other… but even as a kid I enjoyed origin stories, or behind the scenes talk: like the Star Wars prime time tv specials that showed how SFX worked, how the Three Stooges started in vaudeville, or how Stan Lee and Bruce Lee learned their trade. Once I left broadcasting to pursue voice acting, it was clear I had to apply that curiosity to my life, my new world as an aspiring professional actor, if I wanted to succeed. I was one of those guys that dreamed of doing one thing while doing something else — not out of distraction, but from some affinity I perceived within each activity. .. I just didn’t understand why, at the time. In one of my voice acting classes at Voicetrax SF, in Sausalito CA— I was studying motion capture with Jacquie Shriver, and we explored stage combat, facial expressions, cutscenes, memorization of sides… so much in one weekend, it was great! At the end of class Jacquie recommended that I study stage combat more in the future, because she thought I’d do really well with it! Although it was my first time incorporating stage combat into voice acting— we worked in the middle of the room, everyone seated in a circle around us rather than inside the booth… my performances that weekend, according to Jacquie, brought out a new dimension to my acting that wasn’t always present in my voice work. I was amazed how liberating and expressive it felt to work like that, and just rely on my wits. I studied theatre as literature, but ironically I never studied drama to perform, or ever took the stage while in school! That’s where studying music and martial arts, or later, broadcasting — made a difference. The feedback from my peers was very much, ‘Wow, you really did great this weekend — you held your own, and you never studied outside of here! When are you gonna do more? What do you feel like doing now, in addition to voice acting?’ It wasn’t long before I was approached to make my first VO demos, and seriously discuss with my teachers the topic of representation… and what my career goals were as a professional actor. After signing with my first agent in the SF Bay Area, Mary Tonry, I spent lots of time studying everything I could, through books, classes, networking, auditions, you name it! Every few months I traveled to LA for a day or two to learn whatever I could, based on my mentors’ advice, and my own interests. Mary Tonry was happy to hear of my experiences in LA, and we’d talk about people I could train with in Northern California. Stage combat was the most prominent thing after voiceover; and eventually I discovered the Golden Gate Knights, a lightsaber stage combat school in SF. Through them I met many of my future friends; including members of the Saber Guild, and the Saber Legion! We put on our first live show in Dec 2015, a tribute and homage to the iconic fight scenes from Star Wars; it took months to prepare, including video analysis, live rehearsals with just our partners and also with the entire group, as our makeup and costumes evolved. So much fun — another liberating creative experience, where I learned I was more talented than I thought! That, and the months of weekly classes preceding our show, brought my skills into focus. Master Christopher Villa introduced me to the idea that learning stage combat and fight choreography would make me a better voice actor, absolutely— and open up new possibilities as I continued my studies. So true, and I had no idea how right he was! My experiences performing as a Jedi made learning itself much easier, the more I did it. I started finding parallels and connections between everything I studied. Instead of dreaming how to incorporate my studies into each other — that was happening all the time, by itself! Playing guitar or singing standards onstage was the same creative experience for me; as it was for me now, teaching martial arts forms to kids, or building lightsaber choreography by studying films and tv shows! Nowadays I put that to work as an instructor and student in Zoom classes for seated fencing and Neo Bartitsu! It was a thrill teaching at Combat Con 2019, doing live shows with the Saber Guild, refereeing duels for the Saber Legion, or working on tv shows and movies applying my performance skills anew…. looking forward to the future! I love my life. Definitely an ongoing education, and I’m always learning new things!
What is your greatest skill as a stunt performer, is there a stunt behind it?
Improvisation, and the adaptability that comes with. On the set of Kings of the Atlantic, a movie I filmed recently, I had minutes to learn how to shoot with a flintlock… my longtime Coach, Tom Badillo, who was also in the film, took me aside and we reviewed our training together. Without giving more away — in a little while, the cameras were rolling… and I did my thing— while learning how to get shot, at the same time! Liberating…
What is the best part about being a stunt performer?
Freedom of expression — the same liberation, a transcendent creative act, that I felt working on air in radio; doing voiceovers; singing onstage; dancing or fighting in a choreographed routine feels like we’re building a story on the spot with characters coming to life anew each time. No two performances exactly the same, though the core of the performer is there always, as well as the chemistry with your partners, and of your team. I wouldn’t trade this for anything! Saved my life.
Tell your all-time favorite stunt story!
The Kings of the Atlantic anecdote, above.
What advice would you give other stunt performers?
Be fearless in pursuing what you love; resourceful in seeking opportunities; open hearted + open minded in dealing with people; and forgive yourself— always… your support team is key here. It may be your family, community, friends like family… it feels better to share my life with people!
Anything else you'd like to tell the community about?
Never forget what inspired you throughout your life — people, experiences, dreams — and hold on to them! Even as we evolve, and learn more — what those inspirations mean, will evolve along with us in each phase of our lives! Success leaves clues — it’s true. We can always do more than we tend to believe… and always have it within to help those in need of all we are— even if we haven’t met them yet. And everything we learn is connected: so it’s important to reevaluate all we know. The answer we need may lie in something we set aside before… but we need now. Other people can be so helpful in showing us those answers… take time to teach, in order to improve!
Please share your social media handles and how we can follow you!
Ray Alicaba on Facebook; Ray Alicaba on LinkedIn; stocktonsgjedi@ Instagram. Thank you!
