Acting alumnus Blaze Mancillas ’12 is the new host of Song Pop Live, a daily music trivia show available on all mobile devices in the USA and Canada. Mancillas said, “Song Pop Live is a really fun game. We have a huge catalogue of music that spans from the 50’s to now so the game definitely would appeal to players regardless of their music tastes. Plus they get a chance to win money!”
For Mancillas, being able to interact with the players is an added bonus to the job. He said, “That’s one of my favorite parts of the game. I love performing for an audience, and being able to talk to people anywhere in North America is pretty darn cool.”
Mancillas says thanks to his wonderful team, he feels free to be as creative as possible. He said, “On Song Pop Live it’s 100% me. I tell jokes, personal anecdotes, dance around, do voices and impersonations, and generally just try to have a good time…I get to work with a wonderful producing team who really encourage me to be my creative, silly self.”
Mancillas’s road to radio started five years back when he began doing standup. Of his experience, he said, “I really love doing stand up because you have so much control in ways you don’t have as an actor. If you write a joke this afternoon, you can find a basement in NYC tonight and try it out in front of strangers and find out immediately whether it works or not. That instant feedback is so beneficial and a great motivator for someone as impatient as I am…There were a lot of skills I developed in doing stand up and radio that helped me get the gig. Being able to come up with jokes in the moment and talk extemporaneously for a set duration without having to look at a clock is something I gained from doing stand up and radio.”
His work as a part-time sound engineer for SiriusXM radio furthered his love of radio. He said, “When you listen to the radio, especially with headphones on, those voices are literally in your head. It’s a much more intimate experience than watching TV.”
Since graduating from the Columbia University School of the Arts Acting program, Mancillas has worked on a variety of jobs from motion capture performance, to voice over for video games, to acting in commercials. Song Pop Live is his first radio performance. You can download Song Pop Live for free on all mobile devices through the app store.
