The Things that 'Middleton Heights''s Jude Torres Can't Perform Without

In the actor's own words, "multi-hyphenate Jude Torres is part of an ensemble cast for the world premiere of 'Middleton Heights,' a ground-breaking dark comedy by Hortense Gerardo about a Filipino-American family navigating the American Dream."

Jude originates two roles in the play, which is slated to continue through April 23 at The Umbrella Stage Company in Concord: The "roles of family son Moe and his eventual nephew Oscar." The actor "plays a 12-year-old in the 1960s to a 50-year-old in the 2010s, with a host of ages in between.

"What's more, Torres juggles life at the intersection of art and science as he completes dual Fellowships: One as the Outpatient Clinical Fellow of Speech Language Pathology at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Cambridge, where he specializes in neurorehabilitation for post-concussive patients, stroke survivors, and COVID long haulers, and as an Emerging Artist Fellow with Dunamis - Boston, where he is blending his love of acting and singer-songwriting into a cohort capstone project, 'Sad and...,' premiering on May 7th. Up next for Torres is a return to the Footlight Club for their 7A production of "Proof," where he will be playing the role of Hal for a limited engagement on June 2nd and 3rd."

Here are some things that he can't perform without.

Samsonite Laser Pro 2 Backpack

"I'm up at 6 am, walk two miles to Spaulding, work from 7:45 am to 6:15 pm, walk to Porter Square and take the Commuter Rail to Concord, act until 10 pm, then Uber home by 11 pm to pass out. Rinse and repeat. I'm constantly on the move and carrying so many different things, so I need a bag that can handle anything. This is a professionally sleek and sturdy bag with decent storage space, a dedicated laptop sleeve, and a USB port for connecting a rechargeable battery pack so I can charge my phone, FitBit, VocalMist (and even my Nintendo Switch!) on the go. The side pockets for water bottles aren't large enough to fit my oversized Hydroflask, but there's enough space in the bag itself!"
$89.99, Best Buy.

40 oz Hydro Flask

"As an SLP and performer I'm using my voice 24/7, so the name of the game is always hydration! I invested in a 40 oz Hydroflask and go through two to three refills a day. Having an oversized bottle means I'm rarely without water, which is great when I have multiple patients back-to-back or when I'm running around between jobs or between scenes backstage." $49.95, Amazon.

VocalMist

"While hydration on the cellular level is essential to life, I need to make sure my vocal cords are superficially hydrated, as I'm constantly pushing air past them. A nebulizer (such as the VocalMist) provides safe and reliable hydration that pairs great with vocal warm ups and cool downs, and they even have a subscription service that sends their saline solution so I'm always ready to mist!" $118, My Vocal Mist.

Crest Oral Care

"In every performance of 'Middleton Heights' I have to eat a bowl of Life cereal with whole milk, a cherry danish, two Hawaiian Rolls, black coffee, and a Thanksgiving meal of turkey, gravy, rice, and salad! In a black box theater, the audience is up close and personal and they can see everything, so having a smile that's as clean and healthy as possible gives me the confidence to approach any scene at any time!"

Crest + Scope Complete Whitening Toothpaste

$8.69 for 3, Amazon.

Crest 3D Whitestrips

$45, Crest.

Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash

$6.46, Walmart.

Cerave Skin Care

"In a similar vein to my oral health, I've started investing in my face health. Every morning I wash, tone, apply Vitamin C serum, and moisturize (the AM moisturizer has 30 SPF), and at night I wash, tone, apply retinol, and use their PM moisturizer. Staying on top of UV damage and blackheads and acne from medical face masks and occasional stage make up is a struggle, but hey, you're only young once and you have to work to keep what you got!" Price varies, Amazon.

LineLearner App

"I have to shoutout my castmate Cheryl Daro for showing me this! This app allows you to record yourself and/or your cast reciting scenes from a script, and then play them back with or without your personal lines so you can work on getting off book ASAP! There's so many features added on: Changing playback speed, prompts to remind you of lines, a PDF/word upload so you can directly input your script into the app, and even pitch modulation so you can better distinguish characters if you record a script by yourself! Super useful for actors on the go who are in shows with lots of fast and witty dialogue!" App Store.

Bodylastics Resistance Bands

"My schedule doesn't allow me to go to the gym, so I bring my gym with me! This set of resistance bands are stackable from anywhere between 3 lbs to 142 lbs (!) and come with handles, ankle straps, and door anchors, so I can work every muscle group and adjust my resistance accordingly. And it even comes with its own bag!" $49.97, Amazon.

Protein

"Finally, since I'm loading up on (mostly) carbs because of 'Middleton Heights,' I try to balance out my diet with lean portable protein. Quest Nutrition bars are high in protein, fiber, and flavor without too many extra calories, and so easy to take on the go! When I get home at night, I finish my macros with a casein protein shake. Casein is a slow-digesting protein, so it keeps me full through the night and ready to go first thing in the morning!"

Quest Protein Bars

$33.48, Quest Nutrition.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Micellar Casein

$47.45, Amazon.

"Middleton Heights" runs through April 23rd at The Umbrella Stage Company in Concord. Purchase tickets here