Justin Magallanes

What an honor to be awarded with “EXCELLENCE IN PLAYWRITING” at this year’s McKenzie awards! And to be the very first winner of the category to boot- wow! I was thrilled to be nominated among such esteemed friends and collaborators. This is not at all possible without the love and support of every cast and crew member across my 4 original shows here at SDSU. I extend my deepest gratitude to every one of you: it has been a dream come true to have you speak and sing my words. I’m so proud to cap off my time at SDSU with this celebration of hard work, congratulations to all the nominees in every category! @sdsu_ttf @sdsu_tfm @sdsumusicaltheatre #theatre #playwright #musicaltheatre #broadway #theatrekid

“Christmas Peril”!!!!! Oh my god. I am so unbelievably happy with how this production turned out- our premiere last weekend was a smash hit, five sold-out shows with huge laughs and applause and a few tears. This will always be my first full-length musical, and I could not have asked for a better group of talents to have shared in its creation! Thank you Thomas for writing our music, to Jameson, Paul, and Anh for teaching and orchestrating it, to @sdsucomedyclub for producing this show, to @skullanddaggersd and @katie_teaches_acting for helping us get it on its feet, and to @shayna.jiorle and @thejasmineadler for being our rock. Thank you to @merrinaraa for being the heart of the cast ❤️ Thank you to @ryanmwarden for unbelievable commitment to the bit 🥼 Thank you to @annietonyo for being our majesty 👑 Thank you to @kaia.podd for being our love 📕 Thank you to @coraline_cq for showing us that empathy goes both ways ✝️ Thank you to @jojo.e.d.j for being our showstopper 🤩 Thank you to @all_of_my_usernames_are_taken for being our joy 🚬 Thank you to @giolanna_loretelli for being our broken-armed Grinch and an intimidating cultist! Thank you to @oecupid for being our intimidating cultist and intimidating backup dancer! Thank you to @childish_brandino00 for being our Ho-Ho-Ha-Ha man! Thank you to @seb_or_baz for setting up the show’s last emotional beat with Eren! Thank you to @itsalways_addison for Chipmunk Duty and helping with choreo! Thank you to @jayla.rose._ for DREIDEL DREIDEL DREIDEL Thank you to @kamzaun for being our Albin… Albin… ALBIN! Thank you to @caroline.nicol_ for Chipmunk Duty and making me laugh every rehearsal! I cannot begin to express how incredibly proud I am of every single person who made this show happen, both onstage and off, and if I tried to type it all out I’d hit the character limit. But thank you. I am so grateful for every single one of you… you have made this show feel like family every night this semester, and I will remember you all as long as I live… and we still have do the Cast Recording!!! More to come as always, but for now: To all a good night 🎄

I was honored to be selected to attend the 2024 Fine Cut Mentoring Workshop for Writing and Directing at Warner Brothers yesterday. I had the opportunity to sit with @directedbyanya , @judeweng , @ginaippy , @felipevaraderey , and @dimedavis and discuss their experiences in the film and television industry, their processes, and their valuable advice for young filmmakers such as myself. I also had the privilege to meet and network with dozens of talented animators, directors, writers, and producers. I am extremely grateful to the amazing folks @pbssocal for organizing and inviting me to this event, as well as to @sagindie , @firstent , and of course @wbpictures for providing incredible information and resources during this program! #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmstudent

Words of wisdom, starring my old friend Johnathan #filmmaker #filmmaking #indiefilm #puppet #oc

Difficult? Yes. Better than AI? 100000% Follow for more original films using classic techniques! #indiefilm #filmmaking #animation #tadc #artist

Getting to sit in a historic movie theatre and watch the festival premiere of this film was a real treat, especially given its visceral approach to horror! I’m looking back at “BEHIND YOU!”, my very early foray into experimental filmmaking. I took a painstaking approach to the effects needed for this film, combining a lot of post-production video effects with in-camera puppetry. Given the lengthy one-shot needed for the film, designed to show the protagonist in total isolation, I had to act as both puppeteer, performer, and camera operator. That mostly meant me juggling multiple kits between my hands while simultaneously panning to and composing the following shot. Did I mention there entire film needed to be shot within a single sunset in real time? #horrorfilm #indiefilm #shortfilm #filmmaker #director

‘80s slasher film in 2026??? YES PLEASE Here’s a few of my favorite shots from our proof-of-concept musical horror film, “Be Not Afraid”! Undertaking this while in High School is what truly got the ball rolling on my filmmaking journey. Plus I got to make a monster suit and run around in the woods with my friends and a camera! I talked both my siblings and parents into playing roles in the film, along with virtually the entire cast of my HS production of “Spelling Bee”. These guys crushed it in every aspect of the phrase, and were so committed through the entire fun and chaotic process. The entire experience of putting the film together was my first real foray into filmmaking, and to this day remains the most difficult project I have taken on (mostly due to my relative inexperience at the time). We shot the entire thing on iPhones, and edited it on mobile as well. Pity my storage. All effects were done practically, and we shot all across Temecula for the various slasher-scenes. Stay tuned for more to come from the world of this film and beyond! #filmmaking #cinematography #horrormoviefan #slasher #indiefilm

I recently pitched a feature film I wrote to investors, so this week I’m looking back at my first feature! “Be Not Afraid” was a full-length passion project I wrote, directed, shot, and produced back in high school. It began as a short experiment to put the internal feeling I had when experiencing panic attacks onto the screen: we shot a few tests and tried various digital, in-camera, and even analog effects to capture a creeping, illogical dread. The film starred my brother @dylan.magallanes as Timothy Easton, a long-suffering teen detective plagued by a supernatural stalker. In a bizarre mashup of genres, the film interpolates the music of ABBA to tell its story of a murderous guardian angel picking off each of Timothy’s alleged friends! It’s “Mamma Mia” meets “Donnie Darko”. It’s really fun to take a look back at this first-time film and see how far we have come in the years since. Here’s to many more! #indiefilm #indiehorror #filmmaker #filmmaking #horrormovie

¡Puedo sentir el viento cambiando! ☂️ It’s an incredible honor to have our film “Practically Perfect” featured at the I, IMMIGRANT international film festival from @cinemawithoutborders . This film means so much to me, and I’m so grateful that the many beautiful conversations @julis.acevedo and I had when developing it are now being seen on screens ACROSS THE WORLD! If you saw our poster earlier this week, you know this movie is part-Mary-Poppins and part-protest. It’s a potent combo and I’m so proud we pulled it off. A big THANK YOU to the following folks from our cast and crew, and everyone else who helped out! ¡Viva Mireya! @mackatonyandcheese @jaeonniemarie @marco.finnegan @overly_kaffinated @kaylahambriz @vivivenegass @save_the_cole @logangoelman @sumantamandar #indiefilm #filmfestival #chicano #latinofilmmaker #cinematic

Starting a new series of minimalist posters from my past films! First up is “Practically Perfect”, my radical Chicano reimagining of Mary Poppins. This short satirical drama pits a magical niñera named Mireya (played by @julis.acevedo ) against two incompetent immigration agents (whose banal evil is executed greatly by two real-life great dudes, @mackatonyandcheese and Ryan Neisz). Also featured is @jaeonniemarie as a Fairy Godmother who’s been through the jaws of bureaucracy before, and my little sister Ashlyn making her third appearance in my work. The film has unfortunately become increasingly relevant since we shot it last year. This is a terrifying time, and I want to remind you to GET ANGRY. Hug your Latino friends and loved ones and FIGHT FOR THEM… while there’s still somebody to fight for. As Mireya says in the film, “the wind is changing…” #indiefilm #chicanoart #latinofilmmaker #marypoppins #filmmakerslife

I am SO excited to officially announce my collaboration with @lin_manuel on the long-awaited sequel to HAMILTON! In this thrilling time-travel adventure, a guilty and desperate Aaron Burr accepts a dangerous mission to undo his worst mistake. But the past is obdurate, and a series of paradoxes, time-clones, and vicious Langoliers threaten to make The World Turn Upside Down again. Burr and a newly-resurrected Hamilton will soon learn that while The World Was Wide Enough, TIME is even wider. The score is beautiful: in a departure from the original, there are only 6 songs (2 per act) in an otherwise prose-style dialogue-heavy show. Scenery will alternate between ‘implied’ and ‘literal’ every other scene. No refunds will be given. Don’t throw away your shot!! Make sure to save your seat for HAMILTON 2: JUDGEMENT DAY, opening April 1st 2027 at the (ugh) Trump-Kennedy Center. #hamilton #theatrekid #musicaltheatre #broadway #newmusical Happy April Fools Day btw

Welcome the newest member of our team! 👻⚡️ Freshly trapped in Summerville, Oklahoma, and already causing trouble in NYC… please welcome Muncher - a Class 5 free-floating metal muncher with a serious appetite for chaos (and probably your car bumper). Muncher will be joining us at future events, slime labs, and even birthday parties near you… so keep an eye on your snacks…and anything made of metal. 🔧😈 Huge thanks to Justin from @timeindustries for helping bring this little blue menace to life — we couldn’t have done it without you! 🚨 Want Muncher at your event? 🚨 Book the NYC Ghostbusters for birthday parties, school events, and appearances featuring: 🧪 Hands-on Slime Lab 👻 Ghost puppets & interactive fun 🚨 Our Ecto-1 🔵 And now… Muncher himself ❤️All appearances support our charitable mission 👉 Submit a request through the link in our bio!