Lydia Gaston (AEA, SAG-AFTRA) is a longtime New Yorker who grew up in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. Her eclectic performing career began with Ballet Philippines where she became a soloist at sixteen. Later in New York she danced with various dance companies, most prominently with choreographer/playwright Rachel Lampert. Lydia is a veteran of six Broadway shows: The King and I revivals at Lincoln Center (2016) and at the Neil Simon Theatre (1996), Miss Saigon, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Shogun and The Red Shoes. Off-Broadway she created roles with Ma-Yi Theater Group, National Asian American Theatre Company and Pan Asian Rep. At the Public Theater in New York, she understudied multiple roles in Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters, and was a member of the 2008 Shakespeare Lab. On TV, Lydia appeared in The Sopranos (HBO), The Blacklist (NBC), The Path (HULU), and as a fictional 2020 presidential candidate on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Lydia has enjoyed showing her comedic side with roles like “Mrs. Li” in A Deal by Zhu Yi, at Urban Stages NY and the dual roles, “Angelina/Ruth” in Rachel Lampert’s adaptation of a Gilbert and Sullivan mash-up.

Lydia is an arts educator with a Masters of Arts degree in Applied Theatre from CUNY School of Professional Studies. She is an adjunct professor at SUNY Empire State College, and has shared her theatre and dance knowledge in various communities including seniors, and students from pre-elementary to high school.

Lydia is writing and developing a solo piece HER MOTHER’S DAUGHTER about her mother Lydia Madarang Gaston, her first dance teacher and mentor.