From the Jimmys to Juliet: Fabiola’s Breakout Moment

Fabiola Caraballo Quijada in the North American Tour of “& Juliet.” Photo Credit Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

After winning the Jimmy Awards, a rising star steps straight into the spotlight on the national tour of “& Juliet.”

At just 18, fresh out of high school and newly honored with one of the most prestigious honors in student theatre, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada stepped onto a national stage — not as a student anymore, but as a leading performer in the touring production of “& Juliet.” It’s the kind of leap most young actors spend years working toward. For her, it happened almost all at once.

“I graduated high school in May… and then shortly, a month after, I was at the Jimmy Awards and I won,” she says, still sounding a little amazed by how quickly everything unfolded. “It was the perfect culmination… the perfect bow to my senior year and everything that I’d ever worked for.”

The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (the Jimmy Awards) are national celebration of outstanding student achievement based on the Tony Awards. The two Outstanding Lead winners from the Collaborative School of the Arts’ High School Musical Theatre Awards May 16, will go on to participate in June.

Quijada’s win at the Jimmy Awards marked the high point of years of persistence. She had attended the program three times, each experience building on the last. “Every year was preparing me for the next,” she explains. “It’s always just such a joy… spending time with the nominees and doing all the very, very special and unique stuff that one does in the City of Dreams.” Her first trip to New York City had already felt like a dream. Winning made it something more lasting. “I had just worked so, so hard for it,” she said.

At the same time, she was preparing for what she thought would be her next chapter — studying musical theatre at Texas State University. Then came an unexpected opportunity. She was invited to audition for “& Juliet,” the hit musical that reimagines Shakespeare’s heroine as the author of her own story.

“I had previously auditioned for Juliet, and I just remembered all the joy that I felt playing this character… and I just wanted to feel that again,” she says. That instinct paid off. “Casting and the production team had a lot of faith in me, a recent high school graduate,” she added. “And I’m very glad that they did believe in me the way that I had been previously believing in myself.”

Now on tour, Quijada is not just performing, but leading a production that plays to packed houses across the country. “I am just very, very blessed to be on tour with them,” she said. “It’s an incredible show and I’m getting to go to all the places that I’ve always wanted to go.”

Part of what makes the role so natural for her is how closely she connects with Juliet herself. “Juliet is a lot like me,” Quijada added. “She is super optimistic and spontaneous, and she sees the positive in everything.” Night after night, that connection turns performance into something more personal. “It just feels like a really, really fun hangout with my cast members every single night.”

But the role also asks something deeper. Juliet’s journey is about learning to take control of her own life, a theme that resonates strongly with Quijada. “She looks after others really before looking at herself,” she says. “But… she chooses to really take her own destiny in her own hands. And sometimes you got to be a little bit selfish with it. Sometimes you got to take care of yourself.”

That lesson has become especially important on tour, where constant travel and changing environments demand adaptability. “You’re going to a different city every week,” she said. “You have to be able to take care of your body and your voice and your mind… and be flexible to the different things that change.”

Even with those challenges, there are moments that remind her exactly why she’s there. One of her favorites comes at the very end of the show. “The last number is totally memorable,” Quijada said. “It’s so visually stunning… and it really shows how Juliet has taken it all in her own hands.” From the stage, she can sometimes see the audience reflected in the lights. “I can kind of see how much they’re enjoying it… and it really, really warms my heart.”

Keeping the performance fresh each night is part of the craft she’s continuing to build. Rather than locking into a single interpretation, she allows the role to evolve. “I try to make decisions on stage based on what I’m feeling that day,” she explained. “It’s going to be different every day.” That openness extends to her fellow performers as well. “There’s always a little touch of their own artistry… so it’s always different.”

Her path into the industry has been anything but traditional. Instead of heading straight into a college program, she moved directly into professional work. “It’s definitely a unique pathway,” Quijada said. “I just skipped the whole education step.” But she sees learning as something that happens everywhere. “There’s education that you can receive… in the shape of individual lessons and experience,” she adds. “It’s just a lot of experience that has challenged me.”

That mindset has been shaped in part by her journey through the Jimmy Awards, where confidence didn’t come overnight. “The first time… I was so, so nervous,” she admitted. “I didn’t feel like I belonged there.” Over time, that changed. “It was a gradual process,” she said. “Every year… it made me a lot more comfortable in who I am.”

She credits a community of mentors and supporters, including those from her regional program in Dallas, for helping her see her own potential. “I didn’t really see the potential in myself until they did,” she added. “They believed in me.”

Now, she carries that belief forward, both on stage and in what she would tell other young performers; “You bring something so, so special to the table. Something that no one else does.” Staying true to that, she believes, is what matters most. “Make choices that align with who you are as an artist… because that’s really what’s going to shine through.”

Looking ahead, she remains open to whatever comes next. “It could literally be anything,” she says. “If it’s Broadway, if it’s another tour, if it’s TV or movies… I feel like I’m going to take it with an open mind and an open heart.”

For now, though, she’s exactly where she wants to be — on stage, in motion, doing the work she loves. And if she could say anything to her younger self, it would be simple.

“Don’t limit yourself,” she says. “There’s always something more… something more that you didn’t know that you could accomplish until you give it a shot.”

Tickets are on sale now for “& Juliet” at the MainsStage at Proctors April 28- May 3 and the 10^th annual High School Musical Theatre Awards Saturday, May 16. Call or visit the Box Office at Proctors in-person or via phone at (518) 346-6204 Tuesday-Saturday 12 -6 p.m. or online atproctors.org.