Mark Anthony Vallejo - ELAC Student Spotlight of the Week
Mark Anthony Vallejo: A Dual Enrollment Success Story in Theater and Opera
Mark Anthony Vallejo, a dedicated theater artist, began his journey over a decade ago in an ELAC dual enrollment course at Garfield High School, guided by Rodney Lloyd Scott. He is currently on the verge of a significant breakthrough in his directing career, having been recognized as a runner-up for the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Directing Fellowship in both 2023 and 2024.
Raised in East Los Angeles, Mark was the first in his family to attend college. He earned his Associate of Arts degree in theater from East Los Angeles College (ELAC) before transferring to California State University, Long Beach, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Studies with a focus on Dance and Directing. He further advanced his education with a Master of Fine Arts in Theater Directing from UCLA, where he had the privilege of learning from several renowned directors, including José Luis Valenzuela of the Latino Theater Company and Jessica Kubzansky of Boston Court Pasadena. Additionally, he participated in the FAIR Directing Internship at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival under Bill Rauch.
In Spring 2024, Mark returned to ELAC to direct a production of Colossal. Below are his director’s notes and images capturing the essence of his evocative production.
What you are about to see is a work of art that is influenced by my Chicano upbringing, Opera, and my constant affinity towards non-western forms of theater, especially European theater.
“The reason I work is to say, ‘What is it? And not to say what something is,” a quote by one of my favorite directors of all time, Robert Wilson. It is essentially a core element in all my productions. How can I direct as if it were a series of paintings? I call these images art installations.
In our short time, I will present questions to you with a fusion of spoken word, poetry, and lyrical movement, including sound, architecture, and light. There is a constant rivalry between all forces on stage, some violent, others tender, and at times lovingly, especially between two men. One who is of the ‘gifted’ community while the other is steadfast to cover his identity for his career.
Knowing that this play was written to be ‘unproduceable,’ I decided to take on the challenge and dream as big as I wanted the production to be, and thus emerged my poetic visions.
I remember wanting to play football in high school like my father, but instead chose to do theater. Here we have the opposite, where Mike chooses to play football rather than dance with his father. I’ve always dreamt of playing football, but now that dream has materialized into this play, and I am honored to be sharing this with my father.
Tonight enjoy being lost in the moment. Absorb and share the energy in the room. Cheer them on. Engage with us. Close your eyes and hear the music. We will dive into America’s favorite sport.
With societal messages about personal identity, heroism, and what it really means to be a man, I present my debut production of Colossal. A special shout out to all the cast who sincerely took on a most demanding production and trusted the work. Well done.
This is Chicano Power. A hybridity of multiple forms of theater and identities.
