Elaine Del Valle
Del Valle Productions
Long Island, NY USA
"I am Brownsville bred, but I will not be defined. I won’t allow people to define me; I define myself. My actions define me."
Career Roadmap
Elaine's work combines: Acting & Theatre, Entrepreneurship, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Go to college. It doesn't matter what you study, but it is such an important part of being a well-rounded person. Be sure to take an accounting class, a finance class, and a writing class, because those are skills that everyone needs. Get to know the people around you and network.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Vocational
Acting
Wynn Handman Studio
Vocational
Acting
Michael Howard Studios
Certification
Acting
Nassau Community College
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Born and raised in Brownsville, NY, known as one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous neighborhoods.
2.
When she was 11, she found out her father was a heroin addict and he was subsequently kicked out of the house—her mother was left to raise four children all by herself while living off of welfare.
3.
Experienced violence and abuse growing up—says this tough upbringing in Brownsville is a point of pride now: “We are known as the biggest, the baddest, and toughest; that’s how I feel.”
4.
Caught the acting bug after being cast as Sandy in a high school production of “Grease.”
5.
When she was older, she started passing out postcards saying that she could speak Spanish and act—started getting calls from agencies all over New York and booking commercial gigs.
6.
But her commercial background started to negatively affect her ability to book the “legit” acting jobs she wanted, so she began studying acting with Wynn Handman, a legend in the theater world.
7.
Her autobiographical one-woman play, “Brownsville Bred,” has sold out shows, won multiple festival prizes, and had a very successful run at the prestigious off-Broadway 59E59 Theaters.
8.
She is now an award-winning producer, actress, casting director, writer, and director with the mission of increasing diversity in the entertainment industry.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Teachers:
You need to quit school and go study how a man acts.
How I responded:
I actually did listen to that and left community college to go study at various acting studios. I struggled with doubting myself as an actor and feeling like I couldn't finish anything. I made a resolution to keep studying acting under any circumstances in order to be the best I could be and prove people wrong.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
My father was a heroin addict and eventually died of AIDS when I was 17.
I was born and raised in the housing projects of Brownsville, NY. After my father left the family, my mother was left to raise 4 children all by herself while living off of welfare.
Brownsville is known as one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in New York. I've been robbed at gun point, the victim of an attempted rape, and the victim of a gang initiation.
I am a Latina woman and growing up with dreams of being an actress, I struggled with not knowing how to attain that dream because I didn't see a lot of people that looked like me succeeding.