Rising Star Director Elaine Del Valle On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
An Interview With Edward Sylvan
Choose your projects wisely — based on YOUR passions and core beliefs. I mean that you have to sincerely believe in something to never tire of it and drive it to completion. Don’t try to accomplish what others are looking for…be a horse with blinders on. Devote time to achieving it.
As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Elaine Del Valle.
The multi-hyphenate Del Valle is a recurring guest star on the ABC hip-hop drama Queens. As a director, her short film “Princess Cut”, (an HBO Latinx Short Film competition winner) is now streaming on HBOMax. As a writer, Del Valle’s original one-hour drama pilot, The System, is in development at Sutton Street Productions (“Jane The Virgin”/CBS Drama Studios). Del Valle is a WarnerMedia 150 Artist working on her directorial debut in a feature film, “Brownsville Bred”. The film depicts Del Valle’s true New York-Puerto Rican coming-of-age story in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and is adapted from her awarded young adult novel and one-woman stage play of the same name.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in the welfare projects of Brownsville Brooklyn — The murder capital of NYC — during the height of the crime and crack epidemics. My father was a talented aspiring salsa singer and musician who struggled with addiction. While my father had an extreme Puerto Rican pride, I walked a long journey to find mine. As one of a handful of Latinx families living in a primarily Black community, I struggled with my identity and fitting in. Not fitting in helped me to stand out and adapt. In school, I was a classic overachiever.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
My Brownsville elementary school was (PS 284) where I would come to find the one place where I finally made a difference in the world…on a stage. I was cast as the lead in our school’s first-ever big-play production. Our gym teacher (turned director) was determined that we (a group of black and brown underdogs) could accomplish what every school in his white neighborhood had — a school play. Mr. Serber lost most of his hair as we, eleven-year-olds, struggled to memorize our lines. Our hope was flailing. Mr. Serber would not allow us to move past a scene until we all got every word right. Finally, after months, we got to the third scene, where I was left alone on stage to deliver a monologue and song. I restrained my chattering teeth and wiped off the nervous sweat. At the end of it, my entire class cheered with relief. Mr. Serber kissed me on the forehead and told me that he knew then that the play would happen. Everyone was so happy to be able to move forward. We rode that momentum and soared through to completion. It is precisely how I feel when I direct now. Like I am just coming in prepared, working through my nervous energy, and motivating my team to completion.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
So many to choose from…But I guess I will share what really changed my career trajectory, from acting to behind-the-scenes, writing, and storytelling. I’d been studying acting at Carnegie Hall. During our annual summer hiatus, my classmates and I started a writers group. I had no idea what my writing would amount to, but I put together a collection of stories from my childhood. I’d felt so misunderstood by my industry…like casting directors couldn’t accept that my physical embodiment had my experiences and upbringing. When class started up again, I put one of my stories up as a scene — A (one-woman) scene, in which I played every character, would share a significant milestone in my life. When I was done, my acting teacher, Wynn Handman (a legend in the theater world), said, “You must keep writing this!” His faith in me set me on a path that would eventually land me off-broadway with my autobiographical one-woman show. The New York Times raved, “From Girlhood Trials to Onstage Triumph!” It truly made me understand the power of storytelling. It satisfied and healed my soul in ways that I can never express.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
This might be TMI, but I definitely look back and laugh at it. I made the mistake of not bringing an extra set of jeans with me before I took my first stage off-off broadway. I knew the critics were there, and I was so nervous that I peed my pants a little. I delayed the show by five minutes to dry them with a blow dryer.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I am a WarnerMedia 150 artist now and working on my directorial debut in a feature film. It is the adaptation of my autographical stageplay and novel, Brownsville Bred. Also, I am excited to work with William D. Caballero (my co-producer on United Space of America) on some exciting motion capture projects. We hope the work helps us create a proof-of-concept for our half-hour animated comedy series, 115 Ferry Street. Animation is expensive, but advances in technology are helping us to even the playing field. Last, I am working on “The System” — my original one-hour drama series, with Sutton Street Productions (Jane The Virgin). There are some really big announcements coming up that I cannot share yet, so stay tuned.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
Choose your projects wisely — based on YOUR passions and core beliefs. I mean that you have to sincerely believe in something to never tire of it and drive it to completion. Don’t try to accomplish what others are looking for…be a horse with blinders on. Devote time to achieving it. I am a part of a morning virtual writing group. We all just write our own stuff and listen to one another typing. It keeps us accountable.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
I am passionate about changing the landscape of entertainment…especially as it pertains to the Latinx community. Latinos make up 18% of the population, yet we are less than 4.5% of the characters depicted on TV and film. Moreover, Latinx female directors are almost non-existent in the Directors Guild of America. I am determined to change that and make content with Latina protagonists. I want every young female-identifying person to see themselves and to know that their stories matter. I want them to know that they can be actors, directors, writers, producers, or anything they care to put their hearts and time into. Each person has a unique lens, and filmmaking is an art form that forces us to reach deep into ourselves to find. It is also a craft that we have to invest our time and dedication to learn.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Start NOW — I wish I had started younger. Ageism in Hollywood is REAL, and as a Latina woman of a certain age, people tend to want to invest in my younger and male counterparts. They feel they’ll get more ROI (return of investment) from these folks. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I keep making my own projects and proving that I am not going away.
- Dedicate time to learning your craft. And you don’t need money to do so. There are virtual classes, and scholarships, and free how-to internet videos. There is no excuse for not learning. I am a part of virtual learning through the Sundance Labs, and it is thoroughly helpful in every aspect of my craft.
- Don’t be afraid to say “NO” to things. If something or someone is draining you away from your mission, then let it/them go. Just yesterday, I realized that a person I thought I would work with was driving me away from my mission and toward his. I reached him today to let him know that I need to focus on my existing projects for now.
- Stay in school. I got married young and was a teenage Mom. I look at the filmmakers succeeding around me, and I admire their educational background. My experience carries me through now, but I still wish I had that head start and early foundation. One of the proudest days of my life was when my daughter graduated from college debt-free.
- Ask for what you want succinctly! Recently, while filming on the set of ABC Queens (where I play Rosie), some of my scenes had been pushed, so I had extended days in Atlanta. I reached out to production and asked if there was any way that they would allow me to shadow the director. Shadow directing on episodic is an essential step for directors before they are allowed to direct. Being allowed to do so is already a huge feat, but closed Covid sets have made shadow-directing nearly impossible. Directing for episodic tv is my aim, but you have to be in the DGA (Directors Guild of America) to do so. Unfortunately, there’s a catch 22, in that you have to be in the DGA to direct for episodic tv. So lots of people are stuck trying to get into the white male-dominated union. Thanks to creators like Ava DuVernay and Tanya Saracho many talented non-DGA people of color are being brought into the fold to direct for shows like “Queen Sugar” thus giving them entry into the DGA. That is my aim. My producers from “Queens” approved my ask, and I got to shadow Crystle Roberson, the producing director of the series. I was thrilled to shadow her because she was indeed a terrific director for me as an actor, and she really understood the camera as well. When I direct, I want every actor to give me their most outstanding performance, and I felt that same desire from Crystle in a way that I had never felt before. I learned a lot and hope for more opportunities that will lead me into directing episodic television.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Make a list of things to do. Crossing them off can give you a sense of accomplishment. Some take longer than others, but the list serves as an in-your-face reminder of what you want and can continue to think about how to get where you want to be.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I’d love to do what Charles King, Tanya Saracho, and Ava DuVernay managed to accomplish. They create work that gives others opportunities. They have brought people into the fold of the DGA. Also, I dedicate time to speaking at schools and other artist programs in underserved communities. I want to do more of that. I’d created an entire plan to implement female-forward director programs in underserved communities. I called it “F this film!” F is for female, of course. But it also represents the force that fuels me to stand up in a male-dominated profession. I was about to launch my 12-week program at a Cutler Bay Miami school in association with the Queen Bees after-school program when Covid hit and shut us down before we took off. I like to spread the message that anyone can be in this field or any field they desire. You have to believe it and go after it with the full knowledge that this is attainable and you are worthy.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
So many. In my earlier answers, I expressed my gratitude for Wynn Handman, and Mr. Serber (my 6th-grade gym teacher turned play director). I would also like to thank Pamela Moller Kareman, who gave me my first Equity Stage Run and brought me and Brownsville Bred to our Off-Broadway run. She believed in the universality of my story. I would really like to also thank Andrea Navedo (Xiomara in Jane The Virgin). Andrea and I have been long-time friends and colleagues as actors, and when I shared my original pilot with her, she loved it and shared it with her Jane The Virgin producers at Sutton Street Productions. Those women (Jennie Urman Syder and Joanna Klein) shared it with Brianna Bennett (then of CBS drama studios, now with ABC), they all changed my life. They helped me to become a professional (paid) writer for the first time in my life. They and I still firmly believe in the project, The System, and we hope to land it somewhere soon. Andrea refers to it as a healing drama, and it is! There are so many others to thank, including Lucinda Martinez (formerly of HBO and now with Netflix), Leslie Cohen (WarnerMedia), and the entire WarnerMedia 150 team (lead by Axel Caballero). Too many to mention here, but the list goes on and on, and everything is connected!… So always show up and know that your reputation will precede you.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Margaret Thatcher said, “Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s a day you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.” People often comment on how much I do and accomplish — I just think of that quote and follow my to-do list like a road map to my ultimate goals.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them.
Ava DuVernay because she is such a talented leader whose projects are genuinely impactful.
How can our readers follow you online?
Follow me and learn more about my projects through the links available on my
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
