Today we’d like to introduce you to J. Elaine Marcos.
Hi J. Elaine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started off in Burlington, ON Canada. Born a Filipina-Canadian who loved performing and laughter. As a little girl, my parents put me in everything, piano lessons, the bowling league, dance classes, a theatre camp, they always kept me busy and in my last year of high school, I decided to really pursue musical theatre. I thought I was going to be an accountant, but after seeing the musical Miss Saigon, I was so captivated by the story and by the performers on stage, I became obsessed with that musical. I even auditioned for the Toronto Company of it and was pretty bad but that made me even more determined to study at a school and pursue musical theatre. After training at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, I quickly booked my first professional gig, the National Tour of A Chorus Line, playing Connie Wong and from there kept on auditioning, training and auditioning and auditioning and after 25 years in the business gone on to do 10 Broadway shows, including crossing casting barriers and playing roles such as the first Asian Val in A Chorus Line at the NY City Center and playing Lily St. Regis in the revival of Annie opposite Jane Lynch.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nope. It started pretty bumpy being a Canadian trying to find a way to pursue my dream of being on Broadway but not having a way to extend my student visa. I luckily found a way to get a new visa, then my green card, and then eventually my citizenship but all that time, I was still auditioning and going through all the stresses that an artist goes through with the uncertainty, but with the added “I need my visa to go through” on top of all that. So that was just one thing that made it bumpy. Also, the fact that I am a BIPOC performer and I could tell while I was auditioning in NY during the early 2000s that there were only so many spots for my “type”. I mean, the competition, in general, is already tough, then add on the lack of opportunities for a BIPOC artist made it even harder. I had to really stay committed to it and not get disappointed when things didn’t work out because a lot of shows weren’t written for me and it was hard to fit in.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a triple threat-comedian Broadway performer most known for “scene-stealing” scenes in musicals like Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Annie and A Chorus Line. I am a ten times Broadway Veteran and I am most proud of producing my one woman show ” What I Did for …a Job” that is currently streaming on my website, www.jelainemarcos.org. I shot and edited it all during this pandemic and I’ve never been so stressed being a one woman production and learning how to edit on Adobe Premiere. It is a show that I conceived four years ago and performed it at Rockwell Table and Stage, and it is a culmination of all the risky, ridiculous and unorthodox things I have done in the audition room that have landed me my jobs. It has morphed into a show that talks about a BIPOC artist’s journey and struggles on the Great White Way and how bringing a rubber chicken and having someone in drag crash my audition got me my biggest roles that helped me cross casting barriers to play Lily St. Regis in Annie and Val in A Chorus Line.
What are your plans for the future?
My plans are to continue being a bi-coastal performer, singing, dancing, acting on whatever coasts need me, but at the same time take my show and turn it into a series, a touring show, or even take it to Broadway for a special one-night event. I also look forward to seeing how the industry is changing and how I can help it change by speaking up when I see a lack of diversity or inclusion. I teach as well and so I will continue my training to make sure that I can serve my students and equip them with tools to help them strive in this tough industry and to make sure the “old” way of thinking is not passed down.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.jelainemarcos.org
- Instagram: @jelainemarcos
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jelainemarcos
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jelainemarcos
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jelainemarcos
