Elena Velasco, MFA
Associate Professor and Production Coordinator of Theatre Arts
Specializations - Theatre for Social Justice, Acting, Directing, Physical Theatre and Youth Theatre
Elena Velasco (she/ella) is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work encompasses performance, holistic wellness, activism, and life-long learning, serving the DC and Greater Boston regions. A member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, her aesthetic is rooted in visceral and kinesthetic language, developed through processes that honor both one’s origin story and a collective vision. From devised performances to intergenerational productions, her focus is most often on Latiné narratives, grounded in resilient joy. Her directing and choreography credits include Convergence Theatre, GALA Hispanic, 1st Stage, NextStop Theatre (Helen Hayes nominations), Synetic Theater, Arts on the Horizon (Helen Hayes nomination), Adventure Theatre, Keegan Theatre, Creative Cauldron, Kennedy Center’s New Visions New Voices Festival and Central Square Theater (Greater Boston) A member of SAG/AFTRA, Ms. Velasco was a company member for nearly two decades with Synetic Theater, DC’s premier physical theater ensemble, and has performed in film, on stage, and commercial appearances.
Ms. Velasco firmly believes in theatre’s capacity to manifest change, from fostering the synthesis of the mind-body-consciousness to reframing perspectives through radical representation. Her work as Founding Artistic Director of Convergence Theatre, a DC-based social justice performance collective, engages audiences through immersive experiences, intersecting verbatim text, spoken word, and physical theatre to galvanize social movements. As a consultant and presenter, she has shared her yogic training and culturally responsive processes for organizations such as American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE), Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), National Alliance of Acting Teachers, Women’s Theatre Festival, and Theatre Washington.
Her father immigrated to this country to ensure that his children would have access to education, one of the greatest gifts he taught her to value and share. For over 10 years she was the Director of Outreach and Shakespeare in the Schools for Educational Theatre Company, and co-created Óyeme of Imagination Stage, a theatre arts haven for children fleeing violence in Central America. Ms. Velasco currently teaches theatre in higher ed and community arts programs. She is an associate professor of theatre arts at Bowie State University and serves on the DC Theatre Arts board and as the Professional Theatre Network Co-Chair for the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. Ms. Velasco has presented workshops and served on industry panels for Boston Conservatory at Berklee, George Mason University, Hollins University, SETC, and Theatre Washington.
MFA in Directing, Catholic University; Vinyasa Yoga RYT-200.
Selected honors: Orlin Corey Award for Artistic Excellence, 2025; MD Board of Regents Creativity Award, 2024; Stage Directors and Choreographer Barbara Whitman Award, 2023.
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Publications:
Velasco, Elena; Majid, Asif. "Questioning Social Justice: A Dialogue on Performance, Activism, and Being In-Between", Routledge Companion to Applied Performance, Volume 1. Routledge Publications, December 2020.
Velasco, Elena. “The Bilingual Classroom: Teaching through Verbal and Physical Language.” Arts Integration in Education: Teachers and Teaching Artists as Agents of Change; ed. Dr. Gail Humphries Mardirosian and Yvonne Pelletier Lewis, Intellect Publishing, 2016.
Awards:
Outstanding Faculty Direction, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival
Bowie State University CAS Outstanding Creative Works
DCBX Veinte Community Award
Bowie State University CAS Young Faculty Award
Anacostia Arts Center Residency and ARCH Development grant
Southeastern Theatre Conference Professional Development Scholarship
CulturalDC Grant
