BWW Q&A: Elena Velasco on Native Gardens at NextStop Theatre

We spoke to Elena Velasco about Native Gardens at NextStop Theatre. NextStop Theatre Company is an award-winning professional theatre company in the heart of Herndon, VA. Located minutes away from Reston Town Center, Historic Downtown Herndon, Dulles Airport, and the Herndon Silver Line Metro Station, the company has established a strong regional reputation for producing critically acclaimed productions and educational programs, while showcasing a wide array of local talent and arts relevant to the community.

NextStop is supported in part by generous grants from The Town of Herndon, ArtsFairfax, The Virginia Commission for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Nelson J. & Katherine Friant Post Foundation, and The Ruth & Hal Launders Charitable Trust. 

Tickets: Available now at nextstoptheatre.org or by calling 703-481-5930 x1

Group discounts and subscription packages are also available. Early booking is recommended, as Elena Velasco’s previous work with NextStop has been met with sold-out audiences.

Elena Velasco (she/ella) is a theatre artist whose work encompasses performance, education, and activism, serving the DC and Greater Boston regions. An associate member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, her directing and choreography aesthetic is rooted in visceral, kinesthetic language, staging productions that range from musicals to theatre for young audiences to movement-based devised performances, focused on Latiné voice. 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, 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 several films and commercials . Ms. Velasco firmly believes in theatre’s capacity to manifest change, from fostering mind-body connection 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. Her yogic training and DEI experience informs her culturally responsive processes, practices she has shared as a consultant for organizations such as American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE), Southeastern Theatre Conference, Women’s Theatre Festival, and TheatreWashington. Ms. Velasco teaches theatre in higher ed and community arts programs. She is an associate professor of theatre and movement at Bowie State University and serves on the Advisory Council for Carpe Diem Arts and DC Theatre Arts, on Educational Theatre Company’s board, and as AATE’s Professional Theatre Network chair. Ms. Velasco has presented workshops and served on industry panels for Boston Conservatory at Berklee, George Mason University, Hollins University, SETC, and TheatreWashington. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of seven children, all who have varied paths and passions. MFA in Directing, Catholic University; Vinyasa Yoga RYT-200. www.elenavelasco.net

What inspired you to direct "Native Gardens" and how do you connect with the story personally?

I truly admire Karen Zacarías writing and perspective, notably as an advocate for Latiné artists. It’s because of her work - as an award-winning and prolific playwright, founder of Latinx Theatre Commons, founder of Young Playwrights’ Theatre - that local and national theater communities have a greater understanding of the complexities of Latinidad. When approached by NextStop with the opportunity to select any work to direct, Native Gardens was at top. While finding humor in culture clash, the immediacy of these concerns and realities are still in the forefront. 

How do you balance the comedic elements with the serious themes in Native Gardens?

When a script is balanced as skillfully as Zacarías has done, the text does the work. I feel my job is to simply honor the story, using authenticity and honesty as the criteria for artistic choices. A good play is woven with light and heaviness; such is the case with Native Gardens. The story may seem to be a friendly (and then not-so-friendly) disagreement over yards, but through the disputed and analogous land, it addresses systemic and internalized racism, ethnic profiling, and colonialism. The humor makes the issues easier to process, recognizing how flawed arguments and assumptions impact everyone. 

As a theatre artist focused on Latiné voice, how does Native Gardens resonate with you and how have you brought this focus into the production?

Native Gardens insists on the recognition of the Latiné-Hispanic presence in our country at this time. The creative team - actors, designers, and myself -  had a discussion early in the process about “microaggressions” and “macroaggressions.” My dear friend, Michael Bobbitt, wisely compared microaggressions to insect bites: seemingly harmless, but when constantly enduring, the venom has an impact on the body and the mind, causing trauma. Esteemed author and philosopher Dr. Ibram X. Kendi has noted that there is no such thing as a microaggression - the notion of “micro” minimizes, and all have macro impact. If we didn’t believe it before, all we need to do is look at the incoming administration to note how subtle “beliefs” have affected people’s perception of truth and well-being. With levity, Native Gardens notes that once a “dominant” group takes possession of something, it is difficult to find the path to restoration. As well, the story acknowledges that sometimes even “good people” make bad choices because they haven’t had to experience injustice or be held accountable. There are many in society right now that are being fed an image of those of Latiné descent and migrant communities, rather than acknowledging the origins of their own existence, built upon colonialism and violence. And so Native Gardens resonates with me as an act of resistance, presented with humor and honesty. 

Can you share about your process in directing "Native Gardens" and how your yogic training and DEI experience have influenced it?

I found as a performer and in academic settings that actors were expected to enter a space “leaving their baggage at the door” and already “warmed up.” That’s not how humans are supposed to work, particularly when your body is the instrument of your profession. I teach yoga several times a week, and I have found that the foundations of yoga directly apply to how we need to approach our creative work. In order to be fully present, we need to respect where our bodies, minds, and spirits are in a given moment, and to give that space to our creative partners. Even in a compressed process, there always must be time to connect as people first, to breathe together, and to have permission to question, doubt, or ask for space to address our access needs. When we do this, the work can flow rather than be forced. 

How do you navigate the cultural and class dynamics presented in "Native Gardens" to ensure fair and authentic representation?

What is curious about this question of “fair and authentic representation” is what may be presumed by it. While there are varied perspectives at play, Native Gardens reflects what we also see in the theatre industry - that the field has not widely invested in stories from the Global Majority, and accountability regarding representation has been met with resistance, whether speaking of the stories we get to see on stage or those who are at the table to produce them. As a Latiné artist-activist, I find that I am frequently challenged by producing companies who wish to include our stories in their season, and yet the representation stops at the performers onstage. It is not that there is a shortage of Latiné artists; it’s just who is invited into the room. According to the NOVA Regional Regional Commission’s demographics report, 18.8% of the population in Northern Virginia identifies as Latiné-Hispanic. Reviewing data from the most recent US Census and the Neilsberg report regarding Herndon, this figure is over 37%, yet it is very difficult to find that reflection in leadership and production throughout the theatre arts community in the DMV. As a guest director, I recognize I have a responsibility to insist that the designers, crew, and stage management on the team reflect the story shared, however, often I am met with justifications to keep us out of the process. So, how can I ensure fair and authentic representation? Persistence. 

Shifting to the script itself, cultural and class dynamics in Native Gardens are both complex and clear in the text, and the text is always the arbiter. While property disputes could be between any individuals, the story focuses on varied Latiné experiences, whether stereotyping, profiling, cultural appropriation, and racism. Somos una mezcla de nuestras historias - an amalgamation of our environment, our understanding of the world, and, for many, the impact of generational trauma which is embedded in one’s being. This country was built on inequality, oppression, and racism; the ways these exist today have only shifted in nature, but have never been eradicated. This is quite apparent now, as are how microaggressions lead to normalized racist and xenophobic actions and beliefs. Pablo and Tania exemplify those who have to bring inequity to light to those who have inherited that which was never theirs to “own.” Zacarias’ characters are quite human and solutions are difficult. At times, we see Pablo and Tania struggle to find the right approach to advocate for what is theirs. Yet, the weight of navigating these complicated clashes are not on those who have, but those who must reclaim what is rightfully theirs. 

The play deals with issues of taste, class, privilege, and entitlement, how do you believe these themes will resonate with your audience?

Zacarias skillfully weaves this story with humor, word play, and honesty in such a way that we are reminded of the most important message - get to know your neighbor. Hopefully, the way we will all get through our conflicts is by pausing to listen, pausing to learn, and remembering that we each believe that we are “good people.” Pablo notes in Native Gardens, “they (their neighbors) are good and decent people” rather than “we (he and Tania) are good people.” He and Tania try to find the good first. No doubt, this idea of finding the good in everyone can be hard to believe right now, especially knowing how fear-mongering and divisive language has been embraced and normalized by so many. And yet giving into that discordant energy will never yield anything but increasing estrangement and friction. We have to believe we can believe in dismantling division. 

How does your role as an educator inform your work as a director, particularly with this production of "Native Gardens"?

I often consider how the rehearsal room must continue to adapt more mindful and collaborative practices. Again, my training in theatre was old-school - show must go on, leave your baggage at the door, work until exhaustion. As an educator and professional director, I’m setting new norms. We’re here as cultural caretakers. That means mindfulness, community care, and self-care must be norms in the process. No matter where we are in the process, I give time to arrive, breathe, and come into the body, both in my professional theatre work and in educational settings. We willingly go on a journey as art-makers, and holding space for process must be respected.

Why must audiences come and see the show?

It’s the essence of the play - get to know your neighbors. Laugh with them, listen with them, and take time to recognize our impact on one another.

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