Today we’d like to introduce you to Eliza Vedar.
Hi Eliza, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I am a proud queer Filipino American theatrical sound designer, composer, music director, and pianist based in San Diego who’s passionate about making my family, friends, and communities feel seen by helping tell their stories on stage.
Growing up in Menifee, CA, my first experiences with live theatre involved watching my older brother’s high school drama club productions. Once I reached high school, I was able to join the same club and went from audience member to a theatremaker. I did both marching/concert band and drama club all 4 years of high school, the epitome of a cool kid (joking), and when it came time to choose a major for college, I was really passionate about Arts Education. But when I decided to be a Music Education Major at San Diego State University back in 2016, I thought my theatre career was going to end in high school.
That ended up not being the case. I was given the opportunity to music direct one of our mainstage productions as a 2nd year at SDSU, which eventually led to me trying out sound design/composing for theatre. During all that, I teamed up with Mario Vega, who I’ve known since high school, and we began working on writing full-length original musicals for a club we founded called Teatro Azteca. We ended up writing 3 musicals, all produced in some capacity during our time as undergrads.
At some point, I continued to be more and more involved with theatre, and it made less and less sense for me to stay a music education major. It wasn’t until I participated in a masterclass and had sent an email afterwards for advice did I realize that a path as a musician in theatre was even an option. One of this teacher’s many pieces of advice to me was to get my piano skills in as best shape as I could. Which in my mind, meant becoming a music performance major. All the while, I continued working professionally on the side, and I just haven’t stopped since!
I’ve gotten to work with great in-town theatre companies such as the La Jolla Playhouse, TuYo Theatre, Diversionary Theatre, Moxie Theatre, Cygnet Theatre, New Village Arts, Common Ground Theatre, Teatro San Diego, and various education institutions, including San Diego State University, CSU San Marcos, and University of San Diego. I was Artist in Residence at CSUSM for the 2021-2022 academic year. I got to be a guest artist and give a lecture at CSU Summer Arts in 2022. I graduated from SDSU in the Summer of 2022. From July 2022 to February 2023, I hosted a monthly musical theatre cabaret at Diversionary’s Clark Cabaret space once a month called SlayDreamers.
My goal was to give the space for young theatre artists to get more experience performing musical theatre repertoire with an accompanist while holding space for the opportunity to be experimental and make choices we may not be able to make in a production setting in a safe, supportive and environment. Besides gigging it out on the San Diego theatre scene, I’m working on DayDreamer, Mario and I’s fourth musical (@daydreamermusical on Instagram!) and coming back to my passion for arts education being a teaching artist/music director at San Diego Junior Theatre and teaching piano privately. I’ve had so many people help me. So many great mentors and friends. I want to pay their kindness forward as I continue to find my way as a theatre artist and make art I hope makes them proud and that people enjoy! And having fun while doing so!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Beyond the difficult nature of pursuing a career in the performing arts, I feel I struggled a lot internally with just coming to the decision to really commit to it. I want to preface this next part by saying my parents have been extremely supportive of me the entire way. They often say that all they hope for me and my brothers is to be able to support ourselves, and they’ll be happy. But I wasn’t completely sure if it was even possible to do that with a career in the arts. There weren’t a lot of people that I connected to and could look to and say they did it, so can I. On top of the pressure, I feel children of immigrant parents my age also feel towards wanting to follow our passions while living lives that make it so we can pay back our parents’ sacrifices or show that it was “worth it” made it difficult to really commit towards the path of a freelance theatre artist.
Though with that decision also came a much more logistical obstacle of having to re-audition in order to switch majors. Piano was not my first or primary instrument when I was about to go college. But I wanted it to be. When I started to take formal lessons, I found out I had a bunch of technical issues that could’ve really injured me long-term that I had to overcome. I was essentially a beginner at 16, having to fight bad habits. It was extremely hard to keep up. I’m not ashamed to admit I did not get the best grades. Once again, I questioned if this was even possible since I did not start playing piano at a super young age. I’m super grateful for my classmates and teachers, who were extremely encouraging throughout the whole ordeal. It took me 3 tries and a piano festival to Russia before I finally was able to switch majors. And it did not get easier after that. Balancing my new major with the professional theatre work I was getting was definitely a lot. And now, after graduating, it is still proving to be a bit difficult managing multiple projects simultaneously. Learning my limits and whatnot. But I try my best!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Over the years, I’ve found myself following anything I had the slightest interest in. Hobbies, musical genres, instruments, media. I find ways to put the random bits of knowledge I’ve learned in following my smaller passions that help inform my work. I like telling stories that are fun and have a lot of sincerity…
I’m proud of the musicals I write with Mario because they really encapsulate the medium of storytelling I personally really enjoy. I’m a huge fan of animation, fantasy, and magical realism, and getting to combine those elements with musical theatre is exactly the kind of stuff I’m into and always have been. I wasn’t sure, after focusing more on my career as a sound designer, composer, music director, pianist if I’d be able to fulfill my passion for teaching, but now I take great pride in being a teaching artist and getting to share my passion for music and theatre. And as much as I want to make the people around me proud, I work really hard thinking about becoming someone a younger me would be proud of and keep moving forward with that in mind.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
I would say to not be so attached to any singular path and stay open to exploring. Do what’s fun, not what’s easy. No experience is ever wasted. It’ll come back one way or another, so it’s a shame to let an opportunity to learn something new go by. It’s okay to be bad at stuff. Being bad is just the first step in getting better. When you fail, fail forward. Find people you can turn to and lean on when things get rough. And remember to take care of yourself too!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elizavedar.com/
Image Credits
Randa Jalo
Mario Vega
Michael Rayos
Maldonado
