By Gabriel Perez
As a Latin American living in the United States, I tend to look for people with stories and roots like my own as a source of inspiration and encouragement. Elizabeth Colon Nelson was all of that and more. I had the opportunity to spend some time getting to know her and understand her story, and I feel fortunate for it. Elizabeth is a Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre Graduate. She later went off to doing clown work in Las Vegas and recently moved back to California to become a professor in her alma mater.
As many Hispanics, she is inspired by her mother. Having come during the start of the Civil Rights Movement, Elizabeth’s mother had to overcome the struggle of racism and degradation a woman of color would suffer at the time and as time passed. Today, she is a woman who gave her daughter the best life she could give her with the circumstances at hand. From the looks of it, it turned out very well. Having a talent for being an extroverted performer since the age of 3, Elizabeth has slowly found the beauty and power in being the one to stand out. She embraces being the loud one in a group, as well as being one to take the leap into the unknown with a smile on her face.
Elizabeth has confronted the theatre industry dominated by the white male face-to-face, and she kept bouncing back up. Personally, I admire the resilience with which she wakes up every day and understands her circumstances and lets herself only be encouraged. Her most explosive moment during our conversation was when talking about clowning. She was so excited when I mentioned my recent start in the clown work. As the conversation continued, she gave me one of the greatest reasons she loves this work: “I bounce, that I fail gloriously, and I bounce. Because the biggest failure is what often time will lead to the biggest laugh. If I’m vulnerable enough to fail, if I take a big enough risk to fall.”
Elizabeth wants to be seen, and for that reason clowning has become such a big part of her life. In it she has found a home and a space to create with all the enthusiasm and energy within her. A woman who honors her roots and the land of which she stands and creates, Elizabeth Colon Nelson is an inspiration for young Hispanics that share a dream of being able to embrace what makes us who we are and tell our stories through the beauty of the physical.
