Behind the Scenes with Celeste Maria Fiallos

From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a performer. It was the most instinctual part of my childhood. At the age of 10, I was practicing my Oscar speech in my basement. Yet it was not until my first year of theatre school did I realize that my true passion was beyond performing — it was creating. A wise professor once told me, “anyone can be an actor, but can you be a creator?” From my time in theatre school, it became apparent that what truly inspires me is storytelling. As an artist, I believe it’s my obligation to bring light to stories that need to be told.

"From my time in theatre school, it became apparent that what truly inspires me is storytelling."
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​Last summer I worked for St. Thomas-Elgin Public Centre. There, I met two very inspiring women in the art industry; Sherri Howard and Laura Woermke. Working alongside them I grew confident that I could pursue a theatre career in St. Thomas. I was blown away by the connections I made through the Art Centre, discovering a whole community of artists that I never knew existed right here in St. Thomas. As a teenager, I constantly complained that there was no culture in this town — that the only place to find any type of artistry was London. I was so wrong. Maybe in the last couple of years, the artist community has been more prevalent but it has always been here. I do believe it’s up to us, as creators, to take ownership of our community and show this city what we got.
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Face It! promo set

Celeste performing

The Face It! Performance Art Installation began as just an idea to collaborate with Laura Woermke and tell the story of her work. This February I contacted Laura to ask if there was any way we could collaborate and bring something brand new to St. Thomas. As the idea grew into something much more, I began to reflect when I was a teenager in this city and the resentment I felt towards St. Thomas. As a young artist, I felt like there were no opportunities for me here. So that’s why I decided that my fellow company members for Face It would be young students from the area. I wanted to give an opportunity to adolescents to share their story and to claim their own sense of artistry in this community. As well as teaching them, you can get paid for your art, that shouldn’t be far fetched idea. Sometimes in a smaller community, we forget the concept that this is a profession and as an artist, we have the right to be paid for our work. I hope that my students leave this project feeling like creators and capable to do pursue their own art career.
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"As a teenager, I constantly complained that there was no culture in this town — that the only place to find any type of artistry was London. I was so wrong."

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​I had a friend once tell me “there is no market for theatre in St. Thomas” and I completely disagree with that. We all crave storytelling one way or the other. It’s a matter of making it approachable and versatile for those who have their own preconceived notions of what “theatre” is. I hope this project can break expectation and inspire creativity in St. Thomas.

Author

Celeste Maria Fiallos is a 22-year-old actor/creator from St. Thomas. She is in her final year of BFA Acting at the University of Windsor. Celeste is a local art activist in town and can be reached through her socials @celestefiallos on Instagram and Celeste Fiallos Castillo on Facebook. If you’re interested to see Face It! Performance Art Installation, check out Instagram and Facebook.