Meet Mallory Roelke | Director, Actor, & Digital Marketing Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mallory Roelke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mallory, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Much of my success comes from my ability to manage projects and rally a group of people behind a vision. I am an analytical creative, and it’s kind of my superpower as a director. You can’t just rest on your creativity to be effective; you have to have the leadership, communication, and project management skills along with the vision to see it through. I’ve found that when your creative process is a well-oiled machine, everyone from the cast to the crew can better get behind the show and support the end goal. I believe that my ability to add fine details and nuance to a project, as well as manage the big picture with the end goal in mind, has allowed my team to create great work. One of my productions won eleven Broadway World Awards, and our theatre was voted favorite local theatre company.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When Shoutout DFW reached out to me, I wasn’t sure if I belonged among the ranks of these outstanding professionals, though I was certainly honored. I work in community theatre, which I know is not as glamorous or held in the same regard as equity, but I feel it is essential to the longevity of our art form. Community theater is often the most affordable and accessible live theater experience. It provides us with a space to foster youth in the arts, encourages empathy and compassion, and allows us to share meaningful stories with the people in our community. My experiences working in community theatre have helped me find my voice as an artist, and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to share my story.

My artistic origins began with exposure to different areas of the arts at a very young age. My parents were incredibly supportive and allowed me to explore different types of artistic expression, from signing me up for theatre camp, guitar lessons, and classical voice training to getting me gear to learn photography and video editing. They made me a well-rounded artist by nurturing my interests and giving me experiences they didn’t have growing up.

As a kid, I had many opportunities to perform and traveled with the Texas Girls Choir across the US, Western Europe, and Asia in my teen years. From performing for royalty in Thailand to singing at mass at Notre Dame, these experiences at a young shaped who I am as a performer and, to some degree, a director. Our director, the late Shirley Thompson Carter, emphasized teaching us life skills in addition to music. She taught us everything from ironing our clothes to table etiquette and managing our money on the road. This organization ran a super tight ship, and growing up with that level of efficiency and high expectations stuck with me.

My artistic abilities certainly impacted my professional career as an adult, with a lot of emphasis on design, marketing, and photography in college. I received a bachelor’s degree in Ag Services and Development with a Communications Emphasis and a Communications Minor from Tarleton State University. Of course, like many millennials, I graduated in the middle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. I found myself taking some nontraditional paths in my career, and one of those paths led me to teaching and, inevitably, back to the arts.

I taught 5th grade for a couple of years, and I enjoyed many aspects of it. I loved seeing my kids grow academically and socially, especially helping them find their interests. One of the after-school programs I co-taught was a drama program. The club met once or twice a week and put on a musical by the year’s end, which was new for many of these kids. While I knew the program would significantly impact our students, I hadn’t expected it to affect me the way it did. These hour-long, weekly rehearsals had somehow filled a void I hadn’t even realized existed.

We were working on solos one day in rehearsal, and as I was hammering out “Cheer Up Charlie” on my keyboard, one of my students turned to me and said, “You’re good at this. When are you going to be in a show?” At that moment, I realized my absence from the stage had been far too long, and I was craving that artistic expression I had once had all the time. It’s funny how I walked into that room to help a student find her voice on stage, and she unknowingly ended up doing the same thing for me.

I inevitably asked my co-teacher about the local theatre scene and if she knew of any good places to audition. She informed me that the Grand Prairie Arts Council was holding auditions for Into the Woods and encouraged me to audition. After convincing myself to show up (nothing like having your first audition back be for a Sondheim show), I was, to my surprise, cast as Little Red Riding Hood. I didn’t know it then, but I got more than just a role in one of my favorite shows out of this audition. I found my “home theatre.”

Flash forward almost a decade, and I’ve performed in countless GPAC shows, including playing Peter in “Peter Pan” (flying harness and all), and directed large productions such as “Matilda,” “Elf,” “State Fair,” “School of Rock,” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” I’ve also served as Board President and currently serve as the Theatre Chairman and Social Media Officer, which has allowed me to help steer the theatrical programming, digital marketing strategy, and online presence for the organization. It has been incredible to watch and help the Arts Council grow and become a thriving organization that fosters the arts for the entire city and beyond.

Over the last few years, I’ve shifted more from performer to director and administrator. It has come somewhat out of new opportunities and somewhat out of necessity. I was recently diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that has started to impact my mobility. While I love being on stage and sometimes wish I could spend more time under the lights than taking notes from the audience, I think I’ve found a way to utilize all the skills I’ve developed. My impact as a director and an administrator is far more significant than it would have been as a performer. I get to help steer the ship. I get to decide how to tell meaningful stories and give other performers opportunities to shine.

I think one of the things I’m most proud of as a director is that I’ve tried to challenge the notion that community theater can’t produce fantastic work. The last show I directed, Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” was certainly proof that there is an incredible amount of talent in our community. This production included moving projections, fight choreography (with real swords), delicately directed intimacy, dynamic choreography, sign language, a full traditional choir, audience interaction, and more. The nearly seventy people involved (both actors and designers) were passionate about the story we were telling, and it showed in our end product and how well our patrons received it.

My next big project will be directing The Producers for GPAC this coming summer. It’s one of my favorite comedies, and I can’t wait to bring this hilariously absurd show to life in 2024 with the help of a talented production team. If you haven’t gotten a chance to visit the Grand Prairie Arts Council at the beautiful Uptown Theater, please be sure to check out our fabulous theatre lineup for 2024! Learn more about our season, tickets, programming, and more at www.artsgp.org

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are definitely a few places in DFW that always recommend when friends come to visit from out of town! Starting with food, there are so many amazing places to eat here. One of my favorites is always Pecan Lodge BBQ in Deep Ellum – which is a fantastic area to hang out with its fun, artistic flare, and live music. You also can’t go wrong with Emporium Pies while you’re down there for dessert! The city of Arlington is also packed full of great restaurants, from bigger places like Babe’s Chicken Dinner House to smaller mom-and-pop restaurants with cuisine from all over the world. Over in Fort Worth, Melt Ice Cream is one stop that not only has good ice cream but a lot of it is made with local ingredients! There’s lots of great entertainment in DFW, especially in live theater, with literally dozens of local theaters across the metroplex – the Wylie is one of my favorites! You could easily see a professional touring Broadway-style show at multiple venues or see something fun and local. And one of my favorite best-kept secrets of DFW is the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge. If you like the outdoors and hiking, it’s an amazing property that showcases some of the area’s natural beauty with lots of local wildlife.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shout-out to my GPAC family. The Grand Prairie Arts Council has given me some amazing opportunities to bring stories to life on stage as both a director and performer. I couldn’t have done it without the help of the incredible group of artists, designers, and performers we have cultivated in our community, and I’m so grateful for their support. GPAC will always be my home theater, and there will always be a special place in my heart for this company.

Website: www.artsgp.org

Instagram: Mal_R22

Other: Our GPAC Sites also include; Instagram: GrandPrairieArtsCouncil and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrandPrairieArtsCouncil

Image Credits
Kris Ikejiri