Meet Pau Zabaleta Llauger

We recently connected with Pau Zabaleta Llauger and have shared our conversation below.

Pau, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

I would say that my optimism comes from valuing tiny things that make my life better. I have moved countries twice and crossed the Atlantic Ocean once in the last 3 years. I moved from Barcelona to Oaxaca in México and after that, I moved to NY to pursue my MFA in Contemporary Theater and Performance. All of that was when I was already in my forties. I feel optimistic when I acknowledge my privilege of being allowed to move freely instead of having to cross borders illegally, having a family and a place to go back to if anything goes wrong, and having a bed to sleep in every night under a roof. All these little things make me smile and be grateful and I think that is a recipe for feeling optimistic in that things will get better whenever you are navigating a challenging time. Coming from the Mediterranean coast I believe the sun and the bright and clear water of that sea have always infused me with peace and optimism. My culture is centered on the good things in life, sitting around the table with friends to share food, dozing off on the sofa, spending time in nature, hiking and climbing mountains with my father, and laughing with my niece and nephew every time we see each other. There is one last thing. Twenty years ago, I was studying my undergrad in acting, and a person in my cohort committed suicide. We were such a small cohort and we felt very united so her parting so soon was a traumatizing experience for all of us. The next day I woke up and decided to write a list of the things that I value, the little things in the world that make me smile like watching the sun rise, and I have kept that list present ever since.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a freelance artist based in New York. I am currently in my second year of an MFA in Contemporary Theatre and Performance at The New School. I received a 100% merit scholarship, which was a dream come true. That was the only way I could come to the city. My interests as an artist have evolved and changed over the course of my 20-year career. My focus has been and continues to be visual theatre, telling and sharing stories and theatrical universes through visual poetry, manipulation of objects, contemporary dance and removing the hierarchical value that the word usually has on stage. Before moving to New York, I lived in Barcelona, where I was born and did my undergraduate studies. I performed all over Europe and was part of KREPSKO, a theatre company based in Finland, for 12 years.
Right after the pandemic I travelled to Mexico and decided to stay in Oaxaca. There I continued my theatre work by directing a solo dance performance by Rosario Ordoñez, a well known and respected Mexican dancer. After that, Ferchi Mora and I co-directed and performed in “Te quiero, la casa está hecha un desastre”, a piece of theatre, dance and object theatre about finding the courage to jump into a relationship, sharing your intimate space, becoming vulnerable and accepting the vulnerability of the other.
Thanks to my time in Oaxaca and the opportunity to meet and share with the locals, I learned a lot about history, culture, the continued abuse of colonial powers over their ex-colonies and the beautiful pride of indigenous people trying to change the established narrative of who they are and where they belong. I am learning to shut up and listen, to own my identity and to understand my prejudices a little more.
Here in New York, I have had the opportunity to delve into filmmaking, something I have only dipped my toes into in the past. It is fascinating to understand how to tell a story through moving images, the importance of the pre-production process and the magic that happens in the editing room.
I will be graduating next year and I am very excited about my thesis. It will be a solo performance and I want to use it as my introduction to American audiences.
I hope to move people with my art, ask questions, create space to challenge the status quo, but also share beauty and vulnerability and humanity and why not, all sprinkled with some dark humor to remind us all that we won’t be here forever, so why not make life more enjoyable for those around us that we can influence. In the meantime, I take every opportunity to collaborate with other artists who have come before me. I assisted theatre director Irina Kruzhilina in her documentary theatre performance about Russian refugee children arriving in the USA. You can see it at La Mama as part of the Under the Radar festival. I am also working with Tea Alagic as Choreographer Associate to Shannon Stowe in the new piece “Terror is the order of the day” by Ben Heineman. It is a play about the French Revolution which is very relevant to the moment this country is about to enter in a few weeks time and will be premiering at The Flea next month.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

An important skill is to be open to hearing what people who work with you have to say about your work. Sometimes it can be hard to listen to criticism or even opinions that are not your own, but I have found that surrounding yourself with people who will tell you things and challenge you helps you to grow and become a well-rounded artist.

It almost seems contradictory to what I have just said, but it is also important to trust your intuition. It’s a learning curve, but it will be very helpful to know when to listen to others and when to listen to your own voice. After all, we are all unique and you are the only one capable of telling your story the way you want to.

A third piece of advice I would give you if you want to dedicate yourself to the world of art is to immerse yourself in it. Go to the museum, to the cinema, to the theatre, to concerts, talk about art, make art, continue to educate yourself, travel, get to know different cultures, learn other languages, anything that builds you as an empathetic and sensitive human being is going to be good for you to become a more well rounded artist.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Big Magic: creative living beyond fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. Reading this book helped me to understand that many of my fears were universal and as a consequence it helped me to relativise them. I understood that it is not a failure if we are artists and we have to earn a living with another job and profession. It helped me to build a narrative in my head where I left behind the comparisons and the paralyzing idea that I am not a good artist to understand that there will be many no’s in my career, but those no’s should not come between my illusion and passion and my goals. If you continue to work and celebrate your passion your time will come.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @enpauluss
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PauZabaletaLlauger

Image Credits

Third picture by Pablo Mekler
Last picture by Maria Baranova