Hello my name is Aleksej and I am a proud Norwegican. If you don’t know what that word means, don’t worry. My little sister made it up as a toddler. It means a Mexican who was born in Norway. The combination of Norwegian, Spanish, and English led to a lot of speech challenges for me growing up — I actually couldn’t talk till I was four! Fortunately my 5th-grade teacher Mrs. Higley invited me to her after-school theatre program and it was that safe space to fumble my words where I discovered my voice. Ever since it has been my mission to provide platforms for underrepresented folks to have their voice be heard. 

I am grateful that my mission has taken me to many theatres across the country from the East to West — including the Hangar Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, TeatroVivo, Center Theatre Group, and the Greenway Court Theatre. I also continue to fight for this mission as a Breakthrough Coach at The Art of Applying, an admissions consulting firm that specializes in applicants interested in social enterprise, public service, leadership, and social impact. My team has helped over a 1,000 BIPOC, queer, first-generation college student, and other underrepresented community members secure admission to the world’s top graduate institutions and I couldn’t be more proud of our work. 

While a student at Cornell I directed The Baltimore Waltz, Macbeth, The Vagina Monologues, as well as several other short plays. As a lab company director at the Hangar Theatre, I was the assistant director of Dégagé, The Messenger, and Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. As a playwright, my play The Diary of an American Girl won first place in the 2017 Heermans-McCalmon playwriting contest. My most recent play, They Matter, advanced to the Second Round for the 2020 Austin Film Festival Playwriting competition (top 20%) and advanced to the semifinals for the 2019 Harold Clurman Playwright Residency.

Shoot me a message and lets chat about theatre together!