BIO

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Maite Gelabert is an actress, director, writer, producer and whatever it takes to carry out a project. She grew up in San Fernando de Maspalomas, in the south of Gran Canaria, where there was nothing related to theater, so she started to learn everything by books and byherself. She began writing her first plays at the age of 8, «The Forest Fairy», «Cenirock» and «Terry and the Circus», the last one written when she was 10 years old and lasted 45 minutes. She represented it in her school and directed her classmates. In high school she was part of the theater group of the center where, being 90% girls, she decided to play male roles to have text. Here she made the plays «The Guests» where she played a butler and «Don Mendo’s Revenge» where she played Don Pero.

When she was 16 years old, the San Bartolomé de Tirajana Municipal Theater School was created, and during the four years that she was part of the theater group, she was able to participate in some plays such as «The Magic Flute», «Federico, amor y muerte», «The vested interests», «Are we crazy or what?» and «Salome».

As there was no children’s theater group, during her studies of Sociocultural Entertainment she carried out the project Child level for Municipal Theater School where kids between 7 and 13 years old performed the musical of «Cinderella» that she directed. The project was a success and since then the infantile level has been maintained in the School. Upon finishing her studies as a Sociocultural Entertainer, she worked as a theater instructor and Sociocultural Entertainer in different kids camps and in the San Bartolomé de Tirajana Town Hall, specifically for the Department of Culture, where she gave workshops to encourage reading with dramatized readings, and for the Department of Social Services, performing small theater productions with children from families with few resources. And that is how she decided to create a theater group, since the families of these children could not pay the infant level of the theatre school that she had created a few years earlier.

This was the first children’s and youth theater group in the municipality, totally free and where the only thing that was asked of the children was their participation and the «obligation to have fun.» And she could not think of anything other than to release the group by preparing a new crazy version of «Jesus Christ Superstar». After the success obtained, year after year, and for 20 years, the group prepared a show that they performed with children and young people: Grease, Beauty and the Beast, Perter Pan, We Will Rock You, The Little Mermaid, Little Stars, The Lion King…

Maite created choreography, fight scenes, costumes, props, combed wigs, did makeup, sets, prepared lighting plans, created sound effects, wrote, directed and everything necessary so all the children who wanted could participate. She also created a theater group for an association of people with psychic and physical diversity. And these people made several theatrical productions such as «Mamma mía what madness», «Hercules», «Cinderella» and they participated in different events, galas, and festivals.

During the most recent years, with the children already adults, Maite prepared more ambitious projects such as a web series «Primas de Riesgo», several adult shows, such as «The crazy house of Bernarda Alba» and several short films, susch as «Fire». In 2015 the theater group won the Buero Award for theater values as a Social and Collective Fact.

Now that in San Fernando there are several children’s and youth theater groups, dance groups, rhythmic gymnastics and the infant level of the municipal theater school, Maite has decided to back to her dream of being an actress and return to the stage and in front of the cameras.

Contact: maitegela@gmail.com