Myrona DeLaney
It's like Madonna with an R or Pirahna with an M
DIRECTOR - ACTOR - EDUCATOR
DIRECTOR
It was not my plan to be a director.
I just kept finding myself on the other end of the phone when one was needed.
Over time, as the phone kept ringing and I kept saying yes, I fell in love with directing - just as I had with acting.
My work behind the table is just as instinctual, and asks for similar authenticity. Although I believe it is the director's job to walk into the rehearsal room highly researched with plans in hand, my plans will most assuredly change as I begin to collaborate with the actors and creative team.
It is always my goal to build on every player’s questions, ideas, and yes - instincts. The process of directing is all-consuming. It necessitates that I keep one eye on the big picture even as I’m in the trenches detailing the scene and piecing the puzzle together. It is this multi-layered story-telling that I find the most thrilling, second only to the community bond that forms while doing this work together.
Interested in collaborating? Send me an email.
ACTOR
Sharing from the inside out is who I am. I process thoughts, feelings and intentions in a way that everyone can see. The truth shows up all over my face. It's an aspect of my being that does not always serve me in faculty meetings, but on stage? The stage suits me.
I love the essence of a theatre.
The old wood floor with layer upon layer of paint. The lip of the stage begging to be sat upon.
The pit from which gorgeous melodies float. Peering from center stage out to rows of occupied seats.
Hiding in a spotlight, spilling my darkest secrets.
This is the theatre I cherish. Where my truest self comes to life. I am allowed – even encouraged - to be fully myself. With all the rough edges and messy realness. It is here that I am most alive. Whether laughing like a hyena or wailing like a coyote, my most profound essence is revealed when living inside another’s life, another story. Here, there is no shame in being an open book. No shame in being who I am.
EDUCATOR
As a teaching artist, I give students the spotlight of my classroom.
I'm here to facilitate their growth, their development, and their evolution as an artist. Each student is special and particular, and
it is my privilege to observe and experiment and deduce what strategies and tools might best help them move toward their dreams.
Some need encouragement, others, awareness. One student may need to risk more while another needs to stand still. Some dream of stardom in theatre. Others dream of seeing their faces on the big screen. And most have no idea what kind of drive and work and perseverance and grit this ‘dream’ requires. They all have high expectations, but they come to me to help them unlock their ability to achieve them.
My artistry is to meet them where they are and guide them through just enough challenge to move their talent towards the next level
they seek. I find the utmost joy in accompanying my students on their journey – in the classroom, on the stage and throughout their career
as they transition from mentees to mentors, from students to friends.
I am currently the Head of Music Theatre at UC Irvine, and am available for private vocal coachings on a select basis.
Email me for more information.
MORE ABOUT MYRONA
Born in Ohio. Raised in a small town. I was a little girl with big hair and big dreams.
Those early visions took flight by way of Athens, Valparaiso, Chicago, Nashville, Toronto, Florida, New York, and two contracts at sea on a world cruise through China, Russia, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.
My winding path eventually landed me in Southern California. I earned an MFA in Drama and a Doctorate in Education
from the University of California, Irvine where I currently serve as Head of Music Theatre. Though I started out as an adjunct graduate voice teacher, I have been privileged to spend the last two decades developing a robust music theatre program at UCI, which includes four levels of music theatre workshop, a BFA program in Music Theatre with bicoastal and digital showcases, an MFA program in Music Direction, and the New York Satellite Program which creates access to the entertainment industry in New York for all interested and qualified students.
Although I dedicate most of my time to keeping up with the ever-changing world of music theatre and to the development
of the young artists in my charge, outside of school, I love to travel and spend time with my daughter, Emma, and my partner, Jim.
In fact, this past summer Jim and I traveled to the Mediterranean to watch Emma perform as a lead singer on AIDA Cruise Lines.
Like mother like daughter! A full circle moment for sure. So much to be grateful for and so much still to do!
PHOTO GALLERY
REVIEWS
"Perhaps most important, though, is director Myrona DeLaney’s understanding of the show’s innards, of the ironic sentimentality, tasty humor and immense affection the script has for the familial foibles of its characters. No program credit is given for choreography, so one presumes DeLaney did that along with her sharp, interesting staging. In any case, the dancing is inventive and bright."
- T.H. McCulloh, LA TIMES review of Falsettos at UC Irvine, 1995
"Director Myrona DeLaney has mounted a steely, deeply involving production, and her all-undergraduate cast
responds with vigor and imagination."
- Tom Titus, DAILY PILOT review of Blood Brothers at UC Irvine, 2004
"As Phyllis, a woman well on her way to full-throttle bitchiness, Myrona DeLaney is the standout. She gives Phyllis the sharp, icy edges and a condescending tilt to her chin that tell much about the character. But by the same count, the hint of the young, hopeful Phyllis is also present in this mature, professional portrayal."
- Mark Chalon Smith, LA TIMES review of Follies at UC Irvine, 1988
"If Dorothy Lamour is the star of “Side by Side by Sondheim” at the Grand Dinner Theatre here, as all the advertisements
proclaim, then Myrona DeLaney must be the superstar. You won’t find her name in the ads, nor those of her capable co-performers Roberta Wall and Jeffrey Rockwell. You even have to search for them in the playbill. But it is DeLaney, a UC Irvine grad student in her professional debut, who elevates this production above the routine and turns it into a show worth seeing. Her droll, animated character work throughout the evening is an object lesson in the art of dramatizing the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim’s theater songs.
- Jan Herman, LA TIMES review of Side by Side at The Grand Dinner Theater, 1991
Read more here: Extroverted ‘Side by Side’ Gets Lift From Newcomer
"She is brilliant at seeing into people and values hard work over natural talent.
She truly cares about each and every student and their individual growth. Get to know her and you have a mentor for life."
- Former undergraduate student from UC Irvine, 2015
"She is an awesome professor who has an extensive knowledge of her art. She knows just what to tell you to do in order to improve not only your technique but your tonal quality."
- Former undergraduate student from UC Irvine, 2004
"Tough love, but love none the less. She is a fountain of information that will help you grow and break down insecurities.
Don't miss any opportunity you can to learn from her."
- Former undergraduate student from UC Irvine, 2005
VIDEO
Coaching "Loathing"
The Faculty Innovation Showcase: Myrona DeLaney
"Send in the Clowns"
