We were lucky to catch up with Heloise Wilson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Heloise , thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I am currently working on a new production that will be part of the Tank’s new core season for the spring of 2025. I first wrote this play in 2017. It received a workshop production at Dixon Place and was directed by Ciara Griffrin.
“Astronauts Wanted”. Inspired by the Mars One Project, which aimed to send the first human beings to Mars. The play is multi-media driven, with projections. The piece is based on real-life interviews with the Mars One project participants and in collaboration with the scientific community. We follow three volunteers (Sol, Sorcha, and Tallulah) on their way to Mars. Playing with their fate, they push the boundaries of their own humanity and look deep within as they embark on a no-return mission.

It was a dream come true to work at the Tank. It’s a venue that truly supports artists in NYC. It was a great opportunity for me to rewrite the draft and now play the character of Sorcha. I have wonderful and talented collaborators : Regan Hicks, Gibran García, Marisela Grajeda Gonzalez, our director Saki Kawamura and assistant director Rabiah Rowther. We are happy to present the play at the Tank in April 2025.

Heloise , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an actor and writer. I started acting very young and at 17, I was working professionally. I transitioned to playwriting and then screenwriting after getting my MFA in playwriting from Brooklyn College.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Both as an actor and a writer, rejection is at the core of our daily lives. We do so many auditions a week, submit our work to countless institutions and we seldom get positive results. I spent my twenties seeking approval from various institutions and for casting directors to like me. Actors have to understand, they are a package. You simply cannot play all the roles. It’s important to know what box you fit in, at least at first. I felt like I belonged nowhere for so many years, especially because I am a multi-hyphenate artist. I had this narrative that there was no box for me to fit in. Thankfully, this has changed. First of all, I understood that I couldn’t contrain myself to one single market. I speak several languages, this means that I can work in different markets. It felt like a burden at firts, but now this a marketing entry point for my “package”.

I do not seek approval from institutions anymore as a writer. I seek collaborators that I admire. This is how I got to work with both Kathleen Capdesuñer and Saki Kawamura, two directors with Broadway experience. Collobration with artists you admire is key because it elevates your work in return.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

One of the rewarding aspect is the agency to constantly start anew and discover new stories. We particpate in changing the status-qui and creating another narrative.