Story reposted from ROLE CALL | AmericanTheatre.org March 2017
Read entire article at https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/02/24/6-theatre-workers-you-should-know-14/
Efren Delgadillo, Jr.
Profession: Scenic designer
Hometowns: Born in East Los Angeles, raised there and in Gómez Palacio, Mexico
Current home: Los Angeles
Known for: Designing the five-ton wheel for the 2013 staging of Prometheus Bound at the Getty Villa, coproduced by the CalArts Center for New Performance (CNP). Also with CNP, he was the scenic designer for Brewsie and Willie with Poor Dog Group (PDG) in 2011, after which he became a core member of PDG.
What’s next: He’s designing the set for the Latino Theater Company’s world premiere of The Sweetheart Deal, written and directed by Diane Rodriguez, at Los Angeles Theatre Center, May 4-June 4.
What makes him special: “As an artist, Efren approaches his practice with fluidity and detail, which allow for organic and distinctly original results,” enthuses PDG writer/director Jesse Bonnell, who first worked with Delgadillo on Brewsie and Willie. Bonnell says Delgadillo has a special affinity for “generating new ideas that are both radical and subtle. This range of collaborative might allows him to work on a variety of projects from ancient Greek plays to experimental performance. Efren brings his heart to each project, a quality that is found in every aspect of his character. He is truly a powerful voice in Los Angeles.”
Summers on the farm: Delgadillo says his work is partly informed by childhood summers he spent at his grandmother’s bakery and milk farm in Gómez Palacio. Those experiences, driving tractors and playing in the dirt, “fed my mechanical heart and mind,” he notes. “I would return to the United States extremely grateful for what I had. I embraced a strong work ethic and was recharged for another school year in the States.”