It is one thing to come from a foreign country and blend in and another to come and attempt to break into the acting industry. Yet a beautiful and proven talent Sivlia Dionicio managed to accomplish both in a short period of time. In her native Dominican Republic, she was already making waves as a sort after actress. At first, she ventured into acting as a hobby but after completing a play where the subplot was about bullying something happened that inspired her to become a serious actress. She studied acting in her native DR at Teatro Alternativo Lorena Oliva.
“I just completed a show in my native country with a back-story about bullying and this woman came to me with tears in her eyes to tell me how moved she was by my performance. Her child was a victim of bullying because he suffered from down-syndrome. At that point I decided if I can inspire people and make them feel good via my acting then that is what I want to do as a career.”
Silvia did just that with her mother’s help they pushed for a scholarship through the Dominican government so she can study acting in New York. Eventually after repeated trips to “the powers that be” she was granted a scholarship and ended up attending and graduating from The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. In the short time she has been here she already has been in three feature films and two TV series. Prior to embarking onto the United States, she studied under well-known Dominican actress Maria Castillo (El Mariachi) a great honor for her and a key learning experience.
In the summer of 2018 she played the lead role in the projects “Juvenile Delinquents” and “Just Grace”. It is important to note that the Director of Photography for” Just Grace” Joanne Hock was an Emmy Award winner. In both projects she plays a troubled teenager and nailed the roles with ease. In “Juvenile Delinquents” there is no principal actor but the principal is the group of teenagers instead which is similar to the 80’s classic “Breakfast Club”.
“Just Grace” has already been pitched to Netflix whose main character is accomplished actress Karen Abercrombie. Silvia has done theatre, film and TV and has found that film and TV are her favorite mediums to work in.
“When it comes to film and TV, I feel very comfortable in front of the camera. Yet I am open to all three mediums and not focused on only one.”
Besides the film projects she has completed two TV series “Grave Mysteries” and “In Pursuit” both are slated to be on the cable channel Investigation Discovery. Both are “who done it” type shows. In “Grave Mysteries” she again returns as a trouble teenager, Elena Diaz and aces it. Both projects are due out this year.
Silvia has been inspired by many actress and actors but two seem to come to mind. She has found the works of Gina Rodriguez and Benedict Cumberbatch to be versatile and educational on many levels. Especially Gina who is a strong advocate for Latin actress and actors globally. As for Benedict she draws inspiration from his roles on human-driven projects that are similar to hers.
As we mentioned earlier Silvia has done a lot of theatre work and has participated in over fourteen plays. Two important ones were the Off-Broadway productions “Black Panther Women” and “Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda”. To top all this off a recent short film she completed “Resilience” (2017) has won many awards such as the best film on the Direct Monthly Online Film Festival 2018 and best Cinematography for Canada shorts Film Festival 2018 and more. On the TV side the series “Smack (Superwoman)” won best TV Series on International Cutting Room Festival 2018 and was Nominated for the Golden Door International Festival 2018.
Besides acting and modeling Silvia has also put on a producer’s hat and worked on her own project mentioned earlier “Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda” which was presented last year at the Producers Club with positive reviews. The show with was written by Daniel Blanda and they are looking to put up again in 2019. Silvia is due for bigger things and is an act one should follow.
“My desire is to be a lead on a TV show or film. That is the goal I placing on myself for the future.”
https://www.silviadionicio.com/
