Biography

Originally from The Bronx, New York, "Vuh LAY uh" is an Atlanta-based professional actress and teaching artist. She's a proud first generation American, the child of a Jamaican immigrant (mom) and a Georgia native (dad). Theatre credits include Esther in Intimate Apparel at Actors Express, for which she received a Suzi nomination for best actor in a play, Bob Marley's Theatre Little Birds, Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson #2B, and Pitch, Please! A Spicy Synchro Cabaret (which she also directed) at Synchronicity Theatre, Eubie and Caroline, or Change at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe,  Tell Me My Dream at Alliance Theatre,  A Christmas Carol and Doris the Church Lady in The Color Purple at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, roles in The Crucible, La Cage aux Folles, Mama Bear, A Lesson Before Dying, Doubt, Twelfth Night, Flyin’ West, and Award-winning productions at The Second City Chicago and Drury Lane Oakbrook (Ragtime). Vallea has been fortunate to shared her improv skills internationally via Norwegian Cruise lines and her acting in Germany. 

Vallea has an MFA in Performance from the University of Georgia. She is also a Northwestern University graduate and has trained at the esteemed School at Steppenwolf and The Second City Chicago Improv Conservatory. This training has opened so many doors for which Vallea remains forever grateful. 

You can hear her voice in a few commercials and books, as well as clips on this page. She enjoys bringing technical book and non fiction to life as well as adding vocal energy to novels of all voices - BIPOC, sci-fi, horror/suspense, and historical fiction among them. As a black actor and artist, uplifting the voices of underrepresented humans in all art forms brings exceptional joy.

As a project manager and arts administrator, Vallea has run her own company, ran marketing and publicity for several artist projects and companies in the Chicago area, and production managed for companies in Chicago and Atlanta where she current helms production teams with Synchronicity Theatre.

Teaching brings a particular joy as well. Acting, speech and dialect, improv, and interview prep to name a few. Vallea goes into schools as a teaching artist using the arts to connect to academic study. While at UGA she worked with SUNY Stonybrook's Improv for scientists Program, bring improv skills to scientists, PhD fellows, graduate students, and postdocs to improve their communication, public speaking, and funding pitches. She teaches workshops to all ages including in corporate workshops, weaving the tenets of improv and acting into sessions that improve teams and speaker presentations.

Vallea is a maker. She makes theatre, film, bakes, crochets, and whips shea butter to name just a few things. She hasn't bough lip balm in a decade since she started making her own and keeps her eczema at bay with a whipped shea body butter of her own creation. You buy your own or her other products on her Etsy page here.