Having been raised in Irapuato, Mexico, I came to the world of dance at the age of 15, when as a theatre student at Arts Magnet High School, I took an intro to dance class as my PE. A couple of years later I was a dance major at SMU, and began performing in the DFW area as a ballet dancer, first with Richardson Ballet, now known as Tuzer Ballet, and eventually with almost every ballet company in the North Texas area. I was accepted into the Dance program of the world renown Harkness Ballet, but unfortunately the founder died that summer, and the children found the property more desirable then running an arts venture so they shut the organization down and I never got to go. To make matters worse, I then turned 18 which was the cut off age for most world class ballet companies/schools, so I focused my energies in the regional Dance and Theatre scene. Besides performing as a soloist, I also continued to purse acting and I began choreographing shows for various theatre groups in the area including Theatre Three, Stage West, Deep Ellum Theatre Garage, etc.
I retired from the world of Dance by my late 20’s. The body is a strange thing, it seemed like almost over night I was unable to reach the height of leaps I had attained, and my speed began to diminish; though I still could’ve danced, I knew my capacity had reached its apex and could feel the slow physical decline. I decided to leave the art form while I was still getting great reviews and wowing audiences, and be remembered for it, then becoming a shadow of what I had been.
I continued working as an actor and choreographer. I was asked to write a play based on a horrific personal experience, and hence my first play Persistence in Memory came to be. Through a turn of events I ended up directing the show, and I was able to add playwright and director to my resume. In the 25 plus years I’ve directed, danced, choreographed, written and acted in more the 70 shows. I’ve also done some films, a prime Time TV series, as well as a myriad of commercials, and voice over work. You can read more about me at www.Mark-BrianSonna.com or through my agent Linda McAlister.
In 2004 I founded MBS Productions as an outlet to produce new works for the stage, be it world premiers, new translations, or new adaptation of classic works.
My first exposure to The Nutcracker was in 1977 when I was visiting my Grandmother in Chicago and PBS broadcast the ballet with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland. I remember being enthralled and enchanted by it. Little did I know then that I would grow to hate the musical score because for years I danced it ad nauseum, even though it did pay the bills. This said, it now gives me great pleasure to revisit the score and give it this much more modern and naughty twist.
