Meet Jose Miguel Vasquez of MaJeliv Productions in Marietta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Miguel Vasquez.

Jose, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Once upon a time, it made sense to give up on my dream of working in the movie industry. I was barely 20 years old and starting my family with my high school sweetheart. I needed to respond as any real man of God should, give up on the “impossible” and focus on the more probable and safe career-Teaching. Clearly, I did not fully understand how God operated. 16 years ago such a limited mindset left me miserable and slowly resenting my amazing wife and kids. Beautifully, they only ever showed me support and challenged me to think more of my capabilities. My wife, Jenny, who co-founded our company, led by example in her constant belief in our marriage and our devotion to our kids. Later, it was our kids that developed the acronym “majeliv” which at first simply fused all of our first and middle names. Soon after we realized it could also stand for “making Jesus’ light visible.” We have lived by that motto as my career as an actor grew ever so slowly. Our lives and my work took us from South Florida to Orlando and now Georgia. By the way, my wife spearheaded the idea to move to Georgia when I got a callback for what would become my first role in a major motion picture, called Term Life, starring Vince Vaughn. We are far from perfect but our devotion to living our best life by loving and creating with all our hearts takes us on new adventures and challenges all the time. Today, our family is a family of working actors at varying levels. Our company consistently shines on our Youtube channel, MaJeliv Productions, with just about 14k subscribers and growing. We deeply enjoy getting creative with a wide variety of content, ranging from movie trailer reactions, vlogs, reflections, short sketches, etc. Every year we experience unbelievable growth in our ability to trust in the work we do as it is driven to serve others with our hope and our enthusiasm for life. Simply stated, MaJeliv is made up of our family, a group of artists discovering how to turn all our dreams into reality by trusting the work God asks us to do everyday. This is very difficult work but that’s what makes it so worthwhile.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not smooth at all! Some of the mountains we had to surmount are as follows – We had to take a major delay to our schooling in order to start our family as best we could. We could not have done it without the help of our extended family for sure! Then, when Jenny was six months pregnant with our 2nd child, our daughter, her mother passed away unexpectedly. Finishing school with three babies, organizing our lives, our finances, becoming adults all while mastering parenting was no easy task. We were on welfare for the duration of our college years. After we finally graduated from the University of Central Florida the economic crisis of 2008 hit and we couldn’t find work as teachers. It would be Jenny who got hired as a kindergarten teacher in 2010 and I started my acting and teaching career in 2009 at the Orlando Repertory Theatre. Then we faced the normal challenges of moving from one state to another when we moved here to Georgia. Today, we manage things better, thank God, and thanks to our strengthening bond, but we are still improving our approach to life and business everyday.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about MaJeliv Productions Inc. – what should we know?
MaJeliv Productions is primarily known for the work we do as actors and teachers. It started with me gaining traction when we moved here working at the Alliance theatre as a teaching artist and actor, then booking movies, commercials and eventually television shows. My work as teaching artist enables me to give back to the community with local workshops. We even started an acting troupe with my wife to offer local kids and parents insight into this dynamic industry. My wife also offers invaluable insight into our church’s curriculum for children’s ministry. Our oldest son, also an actor, worked on the Goosebumps sequel and started our Youtube channel. Our youngest son and our daughter are also actors on stage and onscreen, working on various commercials and live performances. While we are proud of our individual accomplishments, our proudest work lies on our collaboration on our Youtube channel. It’s our platform for creating original content spawned from a fusion of our ideas. In this world today I’d dare say what sets us apart is how much we enjoy working together. Don’t get me wrong its never perfect, we have our disagreements and creative collisions but it’s honest and our story is the light we hope to share with others.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
This is a powerful question. The amount of people that lifted us up is quite high, but I will gladly share some of the key influencers. All of the following gave of their hearts and skill to propel us forward in life, artistry, and business: Young Adult group at Mother of Our Redeemer Catholic church in Miami, FL ( especially Victor and Idania Benitez), our former parish priest Father Fernando. My mom Pilar Patino and her husband Edgar, my sister Paula Sanz and her husband, Carlos Sanz. My wife’s family, especially her mom, (may she rest in peace) and her grandma “Pita”, Our family in Canada and Colombia especially my aunt Amparo, my cousins Carlos and Milena Quiros. Eternally grateful for the mentorship of Art Sake Acting Studio family in Orlando, FL, specifically Yvonne Suhor (may she rest in peace). Actor, Rus Blackwell, Lauren O’Quinn, artistic director of Class Studios. Our Agents: I’d like to thank Melanie Hurt, The Diamond Agency, Atlanta Models and Talent, Susan Fronsoe at 22Talent. Our photographers: HughesFioretti and Tracy Page Bosworth. To our clients for amazing opportunities: The Orlando Repertory Theatre, The Alliance Theatre, Stilwell Casting, Fincannon and Associates, Tina Kerr, Feldstein/Paris Casting, Kiira Arai, Rhavynn Drummer, George Pierre, Olubajo Sonubi Casting, Injulli/Sefick Casting, Tracy Kilpratick, Big Picture Casting, Jessica Fox-Thigpen, Mark Mullen Casting and Lori Wyman Casting.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.majelivproductions.com, www.josemiguelvasquez.com
• Phone: 4706017337
• Email: Majelivproductions@gmail.com

Image Credit:
Tracy Page Bosworth

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