San Antonio actress and arts advocate Jaselyn Blanchard sits down with KSAT anchor Ernie Zuniga to talk roots, resilience and the work she’s doing back home with the Majestic Empire Foundation to preserve the Majestic and Empire theatres and expand arts education across San Antonio.
The newest episode of Pickup Lines puts Jaselyn Blanchard center stage, tracing a path from childhood stages to executive leadership. “I suspect in the delivery room on the day you were born, you came out performing,” KSAT anchor Ernie Zuniga joked during the latest episode of Pickup Lines. “Definitely singing and dancing,” Blanchard replied. “Maybe a little acting — jazz hands.”
Blanchard’s love for performing started early in San Antonio, shaped by school programs and community troupes. She remembers performing with a children’s group called Showstoppers and even serving as a backup singer for Elvis impersonators, moments that taught her how to read a crowd and embrace theatrical risk. Those early days at Keystone School, where she studied from first through 12th grade, helped cement a lifelong connection to the stage.
After high school she took that energy to New York to study at NYU and test the wider world of theater, modeling and voice work. The variety of gigs included an unusual stint recording audiobooks for the BBC in Rhode Island, where she often voiced teenage girls with Southern accents. Those jobs broadened her toolkit and exposed her to different corners of the entertainment industry.
Not everything was a smooth climb; Blanchard was candid about the hard edges of acting life and how rejection can chip at self-worth. “I think it was hard for me to separate out my own self-worth from not getting an acting job,” she said. “Learning how to bounce back and keep your confidence was important.” That learning curve forced her to develop resilience that now informs her leadership and mentoring.
These days she’s returned to San Antonio and stepped into a role that blends preservation with practical arts education as executive director of the Majestic Empire Foundation. Her work focuses on saving classic performance spaces while also creating access points for students who might never otherwise encounter theater. The mission ties heritage to opportunity, making performance spaces active engines of community development.
The foundation runs free, performing arts–based education programs designed to teach tangible skills like confidence, collaboration and emotional durability. Students move through exercises that mirror real production work, learning how to listen, adapt and show up under pressure. “It’s also just to make better human beings,” Blanchard said, framing arts education as both craft and character building.
Asked about technology’s impact on the industry, she voiced concern for screen-based work while expressing faith in live performance’s irreplaceable presence. Blanchard worries more about film and television jobs than theater because recorded work is increasingly exposed to automation and digital manipulation. “It’s hard to replace a showman in a room,” she said, pointing to the communal, irreplicable energy of live shows.
Watch the full Pickup Lines with Jaselyn Blanchard in the video player above.
More Pickup Lines episodes:
- Pickup Lines: Radio legend Elizabeth Ruiz reflects on decades in San Antonio media, music and resilience
- Pickup Lines: ‘Mr. Fiesta’ reflects on South Side roots, passion for writing and his nickname
- Pickup Lines: Tony Plana reflects on childhood performance, Cuban exile and 50 years in acting
Ernie Zuniga started Pickup Lines, a digital talk show, straight from his vehicle. The segments feature a diverse range of guests, including executives, small business owners, and everyday individuals, as they share personal journeys, news, and stories.
