November 10, 2008

1. When did you realize that you had an interest, rather, passion for the performing arts? How old were you?  Well, my first “performance” memory is doing this speech called “Moving Up” for my preschool graduation.  The bug must have really hit me around 3 because my uncle told me that by the time graduation came, the whole family knew that speech because I wanted to perform it all the time.  I came up listening to one of the greatest bands of all time, Earth Wind and Fire.  My uncle took care of me a lot when I was young, so I listened to music 24/7, especially EWF.  I also remember singing “Somebody’s Else’s Guy” by Cheryl when I was like 6 years old for my first talent show at

Shedd Park on the Westside of Chicago.  In my childhood, all I ever did was listen to music, sing, write lyrics and dance from sun up to sun down.  To sum it all up, I saw myself onstage when I was just a baby girl.

2.  I know that singing is your heart, so can we assume that you prefer it over acting and spoken word/poetry?  It’s hard to say, since I always thought that I would be singing.  Since I cannot separate the love of one from the other, I sometimes call my self the Poetemcee.  I have tried to not sing as much in recent times because I had received negative comments from a few.  Even though I have gotten training since, I had lost confidence in my singing capabilities.  But somehow, an event or opportunity surfaces, pushing me to embrace that talent, as well.  My voice, no matter what genre I perform, is my gift.

3.  How would you describe your performance style?  Honest, empowering, entertaining.  I am blessed to have experienced and mature from so many things.  So, I don’t mind sharing it in my spoken word.  When I have been blessed to act, it has pushed me to do the homework necessary to portray the character as naked as can be.  No additives, chemical free, like me.

4.  Was perfoming arts a major part of your childhood?  Maybe I gave away this answer in my response to question number one.  But to add to that, money was limited in my household.  So there was no money for formal dance, acting and singing lessons.  Just like any creative child in the hood, I worked with what I had.  I created my own dance crews and we practiced in the hot sun in the park and even the alley.  I didn’t care.  I made up cheerleader routines and we would perform for block parties.  I was self taught from old skool BET’s

Rap City and when Ramone Ski Luv used to be on the Rap Down on WGCI.  I would take cassette tapes and put tissue over the top holes to record over the old stuff, memorize the latest song or rap and reuse it again.  I still have some of those tapes.

5.  Who inspires you?  Artistically speaking, it would be the modern funky soul sistas like Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Ledisi, Alicia Keys.  I’m also just getting into Janelle Monae.  Between Janelle’s “Many Moons” and Alicia Keys new joint, “Another Way to Die”, I get rejuvenated hearing them show off their range of styles.  And after watching Jill Scott’s “Live in

Paris”, I swear I know that one day I will be singing for her Achievement tribute on the BET Awards one day.  How can I forget Maxwell’s rendition of “Simply Beautiful” for the Al Green tribute?  Performance, live music, swagger and talent all wrapped in brown flesh.  Now that is REAL soul music!  I get excited every time I see that performance.  God is good!

6.  How do you balance a career in the banking industry and one as a performer?  Girl, I don’t know!  I just do it.  I don’t have a choice.  On one hand, freedom ain’t free, so I have to work the regular gig until my passion begins to at least pay a living wage.  On the other hand, I can’t afford to not work on the dream because my destiny is all on me and how much I put into it.  I am also blessed that my boss is flexible when I’m in production. 

7.  Tell us your experience/work that you've done thus far with your career.  As far as acting, I’ve been at it since 2005.  With basically no theater experience, I got my first major role as Simone in “The Retreat” by Okeymah Ma’chelle.  I have done mostly theater.  I’m proud of my most recent lead roles as Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, MauMau in Daughters of the Mock and The Angry Vagina in The Vagina Monologues.  I also did my first film, Partyline, in 2006.  (See my attached bio for a complete list of my roles).

8.  What are some of the highs and lows of the industry as it relates to you as a black woman in the industry?   Well, the high of being a Black woman is that unique quality of our experience that I bring to the table.  It’s not a setback.  I am proud of my ancestry, my physical attributes and even the struggles from my personal story that make me who I am today.  The low of it, is knowing that today there still is an imbalance of opportunities for Black actresses.  We still don’t have a myriad of roles to pick from for sitcoms and movies.  I have my eyes on being a major film and television actress.  Even though it is daunting to think of all I have yet to encounter, I still want to do this.  If

Hollywood does not have the opportunities I want, I will create my own.  That is the power of Black people!

9.  Where do you see your career 5 to 10 years from now?  Five years from now, I will be a professional actress.  Professional, in the sense that I will live solely off of my acting income.  Right now, it is safe to call me a professional banker.  My banking job allows me to afford the necessities of life.  I recently finished “I Could Have Been a Cabdriver, but I Became an Actor Instead”.  It asked, “How many of us would hire the services of a lawyer who drove a cab to keep his law practice afloat?”  It is no different for an artist.  The most serious artist has learned the secrets of creating multiple streams of income in their genre and are getting paid for it.  I am proud to say that I have begun that process.  I am in training and creating the plans that will take me to that level.  Ten years from now, I will have starred in a sitcom or major movie.

10.  What are your thoughts on music today?  Music today is formulaic and in need of a revival.  But that is not true for all artists.  There are some artists who still hold it down in terms of live bands, lyrics and vocals that touch your soul.  That is what a real music performer brings to the stage.  Anything else in a show is extra.  Certain real musicians and vocalists, I would be suspect if they had a whole lot of additives in their show.  You know what I mean:  collabos with everyone, 20 clothes changes, backup dancers and whole lot of pyrotechnics.   A real singer SANGS!

11. Do you consider yourself a neo soul or r&b artist? Since you just had to categorize me, I am both a neo soul and r&b artist.  Soul music is bluesy and rhythmic.  Ain’t nothing new about soul.  It’s just new artists singing soul, ya know?

12.  As a performer, what are the main obstacles that you are striving to overcome? I am striving to overcome procrastination, laziness, mediocrity and financial constraints.  After working the 9-5 (which on some days is 8-6!) my flesh cries out “Let’s watch tv!”, “I don’t feel like exercising!”, “Come on, let’s miss class just this once!” “Buy that!  You deserve it.  Don’t worry about how you will buy your headshots!”  But I want too much and I remember that I am competing with the artist who is grinding all day while I’m at the gig. I have no choice but to subdue my natural tendencies.

13. Do you have any advice for those who want to attain a career in the entertainment industry? The moment you realize what you want to do, JUST DO IT!  Forget the past, stop whining about where you are now and work on your dream daily.  The only difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the EXTRA.  What EXTRA have you done today to make it happen?

14. What is your life mission-your purpose and tell us how you are living your dreams. My life mission is to glorify God in all that I do.  Whether I am acting, singing, or rhyming, I just want Him to be pleased with what I did with my mouth.  I want to evoke emotion and change when people hear me speak.  I am living that dream because I commit myself to doing the extra on a daily basis: reading, singing or encouraging people when I talk to them.  I pray God is pleased with that.