Back in the day

During my senior year of high school, I was a thespian. Always in the background on stage, but outspoken in the halls of Mother McAuley. I was directing and choreographing, yet always in the chorus. Then my big break came with the Illinois Theater Festival. It was then that I realized I could actually do this. This acting thing. Soo I turned down my engineering scholarships and attended Millikin University and later University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

My grandma was so happy, "That I finally figured it out." According to her, I had been putting on shows since the age of 3 and needed to be pulled out of my denial. And my grandpa always said,"College is where you meet people and gain experiences, it is not the only ingredient needed to find a career." Maybe they were right.

Battled the same ills I see in the world of performing today. Not enough actors of color on stage. Not enough professors of color in the theatre, music, and/or dance department. Not enough support for those of us that do not look like the main stream. So what did I do? I started directing main stream scripts in a black box space at Millikin that featured non-traditional casting. Yes, I used an interracial couple in a scene from Fences. Because his story is one of vulnerability, class, racism, and the complexities of love. I wrote about it and other ills in our first minority newsletter (N Da Mix).
Looking back, all of these experiences shaped me into the person I am today.

Then someone dared me to do stand up at an fundraiser for the local women's shelter. Why did they do that? Nothing like a shot of brandy and some confidence. It was amazing. Those who are reading this will remember that it kind of took off. Who knew?!

Instead of taking a class about comedic timing and improv, I simply jumped on stage in front of a bunch of strangers and learned the hard way. And it is a lesson I continue to master and boy does it ever work.

So why oh why has this journey been so arduous and filled with peaks and valleys? Because it is called acting. And this is what the shit really looks like.