As an artist, we complete our exhibit, the show opens/closes and there is that recurring moment after the accolades and congratulations a question cuts through: “What’s next?”
I’m never not looking for the next right thing. The next question, curiosity, joy or paint point that will spark my next project. Luckily, for me I am fortunate to be surrounded by artistry and creativity in my day job. In fact, that indeed is what’s next for me as a director. I am pleased to say that I will be making my main stage directorial debut at American Stage with acts of faith by David Yee. The piece takes us to the Copperbelt of Zambia to meet Faith a young girl, who may or may not be…a prophet? The play is beautifully written and poses an over all question of the universal balance of good and evil. I’ve already started the pre production process and was of my first gratitude moments came when I was tasked with offering names for my creative team. This was an opportunity for me to connect with artists that I’ve worked with previously and partner with new ones, as it is my own personal mission to connect and uplift other black and brown artists when I have the opportunity to do so. So I began reflecting on all of the productions I’d been apart of as an actor, director and producer and who were the amazing artists that I would be interested in working with? I settled on a mix of local, new and familiar artists. After working on 61 Unused Pages my awareness and appreciation for designers has increased even more and I look forward to what will come about as we dive into our meetings and planning for the production!
You can also keep up with me on my podcast, The Black Hand Side available on Apple, Google and Spotify. Episodes return this month (July 2023)! The Black Hand Side, is more than a podcast, but a space where blackness is celebrated and explored and I hope you’ll keep your eyes and ears open for more events and programming in the future!!!
This experience reminded me why I am an artist, a creative, a storyteller. I think back to my first memories of really thriving in theatre, there I was, a young high school theatre kid sitting in rehearsals for my high school’s One Act Theatre Competition production. We’d devised a piece of African Folktales to present in a month or so, competing against many great high school theatre programs across my home state of Virginia. My theatre teacher, Charmaine Crowell-White often dropped gems of wisdom, but today gave us something that still sits with me today:
“What good is a story, that don’t inspire? What good is a story, that don’t take you higher? What good is a story if it don’t axcel. It’s not good enough to tell….”
