Storyteller.

As an artist, I find joy in telling stories. I consider myself a vessel who has been given different medium to tell the stories I love.

Stories Through Music

I began singing in churches, talent shows, school functions, sport events, galas, and intensives. I could not get enough of telling story through song, and this was before I knew that the job of a singer was just that. I went to school for Musical Theatre and learned that singing any and all lyrics, whether connected to a theatrical piece or not, was storytelling. Composition alone tells uniques stories; then, the lyrics and melodies add more beautiful layers. Singing is a gift that keeps giving, and I hope to do it until my last breath.

Passion for Stage

Curtis King, President and CEO of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, instilled in me major respect for the art of theatre in the summer of 2009. Prior to attending this summer arts intensive, I was mainly singing. I learned from Mr. King and the various arts instructors at TBAAL how to be a professional stage performer. They taught hundreds of Dallas-born students how to sing, dance and act. They also taught a well-rounded curriculum of technical elements for the theatre. TBAAL was my happy place every summer, from 2009-2016.

In addition to the Black Academy, I have two high schools to thank for my arts education: De Soto High School and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. I thank both choral departments for teaching me music theory, which quickly became a love of mine.

De Soto and Booker T. gifted me the opportunity to perform in two all-school musicals; AIDA as “Amneris” and HAIR as “Sheila”. At the time, I had never seen a black woman portray either of these roles. So, when I say, I was gifted these opportunities, I mean it. I cherish these formative moments of my theatrical life. When else should you break down barriers than in grade school, when you are simultaneously building character and learning about the world? I plan to continue re-telling stories from my schema and knowledge of Black-American culture and history, but through my work moving forward.