Artist Statement
As an actor, my focus has always been to dedicate my whole self to telling stories. To me, acting presents an unparalleled opportunity to use my body, mind, and spirit as tools in telling another person’s story. A story that is a bond of trust for an actor. Guaranteeing that they will do everything in their capacity to give life to a character’s story; taking them from ink and paper into creation with breath. Working not to just share words from the playwright, or living through the character’s life for spectators, but collaborating with others to fabricate an entire world that allows an audience in, to live and experience a story alongside and through the characters. Thus presenting the human chance to convey the abstract to a group of people via existing as someone else for a flicker of time.This heightened sharing of life’s pain, joy, strife and pleasure is what makes such a daunting responsibility worth forging the bond each time, for me.
Beyond the humanistic bond to characters, sharing continues to be one of theatre’s greatest allures for me. As an artist, I have been gifted with several opportunities to work collaboratively with many others, across multiple media. I find that through collaboration, I am able to produce my level-best. Ergo, sharing continues to be one of theatre’s greatest allures for me. The unique, collaborative process where ideas, interpretation, and imagination get to bounce off of one another, in a room full of impassioned people, to grow into a unique telling of a story is what I have grown to love in working with others. Finding a graduate program that further develops what I am capable of contributing to a process, from discussion to rehearsal to performance, is what I am yearning for.
I count myself blessed to have had the opportunity to develop as an artist in a city like St. Louis. Home to several hubs for art, St. Louis has taught me that artistic expression can be derived anywhere, and can resonate with anyone. While at Saint Louis University, I was afforded the opportunity to take part in service days where my theatre training was applied in educational purposes and I got to be involved in community service projects with Alpha Psi Omega, and also served as president. Outside of my undergraduate program, I have also worked alongside professionals at the MUNY, Insight Theatre Company, New Jewish Theatre and The Black Rep to create new and reimagined works that have changed me forever as a person, and as an artist. All of these experiences contribute to who I am now, and I will be forever grateful for what St. Louis gave me, as I move forward.
On a personal level, I am often described as balanced, direct, calm, calculating, dynamic, and perceptive. It is these characteristics that I find myself drawing on every time I dive into my work in theatre, film, music, or dance. These personal characteristics are paired with a devotion to develop justice, social responsibility, and insight into the human condition, to make up the majority of my artistic drive in the craft of acting. A graduate program that embraces my individuality, pushes me to exert my entire self, and offers the opportunity for appreciable growth is where I see myself in my future.
In moving forward, I plan to push the limits of what theatre, film, and television can do. I will explore performing territory previously foreign to me. I want to venture outside the kinds of entertainment and story-telling that I have experienced in my past works, and work towards developing myself as a completely versatile, proficient, and connected performer.
