Kozakov Foundation Fellowship for Creatives

Everyone has a memorable ride-share experience; TikTok creators have even made it a global hashtag. For me, my most memorable ride involved being asked a simple question, “Why are you pursuing a career in acting?” This was when I realized the magnitude of my passion - I realized at that moment that I am pursuing acting because there’s no backup plan in my life; there is no career option or subject matter that makes my heart flutter in the same way the thought of standing on a stage after weeks of preparation to deliver my memorized lines to audience members. The energy of transforming lives through art expression keeps my passion burning, even after rejection. As I rode home with the stranger who was only attempting to make small talk by asking me why I wished to be an actor, I realized how fortunate I am to have experienced the power of storytelling and the value it can make one feel. Through storytelling, I create my realities as a neurotypical Black girl not shown in popular media. I can become a beacon of representation while rewriting stereotypical stories by telling my own stories. To work towards this dream, I am currently in three musicals: Kinky Boots and Jesus Christ Superstar (ensemble) and a lead role (Sandy) in SpongeBob. I wish for my acting dreams to come to fruition as a Broadway performer and later commit to a career of service to teach underdeveloped children the art of acting and dance. With a platform on Broadway, I aim to inspire young girls who look like me to dream big and pave their destinies. Through the pursuit of my dream to be an actor, I hope to cross someone’s mind when asked the question, “Why are you pursuing a career in acting?

I think theatre can change the world, and I want to be a part of that. There is nothing I love more than performing. It sets my soul on fire and changes something in me in a way nothing else does because I love sharing other people’s stories. Whether those stories are purely entertaining, or they are intense and providing a strong message, I love giving a voice to people whose stories may otherwise go untold. In my mind, art is not only what brings us together and entertains us, but it can be a catalyst for change. When I was 10, I was invited to audition for Annie and from the moment I stepped onto the stage, I absolutely fell in love with everything about theatre. Up until that moment I was very seriously considering becoming a hotel maid or tennis ball boy but standing under the lights something inside me clicked and I just knew this was how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. As I grew older, one of my mentors started to refer to me as “a great storyteller.” The more I heard that phrase, the more it made sense to me, and now it’s more than just words, it’s who I am. But it wasn’t just the lights and the stage and the music, it was knowing I could be a part of creating theatre and film pieces that have a lasting effect on our society and each individual who encounters them. I’ve been lucky to be involved in many new works in Nashville, and I want that to be something I’m involved with for my entire career. I am highly interested in innovative pieces, and I want to push boundaries and explore new ideas. My passion for new plays was sparked when I joined a theatre company at age 11 that focused on producing new works. We did shows about grief, teen suicide and depression, terminal illness, racism, bullying and so much more. Not only was it a really unique and special experience to originate roles and tell stories no one had heard before, but it also proved to me that art could have a lasting effect on the world. There were shows I was a part of where people would come up to me to let me know this story quite literally changed their life. I watched people walk away from those shows with new perspectives and beliefs, armed and ready to take on those tough conversations and make a change themselves. I wanted to be doing this forever. With each stage of life, I will get new opportunities to tell different stories, from different perspectives and with the well-rounded skills I learn in school, I hope to be making art well into my 80s. At 17 years old I sat in a Broadway theater and watched Elaine May shine in The Waverly Gallery. She was 86 years old at the time and never missed a single show. She was stunning. I remember the curtain going down, walking away in awe and thinking, “That is exactly what I want to be doing when I’m 86.” I want to look back on my long history of creating theatre and film pieces and see that they’ve had a lasting effect on our society and each person who encountered them. Art is ever changing and evolving, and I am beyond excited to see where it is years from now and how I’ve helped shape my little piece of it. I want to spend my life using advocacy through art to change the world.