The Full Story
on EMANCIPATION
The recording of EMANCIPATION was my sign that good things are on the horizon, a new hope for life was possible. Every day we get a new lease on life and another opportunity shape our destiny by our wills. Our freedom is not determined by what we can accomplish, but by how our strong our will is during our trials. It is determined by our willingness to endure, because freedom isn't promised.
The Exposition
When I began working at Stageworks, I was hungry to do whatever it took to prove my value as an actor and performer. I began working as the Director of Audience Services and Resident Playwright. The next year, I was told by a supervisor (who no longer works there) that "even a monkey can run social media." Receiving this commentary was soul crushing as well as humiliating. It made me feel like I had to cater to a callous white patriarchy in order to work as an artist. I began to struggle during my time working at Stageworks under this regime, and I was creatively blocked. I released FREELANCE and barely recorded music from that point.
The Inciting Action
In the 2021-22 season, I was invited to Stageworks as a Playwright to write an updated version of their existing script African-American greats. It was to highlight figures from Tampa’s Black Business District Central Avenue, covering their accomplishments and their impact on the community.
We were riding high on this success, even after state legislation issued Bill 1467 March 2022, which would later deem one of the monologues that discusses the Civil Rights Movement unsuitable to present to middle school students. On stage, we were asked to stop our show because one of the actors presented pieces of the monologue from before the mandate.
