Exactly ONE month from today until I start this magical adventure!
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WRLD CTY
I did a really cool thing! ✨
I spoke on a WRLDCTY panel with Gabriel Stelian-Shanks Artistic Director of NYC Drama League, Tony Award nominated director Sheryl Kaller, and BAFTA award winning producer Elaine Bedell.
I was geeking just a little bit! 😱😮💨🎉
We discussed many topics about the theatre industry; as creatives, and creators. Make sure to stay tuned for shared clips!! Learn more about the landscape of live theatre, our future, our past, and how to best support post-pandemic performances and the artists who bring them to life!
I can’t tell you enough how excited I was to be a part of this amazing panel! Thank you Wrld Cty Festival for asking me to share my voice and thoughts.
Guest Star: Shirley
Being an Actor on a prime time TV show! Wow! Baby’s first TV appearance! Come on TV Debut, and a Principle role to boot!! Incredibly grateful to have been a part of the cast of Jann season 3 playing Shirley. Catch me doing the thing on Episode 2. The little girl in me is screaming for this amazing opportunity for me to be on JANN
I was so excited to find out I would be joining the The number one comedy show in Canada.
Many thanks to @jannarden & @jennicaharper for having me on this season. Everyone on set was absolutely amazing. From @annie.c.parkinson making me look amazing (I mean just watch the clip to see) to @zoiepalmerzeeeps sending me off with the most amazing advice and warmth. A blessing!
Shirley on JANN
Tonight’s the night! Catch me on CTV in Canada and Hulu in the USA! I’ll be on this weeks episode of Jann! Jann is a TV show about a singer-songwriter faces the realization that her career is coming to an end, while dealing with a breakup, conflict with her sister and her mother’s health issues, so she decides to reinvent herself to reclaim her celebrity status.
In this episode I play Shirley, she gives Jann and her sister advice. Advice for what?? Well, you’ll just have to tune in to find out! See you on the TV!!
Don’t worry, if you missed it in Canada. It’s on demand and on CTV.ca
Jessica in CALL IT LOVE
After being in Toronto for a short amount of time, I found myself performing in Stratford Ontario. Who would have thought a City girl like me would end up in a Town like that.
Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful, Paradise Square) ask me to be apart of her musical ‘Call It Love’. Chilina is the composer and lyricist and Eric Holmes the book writer. I played the role of Jessica, a direct, loving, giving, and hurting woman. Fighting for her personal happy ending, whilst helping the love of her life.
Playing Leo
This weekend I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with BSAM Canada. BSAM stands for Black Speculative Arts Movement and aims to bring Afro-Futurism to the main steam.
I play Leo on this project, voicing a warm bright, 10 year old who is trying to find his way in the world, amidst the growing pains of life. Leo finds friendship and understanding in Rahyne the main character, and … well you’ll just have to wait for RAHYNE to know more about the adventure that they go on.
Keep your eyes out for the release of Rahyne!
Hye’s Musings Interview
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit with Blackout creatures Anton Lipovetsky and Steven Gallagher to have a chat with Heidy M. from Hye’s Musing.
We have a chat about ‘Blackout‘ the musical. getting back to the stage after 17 months, the rehearsal period, our feelings on how the show relates to the pandemic and much much more. Hit play to hear our thoughts and watch the interview!
‘BLACKOUT is set on the evening of the blackout of 2003 and while this happened nearly 20 years ago, a musical about how Torontonians came together and found connection in the dark feels quite relevant today when the city is slowly coming out of the darkness of the pandemic and trying to reconnect.’
Tickets and more information on the show is available at musicalstagecompany.com.
Blackout
Stop the Presses! I am so excited to announce I will be starring as Pandora in BLACKOUT this summer. BLACKOUT is a preview production of a new Canadian musical by Steven Gallagher & Anton Lipovetsky.
I star the second story ‘Pandora’ as Pandora. She is exuberant, kind, fun, energetic, dark, and loving. I am so excited for ya’ll to get to know her! She is so energetically connected to me that I knew this role was mine. I am so grateful and excited!
This cast blew my mind away so get ready to lose your’s this summer under the stars as part of Dream in High Park by Canadian Stage. Tickets on sale now: https://bit.ly/tmscBLACKOUT
On August 14th, 2003, Toronto was sent into chaos when the largest blackout in Canadian history left millions stranded in the dark and unable to reach or connect with their loved ones.
Inspired by real events, Blackout depicts three stories of connection that unfolded when the city was dark, and strangers banded together to find the light. A preview production of a new Canadian musical by two of Canada’s most exciting voices, Blackout is a story of hope, resilience, and community.
Dixon Road
June is busting out all over!
This month I will be joining the workshop cast of Dixon Road. A new musical by Fatuma Adar at Musical Stage Co.. It most definitely feels like we are back in the theatre again, sans a dusty rehearsal room floor. Over a year later I find myself back in the world of theatre, I can honestly say it feeds me!
Dixon tells the story of a Somali family who immigrate to Canada in 1991 as the civil war begins to tear their homeland apart. They settle in Dixon Road, in a neighbourhood near Pearson airport that is still the heart of Toronto’s Somali community today. Combining traditional Somali melodies, R&B & Contemporary Verse, Dixon Road is an exhilarating new Canadian musical about legacy, displacement, and finding a new sense of home.
Safyia is going to be so interesting to learn and play. She is a beautiful expression of a matriarchal figure, and I get the sense she truly believes ‘ Small happiness can manifest into big things.’
Like my character Safyia in Dixon Road would say. Subhannallah – All glory be to God.
Booked!
This past week was very exciting! I got to spend some time on the Jann set! The show is currently filming season 3 and I booked a role on Episode 2. Stay tuned for more to watch me as Shirley.
It was my FIRST time on a TV set! Man, oh, man. This set was absolutely heaven. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer time! From start to finish it was absolutely lovely, and kind hearted. For my first TV appearance, this was a treat! Many thanks to, the crew and cast of Jann, and Rhonda Fieski Casting.
Yemie Sonuga 