PERFORMANCE + SPEAKING
WHERE STORY, PRESENCE AND AUDIENCE MEET.
I bring story into the room through poetry, performance and conversation. From original commissions and live performances to artist talks, panels and conferences, I create experiences that invite audiences to listen deeply, reflect and connect with the ideas and stories being shared.
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Deliver original poetry and spoken word performances that bring story, culture and lived experience into the room through language, presence and connection.
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Research, write and perform original works created in response to organizational themes, cultural moments, communities, events and public programs.
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Develop engaging talks that combine storytelling, lived experience and creative practice to explore culture, community, art and the power of story.
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Participate in artist talks, panels and public conversations that offer insight into creative practice, cultural work, storytelling and community centered approaches.
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Moderate panels and public conversations by guiding dialogue, developing thoughtful questions and creating space for speakers and audiences to engage meaningfully.
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Provide expressive voiceover and narration for films, documentaries, campaigns and multimedia projects, using tone, pacing and emotional delivery to bring stories to life and connect audiences to the message.
THE REBIRTH SHOW
Invited as the opening performer for Jubilee Jackson’s Rebirth, I used poetry and spoken word to welcome audiences into the experience and help set the emotional tone for the performance that followed. The appearance reflects my approach to live performance as more than presentation, using story, language and presence to create connection and prepare a room for the larger artistic journey.
“BLACK DIGINITY”
Performed at the Detroit Institute of Arts for One Single Rose’s Jazzetry: Spirit of Regeneration, “Black Dignity” served as the closing poem in a performance that moved through past, present and future. After reflecting on Black history and contemporary experience, I wanted to leave the audience with a vision of the future rooted in dignity, remembrance and possibility. The poem reaches beyond identities shaped by colonization to consider who we were before them, reclaiming the power, knowledge and humanity already present within Black people and imagining what becomes possible when we remember ourselves beyond what was imposed upon us.
“THEORY OF EVOLUTION”
Featured by Wave Culture Media for the True Color Series, “Theory of Evolution” is an original spoken word piece exploring healing, transformation and the growing pains that accompany becoming. Through imagery of the chrysalis, birth, death and rebirth, the poem reflects on the cycles we move through as we shed old versions of ourselves and make space for what comes next. The performance uses repetition, rhythm and embodied storytelling to remind us that evolution is not a destination, but a continual practice of pushing, healing and becoming.
“MONDAY IS THE NEW MONDAY”
Performed alongside S.O.L Tribe Band at Motor City Wine for Monday is the New Monday, this improvised movement performance explored the relationship between body, rhythm and live music. Responding to the band in real time, I used movement as a form of storytelling, allowing sound, instinct and presence to shape an unscripted exchange between dancer and musicians. The performance reflects my broader practice of embodied storytelling, where story can be carried not only through words, but through movement, rhythm and the body.
“REST”
Performed at the Garden Theater for a sickle cell fundraiser presented by Alex Hill, “Rest” is an original spoken word piece centered on slowing down, honoring the body and giving ourselves permission to say no. The poem guides audiences through the rituals of a day devoted to rest, from canceling and rescheduling to creating moments of stillness, comfort and peace. Through poetry and embodied storytelling, “Rest” challenges the pressure to constantly push beyond our limits and reminds us that listening to the body, setting boundaries and choosing restoration are necessary practices of care.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: “DON’T SLEEP DURING THE REVOLUTION”
Invited as the keynote speaker for the City of Prescott’s MLK Day Opening Ceremony, I delivered a research and story driven address framed around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Don’t Sleep Through the Revolution.” Moving between the history of MLK Day, my own community organizing experience and stories gathered from Prescott residents, I connected King’s call to remain awake and engaged to contemporary issues affecting the local community. The speech concluded with a call to action, encouraging audiences to move beyond commemoration and actively support organizations working toward change in their own communities.
“THE OTHER EFFECTS OF COVID”
Performed at Planet Ant Theatre during One Single Rose’s Trouble Don’t Last, “The Other Effects of COVID” is an original poem reflecting on grief after the loss of my father following his COVID diagnosis. Moving beyond the physical symptoms commonly associated with the virus, the poem considers another lasting effect: learning how to live after someone you love is gone. Through the juxtaposition of joy and pain, memory and loss, the piece explores how grief can exist alongside laughter, love and ordinary life, sometimes arriving and disappearing without warning. While rooted in my personal experience of COVID, the poem speaks more broadly to the complicated, nonlinear experience of loving, losing and continuing to live.
