Jewelle Blackman, Mus카지노 게임 컬렉션01, will be entertaining audiences on Broadway this summer in the lead role of Persephone in the hit production of Hadestown. She shares what she loves about musical theatre, her early days on stage at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s, and how it카지노 게임 컬렉션s possible for an introvert to step into the spotlight 카지노 게임 컬렉션 and love it.
For Jewelle Blackman, a Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s graduate in theatre and film, years of professional investment paid a tidy dividend this spring. That카지노 게임 컬렉션s when she took over the lead role of Persephone in the Tony- and Grammy-winning Broadway production of Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell. Based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Hadestown explores the fraught love of Persephone and her husband, Hades, the lord of the underworld, and includes multiple themes that resonate powerfully in the 21st century. Ms. Blackman, a Toronto native, began dancing, singing, and playing violin and piano at a young age. She performed in productions at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s before completing her bachelor카지노 게임 컬렉션s degree and then continued with stage, television, and film work in Canada and the U.S., including three summers at Stratford. She is an original cast member in Hadestown, playing one of the Fates starting in 2019; she also became the understudy for Persephone until landing the part full-time.
Playing Persephone must be thrilling. How did you land the role?
It카지노 게임 컬렉션s the first time a lead role has been up in Hadestown in years, so it카지노 게임 컬렉션s a big deal. When I knew it was coming available, I was very forward and sent an email to my director, the choreographer, and the musical director. I titled it 카지노 게임 컬렉션Having the audacity to ask카지노 게임 컬렉션 카지노 게임 컬렉션 to ask for what I want and need. They had auditions on a Friday, and I found out on the Monday I had the role. It was amazing. That was the role I wanted when I auditioned for the show in 2017. I said, 카지노 게임 컬렉션I카지노 게임 컬렉션m going to do that role someday.카지노 게임 컬렉션
Can you describe Persephone and how you relate to her?
I love her range. She experiences the highest highs and the lowest lows. She카지노 게임 컬렉션s very layered. I haven카지노 게임 컬렉션t seen a range for a woman character like that in a very long time. And at the heart of it all, she still loves Hades and there카지노 게임 컬렉션s still the hope they can reconnect. Having been in a relationship that started with a lot of love and passion and got to a point that you almost don카지노 게임 컬렉션t recognize the person anymore but still see glimpses of the person you fell in love with, I can definitely relate to Persephone.
Hadestown is rooted in ancient Greek mythology. How is it relevant to 2022?
Climate change is one thing. When Persephone goes down below, the weather is horrible, and we see what카지노 게임 컬렉션s going on with our world as it카지노 게임 컬렉션s warming up and how that카지노 게임 컬렉션s affecting the ecosystem. I카지노 게임 컬렉션d also say the themes of hope, persevering, and making choices to survive and then living with that. This is not some easy musical fare, but it카지노 게임 컬렉션s so beautifully told and the music is so stunning that it카지노 게임 컬렉션s easy to digest.
Had you always planned a stage career?
My intent was never to be an entertainer; I wanted to be an entertainment lawyer. I did a production of A Chorus Line with Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s Musical Theatre and got huge accolades. Then I saw The Lion King in Toronto in the summer of my first year at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s and that changed the trajectory of my life completely.
What are your most vivid memories of Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s?
I remember walking around that campus and those buildings and always feeling, 카지노 게임 컬렉션This is a beautiful school.카지노 게임 컬렉션 Being involved in Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s musical theatre was where I got ready for all the other things I would do later. And I got to sing with a jazz band. I had a lot of freedom at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s to try things out.
What do you like about performing?
I consider myself a bit of an introvert, but if you put me on stage, it카지노 게임 컬렉션s, 카지노 게임 컬렉션Everybody, look at me.카지노 게임 컬렉션 I think I always had that as a child 카지노 게임 컬렉션 it was something innate in me. It카지노 게임 컬렉션s just a release, to put your all into being another person. It카지노 게임 컬렉션s the freedom you have; you카지노 게임 컬렉션re putting parts of you into the character to make it more authentic, parts of yourself you might be scared to reveal otherwise. It카지노 게임 컬렉션s cathartic to just let yourself go like that.
Why does musical theatre appeal to you so strongly?
There카지노 게임 컬렉션s this world of fantasy and different kinds of possibility. You카지노 게임 컬렉션re in a different realm of reality. Imagine if, when our emotions became too much or we were feeling so ecstatic, we broke into song. I love that about musical theatre.
Along with playing Persephone, you카지노 게임 컬렉션re writing two commissioned musicals. What are they about?
Boy Boy and the Magic Drum is from a children카지노 게임 컬렉션s book by Machel Montano, a famous Trinidadian recording artist. It카지노 게임 컬렉션s about a little boy with his drum who rallies everyone, about coming together and not giving up. My newest commission, The Trials and Triumphs of a Tar Baby, was inspired by Toni Morrison카지노 게임 컬렉션s novel The Bluest Eye. It카지노 게임 컬렉션s about two dark-skinned women growing up. I guess both are a lot about race; it카지노 게임 컬렉션s a lot of me.
