What is Kaleidoscope, you ask?
I created this site as a part of my capstone project for the Sweetland Minor in Writing at the University of Michigan. Read on to find out more about this project, diversity in musical theatre, and me!
Q: What is Kaleidoscope?
Kaleidoscope is a resource site for young performers featuring artists of color. As stated above, I created Kaleidoscope as part of my capstone project for my writing minor. Although the site spotlights POC in theatre, I hope that it will serve as an inspiration to all and a reminder that it's possible to accomplish anything you set your mind to!
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Q: Why was it created?
My primary motivation for creating this site was to create a platform where performers from diverse backgrounds could be celebrated for their contributions to our field. I found plenty of blogs and Instagram profiles dedicated to Broadway and fitness, Broadway and style, Broadway and being on the road, Broadway and the ensemble artist...you get the picture! BUT I had a really hard time finding anything devoted to exploring what it meant to be an artist of color. Kaleidoscope is a site that I hope will fill this gap and continue to inspire young generations of performers by demonstrating the unique power and gift of being a person of color on the stage.
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Q: What is Kaleidoscope's connection to The Color Cabaret?
Kaleidoscope was 100% catalysed by my work producing The Color Cabaret, a show at the University of Michigan featuring all of the students of color in the department. The show took hours and hours and hours of work, but it paid off so beautifully. The process showed me just how important it was to continue to place a spotlight on artists of color, allowing them to showcase who they are and not who our industry perceives & forces them to be.
You can read even more about this journey here.
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Q: What is the significance behind the site title?
My friend Sam (interviewed here) helped me come up with this site title! A kaleidoscope is multi-faceted; there's something magical and beautiful to me about how simultaneously regular and unpredictable it is. Looking at a kaleidoscope from different angles yields different results, yet they are all stunning and colorfully unique. That's what I believe being a performer of color is, and that's what I believe we bring to the stage, not only in appearance, but also in experience and artistry.
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