We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Simone Brown. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Simone below.

Alright, Simone thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

In a way it was something that I always knew and found joy in. When I was very young I always enjoyed putting on little talent shows for family and getting opportunities to sing for people. I ended up going to school for Classical Voice, prior to making that decision I had often been told to try gospel or jazz and even in theater there were often set expectations about who was allowed to play what role. I had never seen a Black Opera singer so I did not realize it was an option until I worked in the children’s chorus on a production of Carmen.
I was inspired again to create my Princess Party business when I was rejected from another company that did not need a Tiana at the time. I felt completely qualified otherwise and what was stopping this company again was who was “allowed” to play what role. It inspired me to create my own space for what I would have loved to see as a kid and give myself and other Black performers in the area an opportunity to work freely in the Princess Performer space.

Simone, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I wear many hats but primarily I am a performing artists. I grew up doing musical theater, was classically trained in voice and now have used that training to do theater professionally along with concert and recital work. I also run and perform with my Princess Party company Black Princess Parties DMV. I started the company in 2020 after being rejected from another company in the area that did not need a Tiana performer. It was the first time in a long while that I felt my race rather than my qualifications was the reason for not being hired. I then spoke with family members and friends with young children to ask them if that would be a service they would be interested in. With their encouragement I bought my first costume, Belle, and created an Instagram page. With the help from a business mentor, Jade White, over the pandemic I built out a full business plan, website and began booking parties
I am really proud of the fact that I am making a living as an artist. When I was young and imagined what my adult life would look like it was admittedly much more cut and dry. I thought I could only focus on one thing to be successful but I have found so much joy using all parts of myself in the art that I make.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I went to conservatory for my Masters degree. The focus of these kinds of programs is building vocal technique, resume and ultimately a career in classical voice and opera. Other types of music and performance were not generally spoken about and an unwritten rule was working on music outside of Opera was not allowed and sometimes outwardly discouraged. I felt like if I did any kind of performing that was not classical I could no longer call myself an opera singer. After I graduated, I followed the path that was set out for me in school with Young Artist Program audition season including recording pre-screening videos, submitting applications that cost for the year over $300 and hopefully booking some auditions. After my first season of this, I had not booked a single audition and I was feeling extremely discouraged. I missed performing and found myself reaching back to theater to fill that void. For a few years as I tried to have my foot in both worlds, it was hard for me to find the joy. While I was booking theater jobs, I was booking opera auditions and not landing the roles. I felt like I was failing again. The pivot I had to make was looking back to the person who said they wanted to be an artist. When I was a kid I didn’t care what I did on stage just that I got to be there. This pivot has allowed me to find the joy in everything I do and really appreciate every opportunity that comes my way.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew earlier in my creative journey to ask my friends for help. There is only so much you can learn in school and often times those skills are not transferable. I have friends that studied other subjects and have been doing other things longer than me. Because they know me well, their advice has inspired me to be more confident in my own abilities and to take chances on myself I may not have in the past.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.simonebrownsoprano.com, www.blackprincessdmv.com
• Instagram: @simoneami @blackprincessdmv