We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anquanizia Hall a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Anquanizia , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my latest project, a production of Drinks on Me by Prince Duren. Drinks on Me is a compelling play that explores the dynamics of relationships and the measures individuals will go for the deep affection of love and money. Late in the night, in a juke joint, an arrogant Boogie Bradford makes a secret deal with the bar owner, Sweets. However, what’s done in the dark comes to the light, but more truths unfold than any of them could prepare for.
Putting on the show started from me directing a simple staged reading of Drinks on Me as a prize for Prince Duren for winning the 2021 Mississippi Theatre Association (MTA) Adult Playwright Competition. After our first rehearsal for the staged reading, I knew we had to put on a full production of it and that’s exactly what we did! My company, Rosebud Productions LLC, and Nostalgic Musiq Productions LLC hosted their annual event, Hollywood in Meridian:BLAXPLOITATION, at the historical Temple Theater for the Performing Arts and performed Drinks on Me. Once the event was over, I was sure Drinks on Me was put to rest. However, Randy, owner of Nostalgic Music Productions LLC, had the great idea to collaborate with our local community theatre, Meridian Little Theatre, to take this show to MTA Community Theatre Festival in Tupelo, Mississippi. After speaking with Meridian Little Theatre, they were thrilled with the idea and we worked together to make this happen. We held auditions, cast the show with local actors, got a crew, and took everyone to the statewide theatre competition. I was the director of the production and I had actors ranging from 16 year old all the way to almost 60 years old. At MTA we won:
Outstanding Ensemble Performance
Outstanding Technical Achievement Costume Design: Anquanizia Hall & Randy Ferino
Best Supporting Actress: Lisa Brookins Mercer (Lola)
Best Lead Actor: Randy Ferino (Boogie)
Outstanding Featured Performance: Raylandus Lynch Jr. (Simon)
Warren McDaniel Award for BEST PRODUCTION
We were one of MTA’s 2023 Community Theatre Festival two advancing shows! Next up for us was Nationals, 2023 Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), in Lexington, Kentucky. We not only represented our town, Meridian, but also the ENTIRE state of Mississippi!
On March 1, 2023 we traveled to Lexington and competed at SETC! There we won:
Spirit of the Road Award
Excellence in Performance: Randy Ferino
Excellence in Performance: Lisa Brookins Mercer
RUNNER UP for Region 4A (ALTERNATE)
Words can not express how thankful I am for this experience and how extremely proud I am of the crew and of each actor. The dedication to their characters, the show, and their growth in such a short amount of time is absolutely inspiring. Four out of six cast members were all NEW to the stage and the audience and judges at MTA and SETC had no clue! We worked hard and I can confidently say we deserved every award received. As I type this, my heart is smiling because of how much joy I gained from the experience. This was everyone’s first time attending both MTA Theatre Festival and SETC! From my knowledge, we are the first show to ever perform Black Theatre at SETC’s Community Theatre Festival. Moreover, it was Meridian’s first time being represented at SETC. Such memorable moments we will all never forget. Actors that have never been on the stage prior are now wanting to pursue acting, cast and crew members thanking me on different occasions for the opportunity, actors stating how this show helped them gain their wings back, and more. All glory goes to God! My most recent project is my most meaningful and I pray to continue to positively impact my city and individuals. Special thanks to the Charles L. Young, Sr. Foundation for sponsoring us for MTA and SETC.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Anquanizia Hall and I was born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi. I grew up in church singing and performing in our plays for as long as I can remember, but I never took the arts serious until my senior year in high school. The show that changed my life was the musical Dreamgirls. I was in the show at Meridian Little Theatre my senior year playing the role Effie. During the rehearsal process I began submitting to college. One college in particular required for you to audition. After auditioning for both the musical theatre and acting program, I was accepted into the acting program at AMDA College and Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles, CA. In 2019, I graduated with honors and received my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. After learning and living in the heart of Hollywood, I discovered that I was more than just an actor. God didn’t place a cap upon my creativity nor my gifts, so I put an end to enforcing it upon myself.
Since graduating I’ve been in two feature films you can find on Amazon, directed multiple shows, won several awards for original short films, won awards for my acting, hosted city-wide community events, became and Equity actor, and more. The events I’ve hosted provided a platform for my works of art, as well as the artistic works of other aspiring artists and entertainers, and showcased them for everyone to enjoy. I also started a production company, Rosebud Productions, LLC.
My company offer one-on-one acting sessions, group acting sessions, and special lessons upon request (writing, singing, and directing). You can also hire for stage combat choreography, directing, and writing. Rosebud Productions will be two years old on my birthday, May 30th, this year. We are new and still growing. While in the midst of the growing, I will continue to help, inspire, and teach those around me. With my company I am striving to awaken change within the arts in my community, teach actors how to hone their instruments and yield to the character’s truth, inspire individuals to purse the arts, help people express themselves through the arts, and help those heal through the arts. I also work for Mississippi Whole Schools as a Field Advisor. My job is to go into my two assigned school, make sure arts integration is happening, and help the school continue to integrate arts into the classroom. A new goal for my company, resulting from this job, is to offer work for hire to teach students lessons through art forms (acting, theatre, singing, and film).
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I aspire to inspire. To walk in obedience to God by helping as many people along the way. Therefore, the most rewarding aspects of being an artist/creative is not putting the work out and receiving recognition and/or money but the positive impact and influence the work has itself. When individuals approach me stating my work saved their life, helped them heal, saying they want to be a part of shows, artists expressing their gratitude for being a part of my work and how it changed their life, individuals stating how much my art inspired them, talking about wanting to pursue the arts, eager to learn more, etc. it makes me feel like I am doing exactly what God wants me to do; walking in my purpose. Deuteronomy 30:16 NIV”
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
My mother, superwoman, raised me. I watched her work hard to take care of me and my siblings as a single parent. This resulted in me having a hard time asking for help. I had to learn to ask for help and accept it as well! I had to learn to ask for help and accept it as well! Honestly, it’s something I’m still working on.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.anquaniziahall.com/rosebudproductionsllc
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/anquanizia?igshid=ZjE2NGZiNDQ= AND https://instagram.com/rosebudproductionsllc?igshid=Mzc1MmZhNjY=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RosebudProductionsLLC?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/9tnKe9WG5ys
- Other: IMDb, Music, and More: https://linktr.ee/Anquanizia Original Short Films: CONFESS | A Psychological Thriller https://youtu.be/KIzugFnKx2E Ex’s and Oh’s | A RomCom https://youtu.be/BxRQSUamzIo OTIS | A Dark Comedy https://youtu.be/A2y5IqWtTtw
Image Credits
Grants Photography & Media Services, Films Gone Wild, Travis Mills