Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brandon Sanders. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brandon , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
You may have a vision for your life, that everyone can’t see. That’s okay, just know that you have to lean into your vision more than anybody else. No one will believe in your dream like you. I have always trusted my intuition. Specifically, I could share a moment when I had to take a risk to apply for the University of Houston. Initially, the school denied my application. I was devastated, but I did not let that stop me. I took the necessary actions to write an appeal letter to the university. At the time, I was a graduating senior from a collegiate high school, and I knew that I was only denied because of my SAT scores. I took the risk to write that appeal letter, and now I will be graduating from the School of Theatre and Dance this may with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts- concentration in Theatre Acting. If I could speak to anybody who has a dream, I would tell them to never be afraid to take those risks, because it could be the thing standing in between you and your destiny!
Brandon , 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?
After graduating high school, I knew that the only thing I wanted to study in college was performance. I was trained in music, but I could not let my story or my voice go unheard. I made the choice to study theatre acting, because it was what I knew that would allow me to craft amazing performances. I have studied classical drama, the history of theatre, and of course Shakespeare. One unforeseen obstacle that affected me would be I am the only black acting student graduating in the class of 2023. My entire four years has been centered around growing as an actor with my ensemble or group of actors who would all enter and graduate the program together. My ensemble has been absolutely amazing in uplifting me during times where I would come to class crying because I didn’t know how I would pay my rent, let alone pay my tuition. Along the way, I noticed that I would often have to stifle my voice in spaces that I was the only black person. It did not stop me from speaking my true voice, but even in my last semester I am constantly aware of the conversations that I want to have but may not feel that anyone in the room would understand my point of view. Yet, I have still stood up for what I believe, studied black playwrights and the trailblazers of the black theatre movement. Most importantly being the only black actor from class of 2023, pushed me to craft my own lane at the school. My spoken word poetry really allowed me to take up space at the university for students to see that you can be a multi hyphenated performer like me and use different avenues of performance to share your story. My spoken word poetry has allowed me to perform for the likes of Lin-Manuel Miranda, The mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner, as well as the President of UH Renu Khator.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My main goal is to own my own multimedia production studio. After performing at many different events in Houston and surrounding places, I realized that supply and demand for a performer is content. I want to own a space that creatives feel excited to be a part of. A space that allows for actors, musicians, poets, and photographers would be allowed to create innovate stories at. Right now, I am still looking to work at a studio space already in business so I could learn more about the behind the scenes of the infrastructure. I think there is more than enough room for me to add my own production studio, and because I am not originally from Houston, I want to expand my studios from the DFW area to Houston.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
When I was deciding on what to study in college, I ran across a lot of mentors that thought I should pick one thing to study such as theatre or music. The vision I had for my life did not only include performing one type of art. As an artist, I create from the center of my being, so when I knew I wanted to perform poetry just as much as theatre I knew I would get some pushback. We have to come to understand that the youth of today is the next generation of leaders, doctors, and lawyers. My ministry doesn’t stop for one group of people, so I will continue to craft performances that incorporate art that can be consumed by anyone. I recently performed for Frank Black Middle School in Houston- they have many arts programs that youth can get involved in. I want to be able to teach kids how to write poetry similar to the experience I had in an after school program during elementary school. As well as performing in upcoming Shakespeare productions at the University of Houston. Any performers who may be inspired from hearing my story should know they have the ability to make their dreams become reality. I’m just a young boy from the westside of Fort Worth, Texas. In the hood, I didn’t see too many avenues to express what I was going through and that’s when I began writing. I truly believe that performing saved me. Some of the same kids I grew up with are still in the hood, and have resulted to everything other than chasing their dreams.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @poet.bs
- Facebook: The Brandon Sanders
- Youtube: YouTube.com/@PurposeOverPerformance