We were lucky to catch up with Deonna Marie Cattledge recently and have shared our conversation below.
Deonna Marie, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?
I’m one of those individuals who always felt misunderstood, and “different” Growing up I was called “The Black Sheep”. One of my very first memories makes me laugh a little bit looking back. When asked the infamous question that so many of us were asked at some point during our childhood. ” What do you want to be when you grow up? Ironically, my reply to this question was the catalyst for my feeling misunderstood. For me, it wasn’t that deep, just things I’ve always seen for myself. Some of the kids in my class would say things like “I want to be a Doctor!”, or “I want to be a teacher!, like you! When we were asked at home one day my sister said matter-of-factly “I’m going to be a Mother and a Lawyer”. I thought all of them were really cool and impressive. They certainly weren’t things I would or could ever be or do. I noticed very quickly that my reply was always the same and my reaction was always the same too. Whenever anyone asked me what do I want to be when I grow up? I’d take a deep inhale and say I wanted to be a singer of all different styles and languages, I want to be an actress in movies, I want to walk the runway, like the tall models on TV, I want to have my own channel, I want to perform and make music, I want to have my own show and I’ll probably teach at some point. I had it down PACKED! I could say it all in one breath, it had a rhythm to it. I’d stand there smiling big with my shoulders back looking directly into the eyes of whoever asked and do you know almost everybody replied EXACTLY the same? “That’s ambitious young lady, but not realistic, you have to choose only one thing to do in life”. That never made sense to me because I never felt like I would only do one thing. I’m so glad that even as a young girl I never allowed others reply discourage me nor did I allow their unbelief of things that seemed impossible to change my answer.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Deonna Marie. I’ve been singing since I was seven years old, mostly R&B, Gospel, and Pop, but I didn’t pursue music professionally until I was in college. My first professional voice teacher told me I was an Opera singer. I was SHOCKED. I had never listened to it nor heard of any Black people singing that style of music. I did end up going to school for music but for vocal Jazz and I had the privilege of learning from Bobby McFerrin, Take 6, and New York Voices to name a few. However, Mr. Davis continued to push for classical music until I fell in love. I took the next twelve years and studied classical music earning three formal degrees in Music and Vocal/Opera Performance. After graduating with my second degree in vocal performance, I was diagnosed with the largest vocal cyst my surgeon had ever seen in his career. If I ever wanted to sing professionally I had to have the surgery. However, I only had a 50/50 chance I would recover. I had the surgery, and it took 3 years to recover. During this time my voice was silent for the most part. I had a spiritual awakening through the recovery process I was given tools to help others sing from their soul and not just their voice, it was a game changer!
Opera became one of my favorite genres of music to sing and was also the inspiration for my one-woman show that premiered in August of 2023, “The Deonna Marie Experience| From the Crackhouse to the Opera House: Blooming Through Brokenness” a show that I co-wrote with my life and business partner, Elizabeth Spencer. I wrote a compilation of true stories from my life. It features a combination of my original R&B/Soul music as well as Classical, and Gospel, It also includes storytelling, acting, visual effects, and voiceovers to create an immersive experience detailing how I made the journey from the crack house to the opera house.
I am also an Intuitive Vocal Coach. I help my clients from all over the world to fully locate and release the true potential of their voice from the inside out. I teach my clients how to focus on their FEELINGS, rather than their SOUND.. It’s a HUGE difference for both the artist and the audience. I’ve had the privilege of working with amazing artists such as Kansas City-based Singer/Harpist, Calvin Arsenia and star of the soon-to-be-released feature-length film “Cricket’s Requiem”, Sky Dakota Turner, and “America’s Got Talent” and “Queen of the Universe” star, Gingzilla. I not only had the honor to be the vocal coach for the film, “Cricket’s Requiem, but I also had the privilege of singing the theme song for the film “Take My Heart With You”, an original song written by Los Angeles-based songwriter and composer, Justin Burnett. All the above have literally been a dream come true for me and it all happened in 2023! This year has been a year I will never forget, and it’s not over yet!
I also have the privilege of touring with NPR’s “The Moth” and telling one of the stories from my one-woman show. I’ve told my story on The Moth MainStage in Worcester, Dallas, New York, and Toronto. I will also be sharing my story in Tulsa, Oklahoma in November. This experience has taught me so many things and it was the first time I was asked to be on stage, and not perform, which is something I had literally been studying for years. The Moth requires vulnerability and honesty, without notes and without performance, which is a completely new art form that I have grown to absolutely LOVE!
My intention is to use my voice to help raise the consciousness of humanity, Whether I’m singing, telling a story, or teaching my goal is to inspire others to feel better about themselves, to surround themselves with love, and hopefully spread that love to others causing a ripple effect of change. Love, authentic love, unapologetic, judgment-free love is what I’m all about in a nutshell. In my life experiences thus far, I’ve noticed an alarming amount of people who have yet to experience a love like that. I practice this type of love with myself and I make sure to share it with others, If only for a moment.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding part about being both an artist and creative is giving myself permission to think outside the box. I give myself permission to construct my own unique tapestry of my life experience. It was definitely a challenge I had to overcome, to simply believe that I was worthy and enough for other people to want to hear my voice. Belief is really all you need, but if you struggle with that, it can be a difficult journey. If you are reading this, I want you to know that you ARE worthy of your heart’s deepest desires, and once you believe that, you’re more than halfway there. Once I believed in myself, wholeheartedly, I gave myself permission to create my own world and really explore my gifts and talents in new and interesting ways that mattered to me, that gave me purpose.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
One lesson I had to unlearn was that I had to control every part of what my path would look like. I believe that having a vision for what you see or what you want for your life is one thing, but controlling how and when it comes is another. When I let go of attempting to control when and where things will happen or how they should unfold for my life or career the outcome ends up even better than I ever imagined. Who would’ve thought, if you stop trying to control your path the faster your path will reveal itself to you?! Now, I visualize, and I hold the desire close to my heart. I stopped pushing. I no longer force, I simply allow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.deonnamarie.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialdeonnamarie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deonnamarieofficial
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deonna-marie-cattledge-95705241/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCku6H8BKoKHPyoY7H9cosKQ
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@officialdeonnamarie
Image Credits
The Moth Deonna Marie Experience Graphics, Todd E. Clark, Diana Bittle, Craig Allen Webster, REM Productions