We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Grace Porter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Grace, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Ever since I was a little girl, my grandmother would sing and dance with me. We had an extremely close bond over music, musicals and tap dancing. When I was 10 years old my brother was in a summer musical theater camp, and after watching one of his perfommances, I tapped on my mothers shoulder begging her to let me join; “You’re not old enough yet.” she told me. But the following year, I was able to audition and for three summers after that, I would participate in Summer Musical Theater Camp. When I was on that stage performing, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life doing it forever.
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 Grace Porter, and I was born and raised in Pasadena, California. I have always felt a calling to be an entertainer (whether it be TV, film or stage). I received my Bachelors degree at Pepperdine University, and my Masters in Acting at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. When I graduated from Tisch I signed with an agent and ,manager and began my pursuit of acting professionally. A couple months after I graduated, I booked my first play. I was staring in an all Black, female version William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. It was and still is one of the highlights of my career. Since then, I’v had roles on Madame Secretary, Prodigal Son, and Blue Bloods. My biggest role came when I was cast as the legendary Dr. Betty Shabazz in the critically acclaimed television show The Godfather of Harlem. I have also been in movies such as Clock (On Hulu) and Spoiler Alert. I made my Shakespeare in the Park debut in Richard III and shortly after that, I made my Broadway Debut in the revival of Death of a Salesman.
Something that Im really proud of is being able to step into Dr. Betty Shabazz shoes and bring her story and bravery to life on camera. I think she is a phenomenal women with such depth and determination. Her contributions to the Muslim community and her advocacy of education in black communities is inspiring to me. Im honored to have been chosen to tell her story.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
One of my biggest goals as an artist is to cultivate safe spaces for Black artists to share their work and to host workshops and informational seminars in hopes to educate and mentor other actors new to the industry. I would also love to create a space where Black actors, directors, and writers collaborate on new projects for a future showcase. I think it’s important for our community to see work created for and by us!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson that I had to unlearn was that, as a black woman, I am allowed to take us space. That I am allowed to advocate for myself. That I am allowed to be unapologetically BLACK! I have grown up in creative spaces feeling like my input didn’t matter. I had been made to believe that I had no right to take up space, and I had to shrink myself in order to be seen as easy to work with. I have let that go, and once I did, I have found a beautiful freedom that allows me to collaborate and create fully and authentically.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @gracelandsworld
