We recently connected with Sardia Robinson and have shared our conversation below.

Sardia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

When I was in college I was raising two boys and living pay check to pay check. One month I couldn’t pay my rent. One of my classmate overheard me talking to a friend about it, and the next day she gave me a check for $1,000. I cried like a baby. No one had ever done anything like that for me before. It changed the way I viewed the world. I shifted my outlook and realized that yes of course the world has a lot of bad in it, but it also has incredible kindness. And where I put my focus, matters. Acts of kindness are what truly matter in this lifetime.

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 Sardia Robinson. I’m an actress and a writer. I write stories that affect the way audiences view the Jamaican experience. I was born in Kingston, Jamaica and graduated from Columbia College, Chicago, where I earned a BA in theater. My acclaimed one woman play FROM A YARDIE TO A YANKEE, is a gripping, gut-wrenching true story of my courageous life journey from the murderous streets of Kingston to the deadly consequences of Chicago’s drug wars and has had successful runs from LA, New York, Atlanta, Jamaica to The Bahamas. I won the Innovative Woman in Theatre award from the Hollywood Fringe Festival and was voted the Best Solo Production in Los Angeles by Broadway World.

I knew I wanted to be an actress as a young child. I would re-enact all the commercials on tv and act out all the scenes on the tv show Kung Fu.. Being a Jamaican-American actress comes with challenges. Parts of the industry want me to fit into a certain box and speak a certain way which I refuse to do. So I create my own work and just do me. I love being on stage and in front of the camera–it’s my happy place. But no matter what, I will always be my authentic self.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

To tell a good story. I am a storyteller at heart like my grandmother before me. I carry her and my aunties and my sisters with me on my creative journey. My mission is to stay fulfilled and happy and I feel both when I am working on a story. And it is work and anyone who thinks otherwise is in for a surprise. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite!! Working on my craft gives me purpose and brings me joy. And that is my mission.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is bringing a story to life. I want to build worlds and take people there. I want the audience or reader to see my Jamaica and my Chicago. I want you to taste and smell and see the world that my characters are in. When you are pulling for that dyslexic little girl because you see a bit of yourself in her–that is my biggest reward.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidras/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sardiam/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sardia-robinson-866a939/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/aidras
• Other: www.jamaicansinhollywood.com

Image Credits
Headshot credit: Dana Patrick