We recently connected with Sharaina Turnage and have shared our conversation below.

Sharaina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew that I wanted to pursue a creative/artstic path professionally because other people saw it in me. I’ve always been a performer but didn’t know exactly what I was doing. I was never afraid to get in front of people and act on an impulse. I can link this back to my seventh grade English class. We had an assignment to write and read a Halloween short story in front of the class. Of course no one wanted to volunteer because pre-teens. I however proceeded to pull a chair to the front of the class, stand on top of it and gave everything I had. I let out an audible scream that had security running to our classroom and my teacher shooing them away to allow me to finish my story. She immediately told my mother that year I should be in some kind of drama program.

The next year, my music teacher decided that the eighth grade class would put on a musical show to perform for the younger grades that year. Having pre-school and kindergarten kids run up to me after the show put the idea of children’s theater into my head but again, my music teacher told my mother that I really need to find a theater program. It stuck.

Sharaina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a black woman born, raised and still living on the Southside of Chicago. There are a lot of stereotypes about where I’m from and what my life looks like. That alone has always lead me in my decisions on what I wanted to do and how I represent myself. I never blended into the crowd. I never folded under peer pressure. Always wanting to do things no one expects me to do. I have always been “different”. Being different is what pointed me in the direction of theater.

Theater was the perfect place for me. Theater allowed me to escape and tell stories in a grand way. I wasn’t different when I was on stage. I was equal to everyone else. I felt I belonged. I do belong. By the time I hit college (originally going for an Early Childhood Education degree satisfy my parents but switched to Theater Performance as soon I got to campus) I solidified my choice in pursuing acting. My university experience itself was very unique and I am glad that I chose the program I did. There was this real life doubled edge sword that I had to deal with being one of a handful of black students in the programs. Always cast for the “black” shows but never leading in the “other” shows. I was always conflicted and frustrated as a young artist because I wanted to be given the opportunity to do it all. I was able to take an experimental theater course that opened my mind and body but I always questioned why I never saw examples of black people in the work. Why was I the only one in the class? On the same coin, I was able to travel abroad to Suriname, South America to study a form of theater done by slaves called The Du Theater with mostly black students. Those connections are still strong as ever. I eventually graduated with my B.A. in Theater Performance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. My mission immediately was to dominate in the performance spaces we normally do not see black people in.

Fast forward to 2017 when I see an Facebook audition post for a shadow puppetry show of the life of a black Southside poet by the name of Gwendolyn Brooks. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had never seen an audition post that was asking for ONLY black performers and especially not for puppetry. This audition was with the internationally known Manual Cinema. I had never done any puppeteering before that moment so I really was winging it. I can say to this day, that was the best audition experience I had ever had. I did not book that initial audition, however, a month later was asked to audition for a different show and booked it. I was now officially in the puppetry world. That was not in my original career path but hey, still doing the thing no one would expect me to be doing. Touring the country and the world (Scotland and Singapore so far) performing in puppetry shows.

More recently I begin to think about clowning. Again, where are the black performers in the clowning space? Are all clowns happy? Do I have to perform tricks? These curiosities lead me to being apart of a short lived clown troupe called “Chi Clowns”. We devised and created short pieces performed at Physical Theater Festival in Chicago and were commissioned by Free Street theater to create a summer outdoor show that would tour to parks around the Southside of Chicago. Doing the thing no on expects me to do.

What I am most proud of right now as an artist is not only the connections made but proudly exclaiming whenever I am in a room that yes I represent the Southside of Chicago proudly. I am artist doing what I want and have the support when I am ready to expand and create my own.

My overall inspiration is Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi was always in spaces no one really wanted her to be in as a dark skinned woman in the entertainment business however she proved time and time again that she can do anything. Whatever challenged you think you are presenting can be easily conquered. I strive for the freedom as a performer. I do not want to be pigeonholed into a category.

My next quest if writing my own show and performing it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is finally showing family and friends what you have been spending weeks talking about and doing.

I also feel like networking is more fun as a creative. Sometimes just showing up and being in a room is all you need to land the next audition or have a group of people ready to help you create something.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Society needs to realize that being a creative is in fact a real job. There needs to be baseline respect specifically in the United States. Think about it. Without creatives you won’t have theater, movies, tv, social media, commercials, shows, ads, magazines, designs, clothes, etc. The things people need to escape from their world.

So see shows. Go to creative workshops. Donate to the artist directly. Donate to the theaters. Volunteer.

Try not asking , “ Yeah but what is your real job.”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Sharaina_Latrice
• Youtube: SharainaLatrice

Image Credits

Image 1 & 8 – Manual Cinema
Image 2 – Free Street Theater/ Luis Cardenas
Image 3 – Luis Cardenas