We were lucky to catch up with Shondra Marie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shondra thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I don’t believe that I have a “most meaningful” project. I have several in different stages of my life. There are actually 2 that I will share:

Performing as Laura in The Glass Menagerie with Jeannette Clift George as Amanda is one of the seminal moments in my life. I had moved from Tennessee to Texas in 1993 to work with the A.D. Players. This show was the spring of 1998, about 6 months after I was married. Dr. Jim Young was our Guest Director. He challenged us to take a notebook and write all the lines that we had as well as anything that anyone said about us on one side of the notebook. On the other, we were to write what we thought, felt, remembered, a fact, anything that sparked our minds, our hearts, our bodies. It was there that I realized how strong Laura actually was – to be able to walk about all day in order to convince her mother that she was at “work.” There was a fragility, but there was also a deep strength. I remember an audience member asking Mrs. George during a talk-back why a Christian theatre would do a show like Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. She responded by saying that in order to appreciate and understand God’s love and light, you needed to experience what a world without hope could be. For there is no light without darkness.

The second was the spring of 2022. I was doing a style of show I had never, ever done before. Dog Act by Liz Duffy Adams. The language, the character, the world were all new to me. My fellow cast and crew mates lifted me up over and over again. During Opening Week, I basically lost my voice. I had an emergency visit with my vocal doctor and was told that I had “reversible damage” to my vocal chords, but that I needed to be completely silent for a week. This wasn’t feasible. I worked with my vocal therapist on what types of “warm-ups” I could do – whether voiced or un-voiced (un-voiced was what I needed to do). Since I could only talk onstage throughout those 7 days, I texted everyone – my husband, my Stage Manager, my Director. I had to change the key of my song on the fly without ever rehearsing it. This is the only show that I have ever gone over every line before every show, and I had to do that in my head. I felt terror about my voice, especially since I was singing 1st Soprano in The Sound of Music later in the summer. My saving grace on and offstage were the cast and crew who lifted me, who encouraged me, who stayed so present with me that I forgot anything except the world that we jointly had created.

Although I have done a lot of musical theatre (and absolutely love this art form), these 2 stories just happen to involve plays.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been performing in the theatre professionally since 1993 and consistently since 1983. Although I had done some school plays in Elementary School, I didn’t really know about the theatre world until I saw my best friend’s little sister do a show with the Jackson Recreation & Parks Department Children’s Theatre. I told my parents, “I want to do that!” I’ve never wavered from that belief – even when that desire is tested time and time again. For the rest of Junior High and High School, I performed with JRPD’s theatre program. I went to college and got a BA in Communication Arts: Theatre (since that’s the degree that Union University had), with minors in both Secondary Eduction and English. I have actually used my Theatre and English degrees the most.

I was homeschooled from 8th-12th grade. There were 3 of us that started at Union the same year. Even though our ACT scores were extremely high, they weren’t sure about us – if we would “make” it. By our Junior year, they gave a homeschooled student a full 4-year scholarship. Those of us who were the “pioneers,” so to speak, had proved ourselves. I will admit that that is something I feel I must often do – prove myself to those who don’t believe in me. There are those who still don’t believe in me and may never believe in me. At those times, I remind myself of what I have accomplished and treasure the words of those who have had incredible success in their fields and have affirmed that I am on the right path, that I am talented, and that I have what it takes. Doubt comes to us all. It tries to devour me at times. But, every time I feel like giving up, there is something inside that will not rest. Acting/Singing is what I want to do. It is part of me. It is a talent that God has given to me that I must continue to develop. This is a hard path. There are many times of darkness, but there are also brilliant, shining moments of joy and peace and even worship in the sacred space of creating.

I have actually used these gifts in a way I never knew existed. I have been working with Medical Students since 2004, performing as a Standardized/Simulated Patient as well as a Physical Exam Teaching Associate. I think of it as scripted improv. You have your script, but, since you never know how they might ask a question, you have to be able to connect pieces of the script and answer. Plus, you normally have some sort of chief complaint or ailment, and you must showcase that in a real and relatable manner, while at the same time listen to them in order to give them feedback on their interpersonal skills. I never thought when I first started that I would still be doing this, but I come back again and again because of the Medical Students, because of their Faculty, because of the desire they have to truly help those who come to see them. Training the next generations of medical personnel is incredibly fulfilling, yet, if I had to choose, I would tread the boards or be in front of the camera in a heartbeat. However, where I live, I don’t have to choose. I get to continue to sow into the lives of these wonderful, beautiful students, and perform in theatre and continue to work towards booking more film/TV.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As silly as this may seem, I’ve had to unlearn the adage of never turning your back to the audience. In theatre, yes, you have to adjust for sightlines, you have to make sure that you and others can be seen, but never turning your back to the audience creates very awkward crab-like movements onstage. Maybe your character is trying to hide. Maybe they are skulking in the shadows. Maybe there is a magical moment for you to be hidden. What is real? What is the most natural movement? Are you speaking and you need to be seen? Are you turning your back deliberately? For it to always be stuck in your head that you cannot move normally, that you must never, ever turn your back to the audience does a disservice to the the lived lives of the characters you are inhabiting. People are complex. The audience isn’t obtuse. Trust the process. Trust the character. If your director asks you to do something you don’t believe serves the character, talk to them. Don’t be obstinate or just do it anyway. Communicate. If there is an impasse, trust that you and your character can find a reason for that movement to happen. I am not speaking about being unsafe in the creative space; I am referring to the fact that people and characters are malleable. All of us can find a reason to either stay grounded and face the audience or to turn away.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Quite simply, it is the place where I feel most connected to my Creator. #inthemidstofcreation is something I connected with before the advent of hashtags. Creating is ethereal and heartbreaking and uplifting and difficult all at the same time. It is joy. It is grief. It is being alive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shondramarie.com
• Instagram: @shondramarie520
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShondraMarieActress
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shondramarie/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/shondramarie
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shondramarie
• Other: While I have a LinkedIn and YouTube, I do not use them much. My website is under construction, because I am the one that works on it, and I haven’t had time to figure out why some links are broken.

Image Credits
Original photo: Todd Boring (backstage at Little Women: The Musical, A.D. Players at the George Theatre First 2 Headshots: Kristine Canterbury or Canterbury Photography (she said in the release that you can use either) 3rd photo (camera shown to left): someone else in the Angel of Mercy cast 4th photo: Screenshot from Dave DeJohn’s Palliate film 5th photo: Shondra Marie (selfie after a 2 show day of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever) 6th photo: The Glass Menagerie, A.D. Players at the George Theatre 7th photo: Dog Act, Main Street Theater Houston 8th photo: Screen shots from A Teacher’s New Normal to show the Zoom-style short