Meet Jaida Foreman

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jaida Foreman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jaida below.

Jaida , so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

Resistance. Existence. The experience of my existence as a form of resistance. I am a Queer Gender Non Conforming Black Native American. Despite witch hunts, scalping, paper genocide, ETC… I’m still here. My ancestry not only survives, but thrives because I actively choose joy in the face of despair. In spite of it all, I still have life… it might as well be a joyful one.

My mother always instilled in me to never let anyone or anything steal my joy. And the idea that joy could be stolen, that people or energies would try to take something that is so innately free, struck me so deeply. This token of advice was vital in my realizing that joy is something to be cultivated; something to be practiced.

When the pandemic hit and NYC shut down that fateful March 2020, I started looking at joy as a routine. I carved out specific moments to find joy in my body, in my environment, in my heart, in how I felt, in my soul and my experience as a whole. Through my day to day, I figured out what joy meant to me and how to recreate that feeling.

Joy is a friend and confidant I can rely on because I find constant ways to invite joy into my life.

Especially as someone who has experienced depression, CPTSD, the death of my grandfather, brother, dog and Dad all within the span of two years; I know it is all to easy to fall victim to negative thinking. The thing is, in my cultivation of joy, I made a pact with life.

In living, I discovered life wants me to live.

So, I do. I live as joyfully as I can because it’s the least I owe to myself. Optimism, healthy positivity, is a call to action. The first step to actively choosing serenity over hardship.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

In this part of my artistic journey, I’ve been auditioning a lot more and overcoming the critic in my head that asks “Why should I bother?”

I went to AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy) for college. In complete honesty, the whole experience was pretty traumatizing for me. By the time I graduated, I wanted nothing to do with acting, singing, dancing or any aspect of performing. Nearly 10 years, several open mics (a few of which I curated) and a pandemic later, I’m happy to say I’m partaking in the craft again. From background work, to songwriting and being in music videos; I’ve found that the love I had for this work simply never left.

I’m not doing this for anyone else.

The praise and applause and validation are not my main goal. Though, of course it’s amazing to be recognized for who I am. But… that’s just it, I perform and entertain because it is so innate to me. It brings me joy and the only time it hasn’t is when I felt the harsh judgments of people I’d hoped would support me. If there’s anything my hiatus taught me, it’s that external validation does not fuel internal purpose. Taking the focus off of other people to make MY dream come true is truly what helped me come back to myself and this craft I love.

I recently wrapped filming on Flossy (directed by Kendra Dennis) in which I got to play my first lead role in anything EVER. As a theater trained actor, it was such a dream come true to finally work on a movie AND be lead. You can find out more about the film at:

https://www.kallherken.com/flossy?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabKoZanVD9J7HSAjtN0JNh5zigzPUq4K8of-NSiAYSIWQbT2yZCT_ux7zM_aem_1Blct2JwghixLyOENFTK0w

Upcoming, from May 22nd-June 1st at the St. Luke’s Theater, I’ll be playing several characters in Hamlet isn’t Dead’s production of Cymbeline (dir. by Valerie Peter Chong). I recently joined the HID Resident Acting Company in August of 2024 and I’ve loved every minute of it! Being a HIDiot has revolutionized the way I experience Shakespeare. Come see my cast mates and I put a fresh spin on one of Shakespeare’s greatest hits!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hamlet-isnt-dead-presents-cymbeline-tickets-1332630235909?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=PAY2xjawJ0eRRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp_ENDJ7EZ3VESbClwXzsKmQEaJbCOMATHxbu_5ZYdoZScjonrousSFjpwr1R_aem_lr1vsrdgLjlDFLrWAAbWnA

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Tenacity, photographic recall and the love of study/research. While I know not everyone has a photographic memory, the other two skills that this craft demands are entirely cultivatable. There is no better advice I can give than to stand firm in one’s self and to return to what you love ALWAYS. Find ways to fall in love with the research. Above all, always return to self. Remain centered in who you are and if you don’t know who that is yet, take the time to discover.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I feel overwhelmed, I first acknowledge that feeling. Because I want to get as much out of life that I can, there was a time that I put more on my plate than I could handle. Though, thankfully, I’m getting much better at maintaining and adhering to the boundaries of my capacity.

Nonetheless, for those moments of overwhelm, I name the feeling. I give it space to breathe. I ask myself why I’m feeling that way and do my best to wait for a response from my inner self. Usually the reason I find myself overwhelmed is because I’ve been moving too fast. So, I let myself be still for as long as I can bear.

Andy Leech, one of my professors from AMDA, (and the reason I was able to make it through my 2nd semester) led me through a profound moment during class one day. While dissecting “The Sound of Music” another classmate was singing, he brought our attention to the lyrics “so I Pause and I Wait and I Listen…” The emphasis he put on the importance of taking the time to think, let the thought land and then let the thought motivate action stayed with me and followed me long after that lesson. So much so that I felt compelled to have it tattooed on my chest. A forever reminder that it’s always okay to Pause. Wait. And Listen.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leilanidadivine?igsh=MXE3NGNmM2F6d3Nkbw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Other: https://gofund.me/56a0c314

Image Credits

Bjorn Bolinder (Headshot, yellow background)

Joao Cueto (Flossy Poster)

Kai Richards (Flossy BTS)

Ash Yip (Reading of Not For Your Consumption))