We recently connected with Terrace Wyatt, Jr. and have shared our conversation below.
Terrace, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Reading lots and lots of plays; studying the aspects of what’s given in order to find your own path to tell your stories the best creative, profound, and influential way as possible. Everytime I read a play from many playwrights, their world grinds my gears of brainstorming my own work.
Another one is music! My life has been filled with stress, major anxiety, depression, things that brings me down as if I’m dying with no resurrection. However, music is always my medicine just as much as writing my feeling onto the pages. Specifically I listened to all kinds of music but one of my personal, adrenaline, favorite artist that inspires me to be who I am as a person and as a creator is Chris Brown. He’s been my influence SINCE he started in 2005; he’s such a pro of lifting you up though his vocals and his journey he tells through his music and most iconically his concerts because his shows are like no other concerts, especially in the black community. Breezy takes you on a wild ride through his performances in a musical theatre style. Despite from his controversial past (THAT I’M TIRED OF EXPLAINGING TO PEERS.), I’ve been by his side through his career and still to this day because he inspires me to think big as the best triple threat (actor, singer, dancer) performer I can be; a showstopper.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Fun fact; I’m a Capricorn – Sunrise: Cancer and Moonrise: Scorpio. These signs that I’ve discovered about myself has been making total sense because I’m very sensitive that keeps me hidden from people who wants to get to know me; trust issues. On the other hand, I’m an open minded person who wants to know everything about EVERYTHING. Full of curiosity that leads to deep conversations which makes total sense in my writing as a playwright. I can be sensitive with my appearance but never in my creative process because I’m fully confident and unapologetic of what I want to bring to the stage that everyone can either relate or not relate, but willing to be open about the topics given to start eternal conversations. Theatre is my life. Theatre is my therapy. Theatre is my church.
Theatre has been in my blood since I was born but I hadn’t noticed it until MIDDLE school. It was a hobby at first until I felt it deep in my soul through high school, it’s my destiny!
Actor, Producer, Director, and Writer are my infinity stones that makes me inevitable; big names (dead or alive) before me have been paving the way of making things happen; building a platforms for more creators like them to continue on the legacy. Just to name a few: Tyler Perry, Chris Brown, Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Jelly Roll, August Wilson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda have driven my engine fuel to be the best me and learn to enjoy life.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Learning = It’s okay to not know everything, regardless the age range, if you’re willing to listen and take notes, then you’re not missing out because you’ve given the time to learn something new 24/7. It could be things you were meant to know early on in your childhood but never had the access to that knowledge and had to keep it in the unknown space in your brain until you do. The internet is there with the answers but ain’t always the answer to everything because it’s better to know the truth from somewhere else than a lie that can cause a mess. I made my professional debut with my play “Black Man, MO [Missouri]” under Theatre Community Fund of Kansas City’s The Crescendo Awards – a festival of celebrating and witnessing NEW WORK from underrepresented local artists in Kansas City. Recently the past few weeks in June it was my professional debut as the producer, director, and writer; I’ve learned SO MUCH outside of acting and was an exciting fun experience that I will do again real soon! I learned as the director is all eyes on me at all times, versus as an actor your eyes are on the director for specific things to do on stage and I had to break that barrier for me to express my creativity as the boss. Same as the producer when it comes to managing the budget, casting, hiring stage crew, tech crew, designers, marketing, that portion of the job was the biggest one I’ve been amazed upon than directing and writing because without producers, there wouldn’t be no show.
2. Patience = Patience is your best friend. Even if you were told that life is short, that doesn’t mean rush everything. Time and life has its own limits; we just live in them; each of us have one life and we got to take the time to cherish every second of it because if not, you’ll look back in your early days and regret it and most definitely when your time is up. When you have goals that you want to get done, always be in the moment to appreciate how far you’ve gone to get their as you’re in the process to the next level of your future.
3. YOU = Life is full of mysteries, love, joy, hell, etc. but at the end of the day it’s you and only you that makes the chapters of your own book because no one else is gonna do it for you. Working towards my goals in my twenties has been an adventure of figuring out who I am as a person. I live for the arts because there’s no limit of freedom of speech through the interpretation of a play, film, dance, portraits, fashion, etc.; the arts is the place to express yourself in your own creative style that can impact society in a positive and inspirational way. In order to be true to what you love, check yourself before shooting your shot with anyone, taking more risks to your life goals, and so forth. It’s important to lookout for yourself, physically and mentally because it’s easy to fall apart when you haven’t sort things out with yourself. But as long as you’re willing to get up and keep moving forward, that’s all that matters.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
I had a decent childhood and growing up in church was the biggest part of me that never left me to this day. As much as I enjoy going to church now versus back as a kid when I hated it nor understood why, it took me until college to understand and getting know God officially. Just me and him through my phases of fear, anxiety, frustration, confusion, heartbreaks, etc. God is my guidance to live the life that’s made for me and my family to appreciate. In order to reach that light, it’s full of assignments that’ll lead towards the good life. Ever since the pandemic, graduating from William Jewell College (Liberty, MO) with my B.F.A. in Theatre I’ve been booked and blessed from performing one show to another. non-stop. I never questioned it, still not question it because I trust God he knows my heart than anyone in my life. You’ve been told God works in mysterious ways that could lead to a lesson to get your self together or randomly blessing you because of your impact and how you represent him in you.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @terracewyatt.jr
- Facebook: @Terrace Wyatt, Jr.
Image Credits
Jake Walker (Artistic Director for Theatre Community Fund of Kansas City) Shane McCullough (Show poster of my play and a good friend of mine) Valerie Chamberlain (Theatre friend/photographer) Cynthia Levin (Artistic Director at The Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, MO) Ms. Rebecca (One of my Mom’s good friends and photographer)
