There is a need to listen, watch and uplift Black artists and it’s easy to do when they are right on campus. Read the stories of three Black theater majors who are making their way through the theater department at NIU and look to make a mark on their futures.

JoLan Lacy-Jones 

Lacy-Jones is a senior in the BFA acting program, but that isn’t all that she does. Not only does she have a passion for acting, but for writing, dancing and modeling as well. 

“If acting doesn’t go as planned I would love to write books and become a successful author and would love to do some dancing gigs as well,” Lacy-Jones said. 

Lacy-Jones loves that the NIU theater department was warm, open and welcoming when she first arrived on campus. Being a Black woman in acting, she was nervous things were going to be tense, which is a valid fear considering there are no current Black faculty members in the department. 

“When I was doing some of the shows here, I was always playing the loud, ghetto or gay character, which I don’t mind, but I don’t want to be stereotyped,” Lacy-Jones said. “I don’t always want to be known for those roles.”

Jones said that she has had a passion for acting since she was seven and is hopeful to be successful in her future career so she can make herself and her family proud. 

Jamaque Newberry

Newberry, who is in his third year of the master’s program in acting, hasn’t always acted. Previously, Newberry taught sixth through 11th-grade students in speech and debate and film techniques before deciding to go back to school for acting. 

Newberry said that the big moment for him to pursue acting was when he saw actor Denzel Washington on Broadway and was mesmerized by how quickly he could call out for a line and then immediately be back in character. 

“Then I had a moment of ‘I want to do that and be able to do that,’” Newberry said. “It was a very powerful moment and I sat there and realized that I needed to stop avoiding (acting).”

Deciding to pursue acting was a big sacrifice for Newberry as he had to leave his family and tell his students that he wasn’t going to be teaching them anymore.

In the future, he wants to be on stage as much as possible and isn’t opposed to the idea of going back to teach, but this time with college students. 

Jonathan Perkins

Perkins is a sophomore currently pursuing a BFA in acting. He first enrolled at NIU as a computer science major, but a computer science class during his senior year of high school turned him away from that career.

He switched to the acting major a month before the semester started, prepared monologues for his auditions and was accepted into the theater department. 

“When I came here it was immediate waves of family; it’s like one big family,” Perkins said. “They see you as a peer rather than as a professor and a student.”

Perkins has always wanted to pursue theater and wants to inspire people through his acting. He wants people to look up and be able to see someone like them on stage and carry representation on to others. 

“I just want to tell a story and have people be inspired by it so that in turn they can do something to help themselves, (their) community or anyone they come in contact with,” Perkins said.