Theater

When actor TammyRa’ (who uses one name professionally) was cast as the lead character Celie for the Omaha Community Playhouse’s staging of The Color Purple, she achieved a long-held goal.

“From the very first time I saw The Color Starting at the University of Nebraska at

Purple in Chicago, I wanted to be Celie. It Omaha as a voice major, “I had goals of was my dream show. Then came the pan- wanting to be on Broadway by the time I demic and indefinite postponement of live was 25,” she recalled. theater. I thought I would never get to tell this story,” TammyRa’ said. Then life happened.

But she did get to tell the story—brilliantly. “I had my first child when I was 21,” she

On August 1, she received the Playhouse’s said. “I felt like I would never be able to prestigious Fonda McGuire Award for be a performer again.” the most outstanding performance of the 2021-22 season. With a baby at home, TammyRa’ couldn’t commit long hours to rehearsals and per-

“TammyRa’ is an actor who’s dedicated to formances on top of classroom time. She storytelling. Her practice and her craft switched her major and earned a bachelor’s are really about uplifting the story she’s degree in human resources and family scitelling, and bringing a truthfulness and ence, working in the field briefly. Needing authenticity to all characters that she plays, more flexibility, she earned a cosmetology really honoring their story and honoring license and found work as a stylist. Her their voice,” said Denise Chapman, who family grew to four children, and her perco-directed TammyRa’ in The Color Purple. forming ambitions remained on hold. But

She has a long association with TammyRa’ being a committed young mother was an through theater productions of The Union important chapter in her life story. for Contemporary Art, where Chapman serves as producing artistic director. “I think everything happens for a reason, and timing is important,” she explained. “I don’t

“I was so happy that my family was there to have any regrets…Family is everything to me. see me receive that award, and I hope that Raising my children was my responsibility.” this isn’t the last thing I do that’s positive.

I want all the little—especially brown—girls Eventually, as her children became more indeto know that it’s never too late to follow pendent, TammyRa’ made it to the stage, your dreams,” TammyRa’ said. crediting a “wonderful support system” for helping make it possible.

TammyRa’s personal story may be as compelling as any she depicts on stage. She She’s been “all in” ever since, appearing showed early talent, though she mostly lim- in productions from Gem of the Ocean at ited her performances to family skits. “I was the John Beasley Theater (as Aunt Ester) never the child who was picked to do shows, and Fences at The Union for Contemporary or picked to do solos in church,” she said. Art, playing Rose, to a spectrum of roles at Lincoln Community Playhouse, Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre Company, Great Plains Theater Commons, and others. She’s also done television ads including Home Instead commercials that still appear on TV now and then. She was involved in a movie project, Second Words, in 2016. She’s performed with the likes of Ted Lange, Anthony Chisholm, Omaha’s own John Beasley, Eugene Lee, and Carla Stillwell. She’s even acted with daughter Nadia Ra’Shaun Williams (featured in the Omaha Magazine spring 2020 issue), who followed her into acting. TammyRa’ has also branched out to the production side.

“She’s been a stage manager for me, she’s stepped into mentorship roles, and she’s gotten into directing,” Chapman said. “She’s not bound to just one part of the practice, but is able and willing to let herself expand and grow within the craft of theater.” “I feel like anyone who is a true performer, an actor on the stage, should work behind the scenes,” she said. “Everybody needs everybody. It’s not just, ‘I’m an actor and I’m going to go out there and be brilliant.’ You need everybody else to help you be brilliant.” “TammyRa’ is a fabulous ray of light and a gift to the city,” Chapman said. She shines bright, but TammyRa’ is no diva. “A lot of people thought it was just a hobby for me, but I guarantee that if I can do this full time and pay all my bills—I will. It’s coming,” she said. “I do hope to get to Broadway or on the big screen. But I always want to be humble…I don’t have my next show yet, but I am preparing for auditions; I don’t know where it’s going to lead me. But I know I want to continue telling stories.”

Visit omahaplayhouse.com for more information.

“I was so happy that my family was there to see me receive that award, and I hope that this isn’t the last thing I do that’s positive. I want all the little—especially brown—girls to know that it’s never too late to follow your dreams.” -TammyRa’

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