Year of Publication

2025

College

Undergraduate Education

First Advisor

Frank X Walker

Second Advisor

Kopana Terry

Abstract

Some of my earliest memories include theatre. I remember staying up far too late for a young child, painting stages and backdrops alongside my dad and Uncle Rush. At the time, I had no idea that theatre would become something I would love forever. Over the years, I would slide between the two extremes: theatre consuming my every being and being a distant memory. When I was around age 14, I managed a show on my own. I became infatuated with the experience of seeing something in the beginning stages and seeing it all come together in the end, when you sometimes least expected it too. I loved seeing the impact theatre had on people and on my local community. For the next four years, I continued putting my all into theatre until I came to college. I knew that I was not going to be able to maintain the same level of commitment with theatre while also succeeding academically so something had to give and unfortunately, that thing was theatre. It soon became a distant memory of something that I enjoyed doing when I was young and it would often find ways to creep back into my life for a few weeks or months at a time, but never for too long. Unlike my early fondness of theatre, the beginning of my love of history is nowhere near as memorable. Yet, when I made the decision to come to college, I never considered a different path. My love for history has only deepened since coming to the University of Kentucky. My passion for telling the stories of those less heard is something relatively new. I find the process of interviewing and primary source research to be eye-opening and of the utmost importance. So, when I began brainstorming for my thesis topic for the Gaines Center, I knew one thing for sure— it would include theatre. I had been a History major and I was comfortable with and had a love for Black history and telling stories. Therefore, I was able to combine my love for Black history and theatre. This thesis is more than just a research project to fulfill a requirement, 5 it’s a passion project that has allowed for me to reconnect with my love for theatre while intertwining it with my love for history. This opportunity has been transformative, and it is only just the beginning.

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