| In the Broadway musical, A Night with Janis Joplin, NaTasha Yvette Williams dazzles audiences with renditions of music icons – Etta James, Nina Simone, Bessie Smith – who helped shaped the soulful sounds of Janis Joplin. On the big stage, Williams, a North Carolina A&T State University alum, gets to portray the queen of soul herself—Aretha Franklin.
According to the Broadway performer, her academic life at A&T could be summed up in a few words. “It was invaluable,” she said.
During her freshmen year at North Carolina A&T, Williams, class of 1992, majored in mathematics because she had no idea she could get an academic degree in theater. After auditioning for and capturing roles in various A&T productions, Williams decided to change her academic focus to the arts and minor in mathematics.
Williams often wishes she had gone straight to the stage after getting her bachelor’s degree. Instead, she attended Michigan State University where she received a Master’s of Fine Arts in acting. After that, she taught high school for a year.
“I don’t feel like I wasted time in graduate school but the tools I acquired at A&T, are what I use,” she said. “The communications department and the theater department have deposited (knowledge) into me that I use every single day.”
Williams grew up singing in the Tiny-tot choir at Shiloh United Church of Christ in Fayetteville, N.C. and grew her talents in community theater before attending the university. She has toured the nation performing in several plays including the Mahalia Story, Cinderella, and Suessical the Musical, The Goodbye Girl, Ain’t Misbehavin, The Color Purple and Lena, to name a few.
Now, the professional entertainer, wife and mother of twins, hopes to begin sharing her experiences and the truth about the discipline and diligence of professional performers through her own mentoring program.
Although the stage demands hard work, Williams said she finds inspiration in sharing her gifts.
“I understand my gifts are not for me. I feel inspired that God has given me something that I do well (and) He requires that I share what He gave me,” she explained.
Williams undoubtedly thrives under the big lights but admits that she is a proud product of her alma mater.
“My education at A&T was invaluable because it taught me to love myself,” she said, adding, “and while I was so young and didn’t know who I was, I began to love myself at A&T.”
For more information on A Night with Janis Joplin click here.
By: Courtney J. Jackson
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