FAT HAM presented by Nashville Rep and Nashville Shakespeare Festival begins this Friday through Sunday February 22 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play reimagines Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” centering on a young, queer Black man named Juicy who is visited by his father’s ghost at a family barbecue and tasked with avenging his murder. This play will feature an all-black cast and director and Tamiko Robinson Steele, who plays the role of Tedra, talks about her role in the play and the importance of representation on the stage.
“Tedra is the mother to the character Juicy and she’s loud in more ways than one,” she said. “But there’s boldness her, but she’s also someone who doesn’t truly reveal herself. She’s surviving in the world around her. There’s a moment in the show where someone asked her a question and she has the opportunity to pull back the mask and reveal any truth about herself and the choice she makes, it leaves you wanting, but then also it identifies the kind of character and person that this is”
She continues: “It’s absolutely fulfilling, but I’m going to be honest, the journey to get here was an uphill battle. I am a black female actor in Nashville who doesn’t sing well [Laughs]. The roles were limited for myself and it took me about 15 years to get on the professional equity stages in Nashville. Mary McCallum, who runs SistaStyle Productions, and Shawn Whitsell, who the Destiny Theater Experience. If it weren’t for those two, I would not be the actor that I am today. They wrote and produced works that allowed me to be on full display. That allowed me to discover myself, that allowed the community to feel seen and represented. If it weren’t for those two people with those two companies, I wouldn’t have the reps to be the actor that I am today. My first show at Nashville Shakespeare Festival, I was a countess, a princess of sorts. I remember after that show, all these little black girls came up to me and were like, ‘Oh my God, you were the princess.’ It meant so much to them to see themselves reflected on that stage. When you haven’t seen yourself represented in a space, sometimes it’s hard to imagine being there. I will happily carry that torch. I try to pull as many people up with me and walk with me on this journey. I think it’s a beautiful thing. I love art, I live art. And I’ve always innately known that this is the space that I was supposed to be in.”
Additional event opportunities:
Tonight (Feb 11) Nashville R&B artist Kyleigh performs at the Blue Room and Miguel with Jean Dawson is at the Ryman. We’re back at the Blue Room on Thursday (Feb 12) for WNXP Trivia and at 3rd and Lindsey on Friday (Feb 13) WNXP Presents Say She She. For Valentine’s Day on Saturday Esencial, Nashville’s community dance party for salsa, cumbia, and other Latin-inspired sounds takes place at the Blue Room.
