client spotlight: Lisa-Willia

I always say that Miriam came into my life at the right time. Before working with Miriam, I had spent almost three years training as an actor, feeling confused about my practice and my identity. I showed up and did the work but I carried heaviness with me. I had never played a Black character before the Acting class I took with her in 2022. There was zero representation while I studied Acting.

What I loved about Miriam’s teaching is that she gave us a lot of time to freewrite and reflect on the class work. At first it was hard but with time, freewriting became effective for me. The time we took to freewrite and journal on our work led me to adapt Lorena Gale’s play, Je me souviens. In my final journal, I told her I couldn’t believe that I was able to create a story within an existing story, but I did. I adapted my own, solo piece with original staging and sound, creating a piece that to this day, I am extremely proud of. I am also creating my own work now.

Miriam was the first person who led me to work on a project I didn’t think I had the right to do. She supported and never judged me in the process. She let me be myself, the Lisa that grew up in the east of Montreal, who comes from an immigrant Haitian French family. It’s not easy being in an industry that is predominantly white. We tend to forget that as artists we have the right to define what theatre is for us and that it’s not limited to one specific thing. I bring this reminder to my work as an actor today. Miriam’s teaching and leadership truly helped me. If you are an artist who is still finding their way or wanting to develop your craft, I recommend her.