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Fear extinguishes growth and yet, we all are afraid of something. Our relationships, our futures, or even ourselves. When I initially sat down to read All The Natalie Portmans I was filled with an immense sense of joy, followed by an inkling of dread. In front of me, I had this beautiful text that jumped off the page and commanded my full attention however, I still asked myself,

much like Keyonna does,

“Who am I? That I think I deserve any of this?” Who am I to bring a production like this to Harvard?

Our show is set in 2009 and throughout this process, I constantly pulled inspiration from the Black films of the early 2000s that I grew up on like Daddy’s Little Girls, Are We There Yet?, and Akeelah & The Bee. The combination of community, comedy, challenges, and Black joy that those films possess is the foundation upon which my artistic identity is built. While I will never be a Sharpay or Natalie Portman, I am proudly an Akeelah (Keke Palmer). Much like myself, Keyonna, and many of you, Akeelah’s fear threatened to keep her small. In one of my favorite scenes, Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) has Akeelah read a quote aloud and, with her wire glasses perched and microbraids tied back, she confidently says:

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

Actually—who are you not to be?

So, who are we—a group of students turned into family (most of us executing our roles for the first time)—to produce this show at Harvard? More like, who are we not to? Black art is so integral to the fabric of our society and most certainly to my own conception of self. Embarking on this journey with my beautiful cast and crew and witnessing everyone bloom where they were planted has been the most fulfilling part of my academic year. I could not imagine making my directorial debut anywhere other than Black CAST and I am deeply grateful to everyone who took this leap with me.

This production of All the Natalie Portmans is for dreamers. The ones who dream of living unapologetically, loving with abandon, and reaching for the stars no matter how far they may seem. The latter half of the quote Akeelah reads affirms that “as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” Moving forward, I hope we all can actively work to relinquish fear and 

(like Samuel says) glow in the dark with our shit.

Director, All The Natalie Portmans