This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CAU chapter.
HerCampus was very fortunate to sit down and dig into Miss Joanie Polk’s life of show business! This amazing Theatre Arts student is a sophomore at the Illustrious Clark Atlanta University doing the extra to make her mark on campus! Here, we found out the ins and outs of what it’s like to be a demanding Stage Manager while juggling school work. Keep reading!
- What was the most important lesson you learned last year? I know this sounds cliché, but if you want something, you really have to go get it. You can’t wait for other people to do what you want, you have to do it for yourself.
- Why theatre arts? How has studying this field aided you so far? *laughs* That’s a story! Well, all throughout high school I was always saying “I’m gonna be an Early Child Education major at Clark Atlanta University!” And when I got here, I filled out the major selection paper as an Early Child Education major. As soon as I walked out, [Haven Warren] my stomach started hurting, I was getting headaches, all kinds of stuff. I went back to my room and laid down, then I had a dream. Here it goes: I was in a classroom with kids teaching, but on the side, there was a theatre production going on. My eyes immediately directed towards the theatre realm, ignoring my classroom. One of the kids came to me and said, “Ms. Polk, do you wanna go over there?” I was like, “Girl, you betta go sit down!” Once the kids in my classroom pushed me towards the theatre realm (they came with me too), the classroom door shut. Then I woke up. The next day I went back to Haven Warren and was like, “Hey, I need to change my major!”
- What was your experience like at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival? I went to South Georgia with some of the cast members from Yellowman [A CAU theatre production] due to a nomination for being the stage manager of that show. I arrived to the festival and found out I was the only representative from an HBCU in the stage management field. Which was really weird. What they did was hold auditions for all the actors at the festival, (there were about 500 actors) and I was selected to assist with several tasks throughout the whole festival and make sure everything went smoothly. I was also able to present my Stage Manager Prompt Book. Which is like an annotated spectrum of production.
- What previous projects have you been a part of here at CAU? Which was your favorite and why? I recently participated in the Research Symposium for Creative Works and I just found out that I got first place in my category! I have also worked as a stage manager for Yellowman, Freedom: A Crisis Through Time, The Bluest Eye. My favorite one would be Freedom because it was CAU Players’ baby. Me being the President of CAU Players, I figured we needed to create something for us, by us, produced by us, and directed by us.
- What books have you read recently? The Bluest Eye written by Toni Morrison
- What’s your favorite song right now? That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars
- What is the first thing you notice about a person? Their facial expressions.
- If you could go to any PWI, which one would you go to and why? I never had a desire to go to a PWI. I applied to all HBCUs, except for Georgia State, and that was because all my friends went there but I applied to Clark, Claflin, Dillard…Those HBCUs. I just wanted that experience. I wanted that ‘A Different World’ feel.
- Favorite Marble Slab combination? Ooh girl! A mixture of coffee and sweet cream! The coffee is strong and the sweet cream balances it out…I used to add some cookie dough too!
- What is something that people say about you often? One time in theatre, someone said “Oh, Joanie is the Fairy Godmother of the Department!”
- What piece of advice would you give someone that is aspiring to be in your position? You can’t be extraordinary without doing extra. Our director told us that a week ago and it stuck with me. I thought about it and if you do the same thing, you’ll get the same results. Also, I feel that you shouldn’t let your classification define you.
- (Complete the sentence) Joanie is…Making marks that cannot be erased. Backstory on that is, my dad told me when I was younger to be about making craters. You know when craters are made in space, they remain forever. Make dense craters so people will think, “Oh she was here.”