Today we’d like to introduce you to Tereva Crum.
Tereva, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My creative journey at large is inspired by my birthplace, Miami, Florida. I have truly never met anyone who is from Miami, who isn’t a creator or artist in their own right. The city is vibrant and teeming with life, so, quite naturally, I always had a story to tell. And that is how I view my privilege as an actor; I get the beautiful honor of telling stories using my most sacred instrument: my body, my voice.
But before I identified as an actor, I was a musician. My grandmother was a professional pianist, and I spent many days and nights sitting on her piano stool, turning the pages of her hymnals, learning to sing harmonies, and falling asleep to her practicing. Around the age of nine, my big brother began playing the violin, and because I wanted to do everything that he did, I snuck into his room and began to try to teach myself. After catching me and demanding that I put his instrument down, he told his teacher about my interest at his next lesson. We couldn’t afford lessons for the both of us, so his teacher began letting other more experienced students teach me for free. From there, my brother and I both joined the South Florida Youth Symphony and later, both attended the prestigious New World School of the Arts as violinists.
I loved music because it was a hiding place for me. I always had stories brewing within, but I was quite introverted, insecure and immature with my creativity. So, I began writing my stories. I was the editor in chief of our school’s literary magazine, so I creatively, I spent my days writing, being a musician, and nights doing homework or at the dance studio. As a young musician I was able to begin a professional career playing at large events such as the Billboard Latin Music Awards, performing with artists such as Ricky Martin, and as concert mistress of the Jubilate Chamber Orchestra. But jobs playing in the orchestra pit became hard. My last orchestral job was playing in the pit of ‘The King and I’. Now, let’s be clear, it’s not one of my favorite shows, but I felt such a deep longing to be on the stage, that I instantly knew that I had to open myself up artistically.
I went on to graduate with a degree in Education from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), where I took as many dance and theatre classes as I could afford and performed where ever there was space on campus and locally. After graduation, I moved to Chicago for grad school and was pretty early on cast in a pilot that turned out to be a total disaster, but hey, you’ve gotta kiss a few frogs, right?
It took becoming a mother to slow me down and force me to decide what would truly make me happy. My little family moved back to Gainesville to be closer to family and I began pursuing as much as I had space for. I got back in the dance studio, began taking Shakespeare, scene study, anything I could do to soak up the arts. Once I hit the stage as an actor I stopped once more to become a mom for the second time, and then it was back to the stage. I got a part in a production of ‘Eclipsed’ which performed at the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival. Our performance won ‘Best Overall’ Performance, and I took home the award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. I had no idea that two years later, I would be calling Atlanta home, but here I am!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I truly can’t complain. I am filled with so much gratitude, even with the bumps along the way. I have found that the most difficult part of my journey has been overcoming my own fear, and learning to be expectant and full of belief that I am worthy of the opportunity to perform and create. This August will mark my first year here in Atlanta, and I’ve had some pretty incredible experiences and opportunities. Of course, I’ve had a few disappointments. I literally walked out of an audition and sent my mentor an email that was the equivalent of a total artistic meltdown/tantrum/pity party. But! After a good grounding pep talk from said mentor, a Netflix binge and a couple of bags of Salt and Vinegar chips, I still stand!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am committed to telling stories that need to be heard. Sometimes those stories are difficult to hear, sometimes they are ignored, but I don’t shy away from those scarred truths. Black stories are important. Especially now, and especially in the past, and always in the future. That is where my heart and passion lies. I consider myself first and foremost a theatre artist, but I am excited to do more film/television/voiceover here in Atlanta.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.terevacrumstauffer.com
- Instagram: tereva_cs
Image Credit:
Magdalena Solski
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