Janelle: Well… I can tell you a lot of reasons why I left Kansas City, KS. One of ‘em had to do with the high level of violence and use of drugs around me. Kansas City is only so big and there weren’t many outlets for me to feel safe while focusing on my talents. I lost so many friends due to senseless acts of violence. And a lot of my family members and friends lost themselves mentally due to drug use. With so much negativity going on around me, I stayed involved in the arts… music and theatre. I have always wanted to explore the world. I went to New York first, to study musical theatre at the American Musical and Dramatics Academy. I started auditioning and going to some of the Broadway shows. As may be evident, I’m African American and when I’d go to audition, I’d always get the cursory, “Oh, it’s an African American girl! She’d be great for ‘The Wiz’ (if it came back out) or ‘Aida,’ or perhaps ‘The Lion King!’”
