SHALANDA SIMS

Organization: The World Stage Theatre (WST) is fundamentally the strongest multicultural and multigenerational art education performance organization on the West coast. It was established in 2006 and over the course of nearly two decades, has raised up thousands of predominantly Black aspiring artists across the spectrums of acting, singing, dancing and other talent positions in front and behind the curtain. The organization’s curriculum is steeped in Black History, teaching critical race subject matters long before the term was newsworthy. WST is also the curator of the annual Black History Festival NW, a celebration of culture and heritage held through the month of February.

Leadership: Shalanda Sims is the Founder, Executive Director and Artistic Director of WST. She manages all aspects creative and administrative for the company. She is a powerhouse of talent in her own right as a highly skilled singer, actor, author/ playwright, director and producer. Just ask her to sing a rendition from one of her favorite artists, Mahalia Jackson, and you will get a glimpse of the depth and breadth of her gifts.

Under her leadership the organization has produced thousands of performances held in venues across Oregon, including packing out the auditoriums at one of Portland’s Centers for the Arts and the Portland Center Stage at the Armory. Accomplishing these goals for Sims hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

“It is hard being a Black woman in leadership, because you have so many hurdles that you have to jump over, especially in the arts world here in Oregon, and I think across the globe. Like having to prove to others that you are, and your work is, as good as the next person.”

Despite barriers of elitism that can sometime proliferate within the Art society, Sims is quick to point out that some of their greatest work has been done in the classrooms and community rooms, melding together talent from people ages from 2- 82.

“I love bringing generations together because I value the wisdom of our elders and I think kids really benefit from the wisdom of our elders. Also, our elders benefit from the energy and the life of our young people,” shared Sims. “I created WST in part as a tool of communication that allows our history to be passed down, because somewhere along the way we lost that communication as a people.”

Whether you are an amateur or a seasoned veteran, WST is a place where you can grow your skills and confidence in performing arts work with dignity and respect. For Sims it is important that there be an atmosphere that feels like family.

“You don’t know where someone is coming from or what their home life is like, so the experience can be emotional,” shares Sims. “That’s why we sing, dance, laugh hard, and even cry.”

Breakthrough moment

One of WST biggest accomplishments as been a 17- year run of the play “Who I am Celebrating Me.” Written and directed by Sims, the play highlights a montage of African American figures and movements of past and present. Her passion for bringing history to the stage in the context of current experience and events affecting the Black community is rooted in a background largely devoid of knowledge surrounding true American history.

“In a nutshell, I didn’t get it growing up.,” she admitted. “I didn’t know much about American history that had been hidden, things that happened on this soil that we didn’t get to learn about. Your perspective as a young Black person changes when you see Black doctors, scientists and others who did amazing things and you begin to realize you can do these things yourself because we can mirror what we see.”

Bringing “Who I am Celebrating Me” to the World Stage Theater was a watershed moment for Sims. “We started with Africa, because our history didn’t begin when we arrived in America. We go from there to modern day, to present day so you are getting the whole historical journey from a factual perspective. I did a lot of research before I wrote it, constantly asking myself, ‘Is this just for me or is it for a wider audience?’ I felt this needed to be shared with students and other community members because we live in the Pacific Northwest so we are definitely not being taught all this information.”

Philanthropy

One of the biggest gifts the WST gives to the Black community is access. “We don’t charge to be a part of our program. We removed those barriers,” shares Sims, Which is huge, considering some programs can cost thousands of dollars to give out the kind of arts education technical support and structure that WST offers for free.

“We reach out to kids in remote areas, give space to promote organizations who aren’t as well-known as ours and to artists who want to get on stage but don’t have the experience.”

At the end of the day, Sims sees the vision for WST focused on three principles, Love, Learn and Heal. “We need to learn from our past and love one another so we can move forward and heal. Yes, we need to resist those things intended to harm us, but love is a form of resistance too,” Sims concludes.