Rising actor finds a home at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe
In his role as manipulative manager Curtis Taylor Jr. in “Dreamgirls” at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Brian L. Boyd plays a man who has a clear vision of what he wants and how to achieve it.
But it was a last-minute decision that first connected Boyd with the Sarasota theater company he says has changed his life and where he has become a mainstay in some prominent roles over the last seven years.
When he was a senior at Florida A&M University (the alma mater of WBTT founder and Artistic Director Nate Jacobs), a professor and a couple of student actor friends invited him to join them on a trip from Tallahassee to Sarasota to audition for upcoming productions.
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“I wasn’t sure I wanted to go,” Boyd recalled. “I didn’t say yes but at the last minute. on the day they were leaving, I decided to go. I didn’t have an audition slot and I called the theater on the way. They said if no times opened up, they would slot me in as the last person to audition.”
He remembers seeing Jacobs, resident director Chuck Smith, actor/writer Joel P.E. King and some others in the room.
“The four of us auditioned and only one of us made it,” he said with a light chuckle. “I guess the rest is history. This has to be one of the biggest, best miracles in my life to say the least.”
Since graduating from FAMU in 2016, he has appeared in more than a dozen productions at WBTT, including “Eubie!,” “A Motown Christmas,” “In the Heights” “The Amen Corner” and leading roles in “Guys and Dolls,” “Raisin” and now “Dreamgirls,” a production that was mostly sold-out before it opened.
It’s been quite a turnaround for the actor who wasn’t impressed with his first stage experience at around age 7 in a church production of “The First Noel” in Fort Lauderdale.
“My character was Leon. I had a yellow shirt with Leon across my chest. I hated it, but I think I may still have the shirt,” he said. Boyd had different career goals as he grew up. At one point he wanted to be a firefighter, but then he switched his dreams to becoming a judge or a lawyer, until he realized how much schooling they would require.
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He developed, or contracted, the theater bug during his freshman year at FAMU, where his fraternity brothers, knowing he could sing, encouraged him to audition for a production of “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.” He was invited for a callback, but was so uninformed about the theater world he didn’t realize what that meant.
“I went in a t-shirt, shorts, red Vans and looked at the people in their leotards and stretching,” he recalled. He didn’t get cast, but one of the theater department professors encouraged him to register for an acting class. He saw “Smokey Joe’s” at every performance. “That’s when I knew that was what I wanted.”
He later got cast as Harpo in a college production of “The Color Purple,” which was challenging and exciting enough to lead him to change his major from psychology to theater performance.
It was a decision that didn’t go over well with his Jamaican-born mother, at least at first. “She was like, ‘You’re not doing that for a long time. You’re going to change that back and get a real job’ like a doctor or lawyer.”
Years later, he remembers overhearing his mother telling someone about “'my big actor son, he’s doing this and got this person working with him.’ I had to call her on it. With any profession, once you see the results, put in the work and put in the time, you will make believers out of anyone.”
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He has made a believer out of Jacobs, who said he keeps bringing Boyd back because “whatever I throw at him, he comes back with more. He sets such a standard and it permeates throughout the rest of the cast. Most of these actors in ‘Dreamgirls’ are new, but they came with a professional attitude. He kicked it to another level when he came in so prepared.”
Jacobs said Boyd “told me this is where he wants to develop and grow. He’s not rushing to go to New York. That’s why I started this troupe, for people who really really wanted to do this, stretch their legs in the performing arts. He’s just so inspiring.”
Boyd said he has realized over the years that “life works out the way it’s supposed to work out. There are no mistakes that God makes. Me not getting that callback for ‘Smokey Joe’s’ was supposed to happen. Me jumping in that car at the last minute to come to WBTT was supposed to happen.”
The father of a 7-year-old daughter, Kendi, who lives with her mother in California, Boyd met his fiancee Brentney J at WBTT during a production of “Black Nativity” in 2016. They live in Atlanta where they run M.A.D. Music Acting Dance Inc., a performing arts education company that arranges training and access to performance opportunities for young people in the Atlanta area. Brentney J has also appeared several times at WBTT.
In addition to “Dreamgirls” Boyd played Sky Masterson earlier this season in “Guys and Dolls.” It was a challenging time because his mother died during the run. “I don’t remember the last week. Sunday was a two-show day and after the matinee only four people knew about it. I’m not sure how I got through it but I dedicated the rest of the run to her.”
He also dedicates his performances as Curtis to her. “Dreamgirls” is a show he has wanted to do since seeing Jamie Foxx play the role in the film version and singing the song ‘When I First Saw You.”
“Nate offering me the role of Curtis Taylor Jr. is a dream come true. Curtis is manipulative, charming, which are also traits I have in myself. I know what it is to be manipulated and what it’s like to be the manipulator. If we can be honest and true to ourselves, we can be honest and true to our characters. That’s why this is hands down my favorite role.”
“Dreamgirls” continues through April 9 at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota. 941-366-1505; westcoastblacktheatre.org
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe gives rising actor a place to grow
