Daily Inspiration: Meet Siddeeqah Shabazz

Interview from Voyage Minnesota

Today we’d like to introduce you to Siddeeqah Shabazz.

Hi Siddeeqah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I’m originally from California, and I moved to Minnesota to work as an actor with Climb Theatre; and stayed with Climb for 2 years. After my contract was up, I needed more work, and while auditioning around the Twin Cities, I met another actor James Williams and reached out to him to see if there was a show I could audition for. He didn’t have a show, but he suggested I’d work for the summer program at Pillsbury House+Theater(Ph+T) as a teaching artist.

This was new territory for me, and I didn’t know what a teaching artist was. I’ve never heard the term, but I figured I could do it after I found out. Before moving to Minnesota, my day job was working at a library and leading and planning the baby/toddler storytime activities and a few other activities for teens. I interviewed with Ph+T and didn’t get the permanent teaching artist job, but I did get a guest teaching artist job, which meant I was there a few days a week. My intention was always to be a full-time actor, and I wasn’t sure this job was for me, but I needed work, and I knew I could do it. It turned out I loved it. I learned a lot about myself as a teacher, as an artist, and as a person. Though I wasn’t onstage, I was still making art and creating a space where the youth I worked with took center stage.