2023: The Complete Year — Jabari Khaliq

Another year in the books.

Whew. Damn.

As I type this it’s 11pm on 12-31-2023. I’m reflecting on the type of year it’s been because for a while it’s been a mouthful to describe. I’ve been going with the word “full”. 2023 was a full and complete year for me both personally and professionally. This year has shown all colors both beautiful and hideous. Love and success, grief and failure—all mixed in with elements of desire and exasperation. It’s really been a complete serving of the human experience. I’m grateful to have survived, to still have decent health, and that 2024 genuinely still holds so much optimism. And most of comes from what I’ve coined “The Understudy Tour 2023”

Opening Night of Toni Stone @ Goodman Theatre (February 2023)

After getting a chance to understudy (and perform) with Congo Square, the next stop in my journey took me to Goodman Theatre and I continued to be blessed by the gift of collaboration . I once again got to cover and collab with Chicago’s best all while working in the room with my professor and mentor from college, Lydia Diamond.

I not only gained so much experience from the cast in the room but for me a tone was also set for the type of work I want to do in my career. I learned in the infant stages of my career the type of artist I want to be in the years to come. My love for that show and company will run deep for the entirety of my career. The icing on the cake? Once again I got a chance to perform.

Once we closed, I focused in family and auditioning. The spring and summer months were some of the most difficult moments of my life y’all. From the passing of my grandmother to the decline of my own health. I had a lot of time to myself where I thought about how 2023 felt like such a transitional year.

I felt like I was discovering myself artistically, I was starting to also win in the audition room—but then theres an actor’s strike. I started booking jobs that could help me move into an apartment and then boom, debt comes knocking. Every blessing came with a lesson this year. Every failure came with redemption. By time August came around, all I could say during my birthday was that I felt “full”. And that meant a little bit of everything: joy, gratitude, depression, exasperation. I was honestly yelling at the sky for this transition to finally finish up cuz I wasn’t enjoying the ride anymore. And in a moment filled with so much grief, I missed not just the work, I missed performing.

Opening Night of Nacirema Society @ Goodman (September 2023)

One of the blessings from the spring was that I booked my return to the Goodman and “The Understudy Tour” continued with another stint covering, this time for the role of Bobby in “The Nacirema Society” by Pearl Cleage. Straight up, this was one of the best projects I’ve ever been apart of. This show was a farce where we got to see black people (women) live in the 1960s and every night we brought people joy for a few hours.

From the success of the show outside of the room to the love and joy brought to me by the company inside the room, I felt like I was getting out of some of the gloom of 2023’s spring. I was once again working on something I cared about and that’s not always a given in our field. Once again—a moment in time with a group of people I will never forget. With the icing on top? I got a night in the spotlight and received probably the biggest in-person turnout to anything I’ve ever done. Sold out show downtown, and it felt like half of the house were my people.

The Understudy Tour concluded with one final stop. This time at TimeLine theatre for the Lifespan of a Fact. I got a chance to learn a track for a role where I NEVER shut up and I got to prove a lot to myself in a hard year. The most important lesson: even at my lowest I can be such an impactful artist. I’m proud. And still very full.

TimeLine’s Understudy Run for the Lifespan of a Fact

The year is at an end. And I’m so blessed to say I survived AND I’m working. 2024 will have more blessings I can’t wait to share. The journey continues!

Happy New Year,

Jabari