A Long Overdue Return

Okay.

What a beginning to my Chicago career.

It’s been about 4 years since my first update about starting my career, and in some ways its been half that time all at once. The second half of 2019 was quiet. After performing as Jalil in Something Marvelous’ production of Leftovers by Josh Wilder, directed by Sydney Chatman—I spent the rest of the year living life, turning 22, and auditioning any and everywhere I could. I was a DoorDash and Postmates driver while running Khaliq Photography. I was really setting myself up for my journey.

Leftovers (2019)

About six months in, COVID became a thing. Everything stopped. You know how the story goes. For me, it was a reset. I knew the return to the stage would be slow, especially for a young actor who hardly knew anyone. I began my working with Perceptions Theatre, as an actor for Black Magic written by Jerluane “Jae “ Jenkins and directed by Myesha-Tiara. It was fun to work with my friends on their company’s inaugural production. But I was so hungry. I really wanted to act again. 2020 was the year I decided I had to cast myself. I began Khaliq Visuals, an extension of Khaliq Photography and I spent the whole year making my first full visual project, Genesis: 2020. Genesis was a project I made about escapism and the film was made to be both a jumping off point for several future projects of mine, but also a building block for me as an aspiring cinematographer.

2021 might’ve been the hardest year for me since being out of school. I had gotten into a car accident, I had to move back in with my mother, and while companies were opening back up, many of the shows were cancelled productions that were resuming or projects built and workshopped in quarantine. Basically, it simply wasn’t my year. Invites felt seldom and I also found myself needing to get back into acting rhythm. I spent a decent amount of time in collaboration with the teaching artists at Silk Road Rising. Their EPIC program taught middle school kids how to write plays and they hired actors to read them. It was a really cool experience, and one of the most rewarding artistic pursuits I did during my hiatus. I did some staged readings here and there but most of my acting done in 2021 were on self-tapes that didn’t really go anywhere, or at least I thought.

Come 2022, things started to feel more normal. In a way, the entire year felt emotional to me because I was constantly having experiences and lessons I expected to go thru pre-pandemic. I found myself trying SO hard to make up for time that I deemed lost. In reality, I think I ended up right where I needed to be. After making Genesis, I wanted to work on a sequel to it along with another short film. I was unfortunately unable to get the funds to make ANY of the ideas I wanted and that frustrated me. I realized I could no longer do it alone. I needed a bigger artist community and I spent much of the year fighting through my social anxieties. I put myself in more circles with both artists and non-artists alike and grew my community.

Opening Night of Congo Square’s What To Send Up When It Goes Down at Lookingglass Theatre

I ended 2022 with a bang. I returned to the stage understudying at Congo Square for their remount of What To Send Up When It Goes Down, getting to perform on closing night. I then joined Artemisia Theatre as a Vice President of the Leadership Coalition and to cap it all off I booked an understudy role for Goodman Theatre’s production of Toni Stone.

So far in 2023, everything is feeling like its finally slowing down. I’m feeling blessed and excited. I feel like the “journey” I was about to embark on in my 2019 update got detoured by hella side missions but now we are ready to go, fully leveled up. I’m smarter now, I’m more confident, and I know what I want. 2023 seems to be the true Genesis of my career and that might need its own celebratory post.

It’s been long overdue, but I’m back ❤️🎭