Track 1: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

 Hello All!

Thank you for your interest in "Our Stage / Our Voices" (OSOV)! My name is Reggie Guyton and I am the inaugural artist in residence at UIS. I am elated and honored to be selected for the opportunity to share my voice and my experience within the artistic realm and amongst the surrounding Springfield, IL community. 

Over the past few years, much of my work has been focused on community theater and the power that connection and representation in the arts can wield. I have been privileged enough to be surrounded by many artists of varying mediums and styles that have influenced the way that I see the world and move within it.

Growing up, music has always been a defining factor in my life. Much like many of my peers, I mark experiences and memories with music. Within my year long residency, I choose to highlight and share those experiences (some joyous, some tumultuous, and others downright heart wrenching) through original music and personal narratives and vignettes.  These are personal moments that have been important my development, but are ones that I feel are universal to the human experience -- even if they are being told in a format that is unfamiliar. 

In addition to this presentation set to premiere at the end of my residency, I will also be showing behind the scenes moments of what it is like to be an artist in my field. It is not just about presenting a final product, there is research, curation, and discussion that occurs before workshopping the opus. I hope that you'll stay with me as I share my process with you and my peers.

Brianna Gude-Price and I at "Hairspray" at Sangamon Auditorium. Brianna and I were Little Inez and Seawood J. Stubbs for The Muni's 2011 production of "Hairspray"