Today we’d like to introduce you to Priscilla Rice.
Hi Priscilla, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
From the time I was a kid, I always had this curiosity for creating plays on the fly or improvising movement. I always dreamed of being an artist but never really grew up with artists around me. My mother and father always encouraged my creativity and never said no every time I had a creative idea or wanted to take an enrichment class. We were very limited as far as the performing arts, as I am from a small town located in South Texas – Crystal City, Texas. I say that proudly, by the way. I love my hometown.
In college, I studied Broadcast Journalism and worked in radio and later in television, but I kept writing – in journals and sharing my poems and short stories with close friends. My first love was always poetry and then dance. I love theater because it incorporates both. After studying at the University of Texas at Austin, I moved to Dallas which is the city that I’ve lived in the longest in for 24 years. It’s the city that I consider to be my second hometown, as I now have roots here. I have friends I consider to be like family, and this is the city where I gave birth to my two sons, Leonel and Cristiano. I live in Southeast Dallas, in beautiful Pleasant Grove, where I’m very fortunate to collaborate with artists from different mediums. We have started a collective of community organizers, artists, entrepreneurs, and persons interested in bringing arts programming to Pleasant Grove.
As a member of the Arts and Culture Advisory Commission, appointed by District 5 Council Member Jaime Resendez, I get to serve as one of the voices and advocates for artists in my community. Advocacy in the arts and building community is where my heart is right now. I’m extremely excited about the possibilities of future art in my community, given the strong support that we have here in Pleasant Grove. What ignited my passion for arts advocacy was when poet/actress/filmmaker Tamitha Curiel won a grant and invited me to participate in “Poetry Feasts” where she, Fatima Hirsi and I would go into local supermarkets, laundrymats, and pop-up and present poetry, encourage others to write a poem or we would write a poem for them right there on the spot. The most memorable time was being at El Rancho supermercado and performing a poem on the supermarket mic, or as people were waiting to check out at the grocery line. The idea was to bring poetry to the community – an idea that Tamitha birthed, and I feel that we’ve been following that model ever since – bringing arts to the members of our community.
Tamitha and I co-host a monthly open mic called “Pleasant Groove,” which is now virtual due to the pandemic. Because of Tamitha’s encouragement, I too began to write grants and won a few of them. That’s where my journey into arts advocacy began. In this beautiful city, I’ve had the honor to work with different theater organizations such as Cara Mia Theatre, Teco Theatre, Dallas Children’s Theatre, and Artstillery. Cara Mia gave me my first big break in 2009 when I auditioned for the play “Crystal City 1969,” never expecting to get one of the lead roles. This play is very special to me, as it’s the story of the walkout that happened in my hometown in 1969. I was fortunate to know the story and to have known many of real persons we were presenting onstage. These civil rights leaders were my hometown heroes.
In fact, I got to play the role of Severita Lara, who was my high school Science teacher. Ms. Lara always encouraged me to pursue my dreams and was such a strong model and influence for me. It was an incredible honor to represent her on stage. It was my wildest dream come true and a “full circle” moment for me. I’ve also had the opportunity to co-found “Verse and Rhythm” with Rafael Tamayo, manager of the Oak Cliff Cultural Center, and B Randall, who is the best open mic host in Dallas. We are now in season 9 for “V&R,” and it’s been such a wonderful platform for novice poets, seasoned poets, musicians, singers, rappers, comedians and anyone who has something to share on the mic. I’m so very proud of V&R and honored that it’s been in existence for several years. I hope it’s that it will continue for years to come.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was a struggle finding my artist’s voice. I knew I had something I really wanted to share but didn’t have any contacts in Dallas. My natural curiosity caused me to go to open mics and to theater performances, which allowed me to meet other creatives who served as mentors and believed in me before I believed in myself. Being a working single mom, I didn’t know that being a working artist was an option for me, as I lived in a city where I didn’t have any family (like my parents) who could watch my son Leo, so I could go to rehearsals or performances.
I feel that I had a late start, as I didn’t begin participating in open mics until my early 30s, and I started acting professionally at the same time. I honestly didn’t know how or where I was going to get the chance to perform. Author and poet Tammy Gomez gave me the first opportunity to perform poetry in open mics and David Lozano, the Executive Artistic Director for Cara Mia Theatre, gave me my first professional acting gig on stage. To paraphrase Rumi, who said something like: as you start to walk on the way, the way appears. That’s exactly what happened to me. It took a leap of faith and never giving up.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an arts advocate in the Pleasant Grove area/Southeast Dallas, serving on the Arts and Culture Advisory Commission. I was appointed by Council Member Jaime Resendez. I collaborate with community leaders in Southeast Dallas, such as District 5 Parks and Recreation Board member Lorena Tule-Romain and Library Board Member Edith Rodriguez. I’m also a curator and organizer of local arts and community events. I’m just a poet and actress trying to do some good in the world. I am most motivated by a quote that I read last year in an article about the late doctor and humanitarian Tetsu Nakamura who said: “Light up your corner of the world.” I think all of us can use our talents and help our communities. I believe that we are all here to help each other.
What are your plans for the future?
I plan to continue to collaborate with artists and members of my community to bring arts opportunities to my area. I see how the arts enrich and transform lives. Any community that has an arts community is a thriving one. All communities in our city deserve to have arts offerings within their communities.
Contact Info:
- Email: cillarice@gmail.com
- Instagram: @msarroz34
- Facebook: priscilla.rice1
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/priscilla-rice
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