Meet Sermontee Brown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sermontee Brown.

Sermontee, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Ever since I was a little girl, performing and being creative has been part of my life. I started dance classes at age of 3 at Footsteps on Wings Dance Company with the founder and instructor Debra Tribune aka “Ms. Debbie”. She’s the sole reason why I’m performing today. Growing up I tried sports here and there (mostly soccer) but the performing arts have always been my first love and I continue to have the same passion today. The happiest times during my childhood occurred when watching Disney movies, live action films and just overall entertainment across the board. I realized that I wanted to participate in the performing arts for the rest of my life.

Fast forward to age seven and nine years old when I auditioned for and was selected to perform in the 2003 and 2005 productions of The Chocolate Nutcracker. It was during those productions when I met the iconic Suzan Bradford-KOUNTA. Little did I know she would return into my life years later and I’d be working for her company, Thiossane West African Dance Institute. Ms. Bradford-KOUNTA was the choreographer for the Africa scene during the productions for The Chocolate Nutcracker in Columbus, Ohio. Every rehearsal I attended with her was always a learning experience in some way, shape or form. And as a kid, when you met someone like her, who is very serious about her business and her art, it can be intimidating. But, looking back now I’m eternally grateful and thankful for my experience with her because it taught me so much. From owning my craft, rehearsing and perfecting my technique, I am able to give 100% of myself to any production from the moment I touch the stage. I am able to allow my love and passion for performing to always shine through.

While I wanted to continue pursuing ballet as a child, my mother was not willing to have my confidence and self esteem negatively impacted by the body shaming which young girls of color were subjected to when participating in the ballet classes offered by the local ballet company. In a way I believe that really hindered the development of my dance technique. I continued participating in dance classes with Ms. Debbie until my early adolescent years when I stopped taking dance classes altogether when my Dad experienced a major medical episode.

Honestly, though I started out with dancing first, I feel like that part of my craft is not as strong anymore since I didn’t participate in dance classes after age 11, which lead to me developing an interest to go into acting. But I didn’t really tap into growing my acting skills until high school. During the summer of 2011, I attended a performing arts bootcamp offered by Shadowbox Live which introduced me to a whole new world of artistry. I learned so much from my time in the bootcamp. Ultimately, due to my strong work ethic which I presented during the bootcamp, I was hired as a student to work part time at Shadowbox Live. As time went on, after graduating from high school, I gained more and more skills at Shadowbox and advanced higher and higher in the company until it was time to leave in 2020 when the pandemic shutdown occurred. But before the pandemic shutdown, I was given the opportunity to produce my first show titled ‘Old School Realness.’ The idea for the show came to me one day while working at Shadowbox Live and old school music was playing on the floor. The music gave me good vibes, it made me jam and feel good to the point where it started an idea which led to a concept that resulted in the development of a stage show. The show had two sold out performances and was heading to a third show then the pandemic shutdown happened and the third show did not occur. The skills I gained from producing ‘Old School Realness’ gave me the confidence to produce five new original shows which included musicals and a one woman show after the pandemic shutdown ended and my time at Shadowbox Live ended.

After graduating from high school in 2014, I did a gap year before enrolling at Columbus State Community College (CSCC) in 2015. I soon realized college was not for me and I don’t need a degree to perform, I just needed to work on my skills and do a lot of networking. During my time at CSCC, I was really blessed to have the opportunity to learn from the professors in the theatre department, Frank Barnhart and Sonda Staley. Each of them taught me the skills necessary to develop my acting abilities and to get my foot in to the Columbus theatre scene. I had no clue at the time how impactful my CSCC theatre work would have on my acting career. During my time at CSCC, I performed in multiple productions, all of which had various storylines and background narratives. I was chosen for roles in ‘The Diviners’, ‘The Library’, ‘Decision Height’, and ‘The Children’s Hour’ just to to name a few. I think I enjoyed performing in those shows so much because of the variety.

Similar to many creatives, I couldn’t perform on stage during the pandemic. However, I found a new way of being creative, modeling. At the time, one of my closest friends had a clothing line and she wanted to make sure she was inclusive of all body types. Her clothing line was so dope and I was ecstatic to be included and creating with her (especially at a time when there wasn’t much to do). Unfortunately, she is not doing fashion anymore which I’m bummed about for several reasons, but I’m happy for all the experiences she gave me and I’ll never forget that time of my life. While modeling for LexoSkeleton was a short lived opportunity, it gave me a huge confidence boost along with opportunity to engage in a form of activism for Plus Size/Curvy models.

In 2022, after the pandemic slowed down, I had the opportunity to come back to the stage. I was part of the amazing and iconic cast of ‘School Girls: The African Mean Girls Play’ with The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio formally known as CATCO. By that time, it had been 2 years since I performed and 5 years since I done a play. The highlight of my return to the stage had me performing with an ALL BLACK FEMALE cast! Along with the cast, a majority of the crew were POC (People of Color) and after all the pain we felt during the pandemic with so many innocent African Americans having been killed, Black Lives Matter protests going strong, and the world publicly seeing us fight for our lives and rights, it felt so good to be heard, seen and sharing our art on stage with such amazing talent. To this day, people still come up to me and say how amazing the show was and how much it moved them. That show will always have a place in my heart. Since then, I’ve performed in several shows and created/produced more shows as well. I believe a this point of my life, I am being prepared for the next phase/chapter in my book of life and God willing it’s going to be magical.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
While my performing arts journey definitely has not been a smooth road, my next major challenge was finding my singing voice and being confident with it. At times, I felt behind because I didn’t start singing and having my voice become stronger until high school. I had struggles during my time at Shadowbox Live too. Those struggles ranged from feeling like a worker and not a performer to feeling like there’s not enough POC representation on and off the stage. Honestly, working in this industry, there will always be ups and downs. However, I believe how you respond to the issues is most important. Whether you react to it negatively or you choose to respond and use the issues for good and as an example to do better, you do not have to give up and stop believing in yourself.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am able to identify myself as a multitalented creative, with the skills to be a performer, director, choreographer, and producer. While over the years, I have specialized in acting, singing and directing, I’m mostly known for acting. And for a long time, acting was the only thing I was doing which I didn’t mind because it put more experiences under my belt. My proudest moment was when I produced my first show, ‘Old School Realness’ in 2020. It was such a huge success and began my journey to producing more shows. I had the opportunity during the 2023 holiday season to produce, direct and perform in my first big theatre production titled ‘Tis The Season’ which was a big step forward for my career. I believe what sets me apart from other creatives is my willingness to not be afraid to get my hands dirty. I have been blessed with an ability to be personable and have a positive attitude. Yet, when necessary, I have no problem speaking up for myself. Currently, I’m in the process of starting my own theatre company in Columbus. And while I have a long road ahead, I know all the experiences I have been through up to this point have been preparing me for more opportunities to use my current skills, while being open to gaining even more knowledge and wisdom to further my career and inspire other creatives to pursue their dreams.

How do you define success?
Usually when someone asks a person about how they define success, some people will say success equals riches and status. For me, I believe there are many forms of success. Along with money, there’s legacy, talent, skill, health (physical and mental), for me the true definition of success is when you not only better yourself but the ones around you can identify improvements in their lives because of their encounter with me. Influencing others to do better and be better, either in life or their profession is important. To me that’s the key to success because in order to be successful you have to grow as a person so your business can grow but as you grow so does everything and everyone around you. It’s a domino effect, what you put into this world comes back and then some. So, I choose to sow good seed in to the lives of others with the belief that a good harvest of dreams coming true can happen for all of us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/sabrown96?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=3f1b5910-02c4-405b-9e66-d3df82da0479
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/montee_solovely?igsh=MXZmZDBmMXVyaWxp
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bsermontee/

Image Credits
JAMS Photography
Audrey Musilli
Terry Gilliam
Mitchel Multimedia
TankShoots