Jalen Kirkman

“At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. When you are an artist, you are a healer; a wordless trust of the same mystery is the foundation of your work and its integrity.”

― Rachel Naomi Remen

What’s the tea about me?

Originally from Florence, Alabama, I grew up with a big voice, a big heart, and even bigger dreams. I always loved to dress up in my mom’s boots and pretend to be Mr. Incredible or create high-stakes storylines for my Build-A-Bears in my room. I grew up dancing around my house, singing in church, and playing commercial jingles on the piano, but there was very little accessibility for young black boys when it came to Musical Theatre.

Because of this, I grew up with a heavy extracurricular background from getting my black belt in karate to being on the varsity swim team or being a First Chair trumpet player. However, none of these activities stuck with me like acting and musical theatre did. I have a calling to tell stories and use my big voice as a vessel for those who don’t always know how. So, this is me. I’ve still got a big voice, a big heart, bigger britches, and even bigger dreams!!

.WHY do I do WHAT I do??

UGH! Well, I’m glad you asked!!

I am a firm believer that humans cannot heal from past feelings or struggles without confronting them head-on and being fully vulnerable. I believe that art has the power to heal people by displaying the human experience in all of its joy, mess, and complexity whether it be through escapism, realism, a show that’s completely silent, or fully sung through. I wake up every day to strive to heal people and myself through my art

However, healing is never permanent and you can never dictate who needs healing, but I strive every day to impact as many people as I can and to continue to tell stories that display the world I want to see, in order to heal the one I currently exist in.

Upcoming events!

Media!

Vocal Reel

“Sadness and Joy” The Notebook

“Guess Who I Saw Today” by Samara Joy

“I’d Rather Be Sailing” A New Brain

“Fascinating Rhythm” by Ella Fitzgeralld

Dance Reel

Headshot and Resume

“This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story, you are alive. And you stand up and see the lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder, when you were listening to that song on that drive with the people you love most in this world. And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite.”

Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

What I’m Currently Reading!!

Set in a not-too-distant America, I Cheerfully Refuse is the tale of Rainy, an aspiring musician setting sail on Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved, bookselling wife. After encountering lunatic storms and rising corpses from the warming depths, he eventually lands to find an increasingly desperate and illiterate people, a malignant billionaire ruling class, a crumbled infrastructure, and a lawless society. As his guileless nature begins to make an inadvertent rebel of him, Rainy’s private quest for the love of his life grows into something wider and wilder, sweeping up friends and foes alike in his wake

Let’s Get In Touch ;)