Based in Milwaukee, N’Jameh Russell-Camara is an actor, educator and audiobook narrator for Penguin Random House. Along with acting experience Off-Broadway and on a national Broadway tour, she previously served as the director of programs for education and community engagement for the Milwaukee Rep from 2022 to 2023. She also led the Pandemic Pregnancy Project, which archived stories about pregnancy, birth and early parenthood during the pandemic. She currently stars as “The Poet” in Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s An Illiad, running until Oct. 9, and she’ll play “Letitia” in the theater’s production of Clyde’s, running Nov. 8-24.
What’s it like voicing audiobooks and commercials while also performing on stage?
It’s always great to have national commercials as side gigs because my agents work with me to figure out what works best with my schedule. And there’s some really fun events that are happening this season, so it’s fun to do commercials for those events and to know that a little bit of me is a part of it. I’m also an educator as well, and so if I’m not teaching acting in a university, then I’m exploring early childhood education with the Montessori method.
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
You also started an archival project a few years ago called the Pandemic Pregnancy Project. How did that start?
I saw a lot of statistics about how pregnant women were trying to deal with and cope with the pandemic … and not a lot of narrative that could really share empathy or really encapsulate what these parents were going through.
I decided to collect different stories from around the country of people who wanted to be anonymous. With a team here in Milwaukee, I mobilized a group of volunteers to adapt interviews into monologues. … Long story short, we linked up with a bunch of media partners from around the country, and we were able to have a very successful website launch and social media launch, with the goal of getting the stories out to the public and having the public hear them.
And it was wonderful hearing all of the positive feedback – all the women, men, parents in general who felt like their stories – felt their partner’s stories – were heard and seen. All of the audio recordings are archived with the Library of Congress as of this past December. … It was never meant to be just my project. I spearheaded it, but thanks to the people of Milwaukee and my network, we were able to really get it out to the entire country.
What was your time like as the director of programs for education and community engagement for the Milwaukee Rep?
What I loved about that role was it was all about viewing theater as a need and, in my opinion, really serving theater as a public health need – bringing it into our Milwaukee neighborhoods that need it as part of family wellness, as a part of community wellness, cultural vibrancy.
And it was getting people in the city who have never been into the Milwaukee Rep into the seats for the first time. Making theater truly accessible by building relationships, not just talking to them about the season, but talking about why theater is important to them and what shows in our season might specifically be important to them.
How would you describe Milwaukee’s art scene?
Very vibrant, very alive and vocal, and continuing to be deserving of national recognition.
What role does the arts play in our city?
I believe that performing arts is a public health need. The arts serve as a mirror for people to hear themselves, to hear others, to hear differing perspectives, and to contemplate something that they never contemplated before.
What’s your favorite thing about acting?
I love having that direct relationship feeding off of the audience, and I like that aha moment – that cathartic moment I feel from the audience when they’ve heard an amazing monologue that makes them think differently, that makes them feel like they can forgive someone, that makes them say, “Thank you … I feel more alive because I saw this play.”
What’s something you’d like to see for the future of Milwaukee arts?
We need a huge influx of government funding for the arts. We cannot solely remain on philanthropy because that picks and chooses who will be seen, what will be created, who has a chance, who is on the brink of closing.
What are you looking forward to this upcoming arts season?
I’m excited to just dive into dancing in general. As an actor, dancing has always been something (that) when I watch it, it makes me want to be a better actor. … A lot of people who are artists get their inspiration from something that has nothing to do with what they do. Dancing for me is that. I don’t consider myself a dancer, but man, when I watch someone just give it their all, and there’s no words, it makes me just want to be more intentional with my performance, and give more of myself, my energy and just be more spot on.
