Aquirra Lundy, B.F.A. Theatre Performance 2014
aquirra.lundy@gmail.com
Aquirra planned to be a veterinarian, but the summer before senior year she auditioned for Once Upon a Mattress at Richmond’s Henrico Theater. “I loved it! It was so much fun! Immediately, I decided I want to do theatre.”
Her favorite VCU production experience was working with Dr T. on The Colored Museum. We had a “cast that was so committed to making it come alive. We were all in sync. Dr. T. helped me connect to myself as a Black woman and in theatre.”
In May 2013, Aquirra packed a duffle bag, took her $1,000 savings and moved to New York. “I had a place to stay for three weeks and one job interview.” She taught elementary school in Long Island and was a teaching aide in Manhattan, doing some theatre and some films when there was time. This included her acting and performing stage combat in an indie film called Renegade Darlings. She also worked at the Apollo Theatre for a year as an usher and artists coordinator.
After three years, one of her sisters got into an accident and she moved back to Richmond to support her. A year later, she moved to Alexandria and started teaching. Aquirra now lives in DC, where she’s Assistant to the CEO of the EYL 365 Project, an organization that hires artists to do workshops for business and schools.
While in her job, she thinks back to her VCU experience, “Dr. T. helped me figure out what acting is and how to do it authentically. I’m interviewing people all the time and I’m looking for their authenticity. When I was at VCU, I didn’t realize how much of an impact it was being there. It gave me the skill and willpower to try anything.”
Make sure to check out Aquirra’s website!
