Guest Patricia Herrera was on the premed path, happily thinking of herself as a STEM person. A chance encounter with Latinx theater in a freshman seminar led her to take to the stage and realized she loved it. She infused her science studies with healthy doses of theater opportunities but always thought of those pursuits as a hobby. After a term-long immersion experience with peers who were thinking about the stage as a profession, she received advice from a counselor: You don’t have to do what others expect but rather what makes you happy. She changed majors to theater and what would now be termed Latinx studies, and had to “come out” to her parents with a new identity as an artist.

As she gained experience in acting, directing, writing, and the academic side of things, she couldn’t decide which part of the theatrical enterprise most intrigued her. So she applied to graduate programs in all areas and found ways to keep active in the performing world while also analyzing that world in her academic studies. Ultimately, she found a landing spot where she could continue to do both.

In this episode, find out from Patricia how centering your community’s stories in your work can help you give voice to your own…on Roads Taken with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode’s Guest

Patricia Herrera is a community-engaged artist whose mission is to create a more just world through theater and the arts. She is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Richmond, which has been her academic home for over a decade. Her teaching, research, and community-based projects explore the social inequities experienced by underrepresented communities, especially in the places that she calls home. Find out more about her work at drpatriciaherrera.com.

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at RoadsTakenShow@gmail.com

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at RoadsTakenShow@gmail.com

Center Stage: Patricia Herrera on centering others’ stories and finding your own

Roads Taken