“PRODIGY IS, AT ITS essence, adaptability and persistent, positive obsession. Without persistence, what remains is an enthusiasm of the moment. Without adaptability, what remains may be channeled into destructive fanaticism. Without positive obsession, there is nothing at all.”
― Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower

One of the highlights of my childhood was when my mom took me to see The Color Purple on Broadway. We had been huge fans of Fantasia, rooting for her weekly through her American Idol run, so I was mainly excited to see her in 3D. But I had no idea what I was in for or just how much that experience would imprint on me.

I.was.mesmerized. It was my first real connection to theatre but I wasn’t a singer, so I figured that world wasn’t for me. My parents put me in a children's summer theatre program for a summer, but I only had one line in the final production (that I forgot) so they didn't quite see it as a worthwhile investment. Theatre instead remained a distant fascination.

For the rest of my childhood, I buried myself in books and fairytales, filling notebooks with stories and poetry when I wasn't on the tennis court. Turns out I was more into the books than the racket anyways.

Like most immigrant families, mine had big dreams for me to be doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Wrong! Mine really really REALLY wanted me to be a Grand Slam winning tennis champion a la Serena Williams. Right.

For most of my childhood, I was a competitive tennis player, training relentlessly. At least my outfits were cute!

Hi there! I’m Valicia (Vah - LEE- Sha) Carmen.

Born and raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn (which means I have strong opinions on bagels and where to find the best oxtail), I’m a first-generation Caribbean American. My beautiful grandmother, Carmen Lewis Cameron, immigrated from Guyana (not to be confused with the African country Ghana) in the ’70s, and without her, I wouldn’t be here—literally or figuratively.

In college, I was a pre-med biochemistry major set on becoming a doctor when COVID happened. Getting kicked off of campus halfway through due to a global pandemic made me realize how fleeting life can be and that I didn't want to spend the next 2 years and beyond in labs. As a part of my mandatory liberal arts requirement at Vandy, I impulsively enrolled in Dr. Ibby Cizmar's Acting I class, mainly to improve my public speaking. After weeks of sense memory, animal work, Meisner, and Ernie McClintock's Jazz Acting, I was hooked. And I realized I could be on stage and involved in theatre, no singing required! That led to more acting classes, playwriting classes, screenwriting classes, a directing class, and eventually, a double major in Medicine, Health, and Society and Theatre at Vanderbilt University.

As a senior, I got to play Ama in the Nashville Repertory Theatre's School Girls;Or, the African Mean Girls Play, even opening the comedic musical number "Greatest Love of All" in Act 3!