Nafeesa Monroe

Nafeesa Monroe was born in Northern California to a father of African-American and Haitian descent and a mother of German and Irish decent. Raised primarily by her mother in the largely white neighborhood of Palo Alto, California, Nafeesa's ethnicity and self-identity were constantly challenged. The arts, acting and spoken word, have been a way through which Nafeesa communicates her belief and understanding of identity, and the truth that she carries, that we are all the same at the core. At 10 years old Nafeesa made her acting debut with the Palo Alto Children's Theatre (PACT) as a Snowflake in "The Snow Queen of Ice." It was here that she caught "the bug" of performance. It was the first of more than 30 productions in which she appeared. PACT became her second home. Although in high school Nafeesa focused much of her energy on math and science, the arts never left her. She had a knack and curiosity for it all. Some of her starring roles included Ronnette in "Little Shop of Horrors," Fastrada in "Pippin," Mary Magdalene in "Jesus Christ Super Star," Helena in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," and Julia in "The Wedding Band." In her college years at Wesleyan University, Nafeesa featured in the student films "Malled Over," and "Coming Out." Her theatre roles included Lady in Purple in "for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbo is enuf," Ophelia in "Hamlet Machine," and Angel in "Jose Rivera's Marisol." After moving to Los Angeles, she studied with Martin Barter at the Meisner-Carville School of Acting. In film, she's starred in the features "A State of Mind," "The Truth, The Pain, The Sacrifice: An Actor's Reality" and the short film "Unwelcome" for which she received a Best Actress in a Horror Film nomination from the Eerie Horror Film Festival in Eerie, Pennsylvania in 2004. She most recently had supporting roles in the independent features "The Man Who Couldn't," Winner of the Spirit Award at the Bare Bones International Film Festival in 2005 and "Naked Brown Men," Winner of the Audience Choice Award in The Other Venice Film Festival in 2005. She has also co-starred on several television shows. Her Los Angeles theatre credits include A. LaShaun Lee in Michael Ajakwe Jr.'s "Company Policy" and an award winning performance in the ensemble cast of Levy Lee Simon's Trilogy "For The Love Of Freedom" as Praise Singer Gold, Queen Claire and Letitia. On Off-Off Broadway in New York, Nafeesa originated the role of Sheyla Duvall in the successful world premiere of John Mailer's "Hello Herman." Also a talented Spoken Word Artist, in 2002, Nafeesa was recognized for her passion and ability and hand picked by multi-platinum recording artist Jewel to open for several of her "This Way" Summer Tour dates as a part of Soul City Cafe. She also appeared on the fourth season of "Russell Simmon's Def Poetry" on HBO. Coinciding with Jewel's Tour, Nafeesa and producer extraordinaire Glen Williams Jr. ("Gee Dawg 'n Joe Boy," Soundtrack for Showtime's "Leaving the Life" special) collaborated on Nafeesa's debut album, Super Woman. The CD is a collection of her most intimate spoken word pieces. A preliminary pressing sold out while on tour with Jewel and has been intriguing and engaging people from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds. Most recently, Nafeesa's latest passion relating to her spoken word has been her participation with two performance groups, "Be the Change" and the "SuperSHEroes," both of which regularly perform for Neale Donald Walsch's Humanity's Team, a movement created to raise the consciousness of the individual and thus raising the consciousness of the world. Both "Be the Change" and "SuperSHEroes" perform with the intent to uplift, encourage and inspire, a message towards which Nafeesa's artistry tends.