Behind the Curtain: Meeting Fela! Actors from The State Press on Vimeo.
Despite their fame and leading roles in the touring Broadway musical Fela!, Michelle Williams and actor Adesola Osakalumi agree that through hard work, perseverance and having a passionate drive, anyone can achieve the goals they set out for themselves.
These actors gave SPM a look at their journeys of success and give college students advice to begin their stories.
Fame is no stranger to Williams. With the name Destiny’s Child associated with hers, her college experiences were different than others.
She faced many challenges in her pursuit of making it into the music business. Despite her family’s pattern of going to college, getting a degree, then starting careers and having families, Williams says that she never found anything wrong with their pathways of life, but she says “Something inside me was still yearning to do music.”
She took a chance and relied on her faith in God to provide a way to achieve her goals.
“My favorite scripture in the Bible is Proverbs 3 [verse] 6, ‘In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he’ll direct your path,’” says Williams. “I feel like I’m most fulfilled when I know I’m on the right path.”
As Williams says it’s important to stay focused, Osakalimi says passion is what matters most in life.
Coming from an artistic family, they encouraged him to do whatever he wanted to do, but were also able to tell him their honest opinions about situations when they felt he needed to hear it.
“Having people who tell you the truth is important and my family has always been able to tell me the truth,” he says
During the interview Osakalumi shows some personality as he busts out some “pop” dance moves to the lobby’s background music.
“When you love what you do, it takes the feeling of it being such a chore [away],” Osakalumi says. “So whatever it is a college student is involved in, or finds themselves being passionate about, it makes sense for them to pursue it.”
Reach the videographer at ltnguy14@asu.edu or via Twitter @luu_t_nguyen
