Tamara Anderson of The Media Theatre's HAIRSPRAY Creates THE VOICES PROJECT

Tamara Anderson, of The Media Theatre's "Hairspray", is an actress with a mission. Onstage, her role as Motormouth Maybelle assists in bringing integration to Baltimore and offstage she is the creator of a theatre piece, "The Voices Project", that serves as a platform for dropout prevention to shine a light on the dire need for sustainable programs for individuals who self select to leave or are pushed out of school.

The Leeway Foundation, which annually distributes grants to women and transgender artists that focus on creative expression to create social change, awarded her the 2011 Art and Change Grant t0 fund the Voices Project. She finds portraying Motormouth in The Media Theatre's production of the Tony winning musical an extension of her work with young people.

"Both my "Voices Project" and "Hairspray" provide important lessons for young people and the adults that work with them," she said.

She resides in Mt. Airy, and has lived in the Philadelphia region for about six years, but actually spent several years as a middle school and dance/drama teacher in Chicago, and later in New York City. Additionally, she provided music, dance, and drama instruction through her not for profit Genesis ArtsReach in Chicago and Brooklyn. Her work at the University of Phoenix as a faculty member continues to support her ideologies because of the access they provide to a college degree.

"Only 54 percent of students graduate from Philadelphia public schools," she explained. "My hope is to help change that as an education advocate, just as Motormouth in "Hairspray" assists in creating change for the better."

Not only an actress, singer, and educator, Tamara is a professional writer and recently developed a novel entitled "The Soul of A Chanteuse," a book of short stories and poetry available for Amazon Kindle inspired by her one person show. She is a columnist for Examiner.com about education in Philadelphia and the region. 

"Educating, Writing, and Performing equally continue to bring me great joy and sustained edification," she said. "Each of us is a shining star, but so many of us keep our light within us. I want all young people and adults to let their light shine and discover how they can live with great compassion and joy."

To create her dropout prevention piece, she collected stories from students who were, themselves, dropouts. She worked with dropouts and adjudicated youth from Philadelphia. The goal is for the "Voices Project" to be taken to several of the region's schools. Its first performance was this past June at St. Michael's Lutheran Church.

As an actress, she has also appeared on film in "Barbershop 2" and has been seen in "Little Shop of Horrors" as well as "Cinderella", "Yellowman", and her own one-woman cabaret "Soul of a Chanteuse" performed at The Duplex in NYC. She holds a Bachelors in Secondary Education from the University of Illinois with a Theatre minor. She has a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University.

"I'm so looking forward to portraying Motormouth in "Hairspray" at The Media Theatre," she said. "The regional theatre has a great repuation and this role is one of the finest, carrying with it a very positive message--as does the entire musical."

To see Tamara Anderson in "Hairspray" at The Media Theatre, call The Media Theatre at 610-891-0100 or visit mediatheatre.org.

"Hairspray" will light up State Street in Media from September 26-November 4. The show is all about a teen with a mission—Tracy Turnblad, played by Springfield's Victoria Mayo. In the musical, Tracy hopes to integrate the Corny Collins dance show, becomes a tv celebrity, and wins everyone's heart. Broadway's William Thomas Evans will be Edna in the production. Other cast members include Jennifer Bissell, JP Dunphy, Michelle Eugene, Bruce Rebold, Roger Ricker, and Amy Walton.

To find out more about Tamara Anderson's "The Voices Project", which is available for schools, email her at moact1973@gmail.com.

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