Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph “Joe P” Palmore.
Joseph, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I come from a family of Preachers and Performers, so being on stage and in front of people has always been in my blood. My father introduced me to Theatre Arts and acting, and my mother gave me my confidence and will to be good or great at anything I put my mind to. I started performing at the age of four. I grew up going to my dad’s theatre classes and his summer programs for youth that he would host. I’ve always loved to entertain people, so naturally, I’ve done it my whole life and now earn a living doing it.
I’m a product of Jack Yates High School here in Houston, where one of my speech teachers helped me grow in my craft. I then attended and graduated from Clark Atlanta University where I performed in plays and hosted shows my whole time there. When I moved back to Houston, I started working at The Ensemble Theatre doing children shows. That was until an actor couldn’t make it to a mainstage show, that was about to open one night at the Theater, and they needed me to fill in for the night.
With no knowledge of the show or script, I filled in and killed it, and from then on the number of shows, I got booked to do each year has grown. Through the Grace of God, I’ve been blessed to do some pretty awesome shows and work at some prestigious theatres here in the city and across the country. I’ve done shows at The Ensemble Theatre where I started my professional career, in addition to performing at The Alley Theatre, Stages Repertory Theatre, 4th Wall Theatre Company, A.D Players, and many others.
I’ve now been acting in this city for 12 years. During that time, I fell in love with writing and performing poetry. So in 2008, I started doing that here in the city, and it opened many doors for me and introduced me to a great network of dope Poets and writers. I was able to be on Season 4 of Lexus Verses and Flow on TV One. I was also one of the hosts of one of the greatest and longest running poetry shows in Houston, The Poetry Lounge. All of these experiences and journeys led me to starting my company, Acting Up Studios with a friend and business associates.
I wanted to share all the things I had learned throughout my journey, with people who would never have the opportunity or the resources to do so. I’ve taught at the Alley Theatre and helped create the Poetry Program they have there still to this day. I’ve taught in prisons and Juvenile facilities and have helped youth utilize the arts as an outlet for pain or hardships in life. I continue to this day to offer workshops in acting and poetry performance.
I teach private sessions and work one-on-one with kids that want to pursue acting commercially or get into certain theater programs in the city or across the country. I love to teach, and I love to perform, and I’ve now made a career out of doing so. We wanted to start a company so we would never be dependent on waiting on theaters to hire us. We wanted to create and share our own work, and we do! I don’t really believe in Good or bad luck. I feel like every experience can either be a blessing or a lesson and I approach life like that.
I trust the things I choose to do are guided by God, with my family in mind. So no luck, just preparation meeting opportunity.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has definitely not been smooth! Not as an actor, not as a poet, and definitely not as a business owner. I’ve started at the bottom in each field and worked up to where I am now. I’ve been turned down at many auditions just to get booked for some of the greatest shows I’ve done. I’ve sucked on stage (not often), but I have gotten better. I’ve written terrible poems but have performed the hell out of them to where people think they are good. I’ve had to figure it out.
I’ve gotten some great help and mentorship in each field, but it was still a struggle and a process. You have to be dedicated to this life, for very few it happens overnight, but others have to put in the work and stay consistent until it finally takes off for you. I’ve been at it 12 years and granted each year I’ve grown to new levels, I still haven’t reached where I want to be and what I feel I’ve been called to do, so I stay working at it!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
ACTing Up Studios provides the platform for artists to invest in their art and reach personal performance goals: our workshops, private sessions, and events specializing in offering educational and creative experiences that transform lives through Poetic and Theatre Arts. I’m most proud of the work our company has done with the Youth.
Providing a platform for them to have a voice and express themselves through acting, poetry, or both. I’m proud of our Annual Disturbing the Peace Poetry Slam and Performance, we have been doing for a few years. I’m proud that we can connect striving performers with actual professionals in the same field and have them build off each other. What makes us different is that we relate to the youth and to an adult crowd in ways that they haven’t seen before.
We aren’t to “artsy” and not too bland either, just the right amount to inspire others to try what we are attempting to teach. We meet the student where they are and guide them to where they need to be. We teach students how to be professionals and how to earn for themselves and market themselves — all tools they don’t usually get when just taking a regular class.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.actingupstudios.com
- Email: actingupstudios@outlook.com
- Instagram: @iamjoep @actingupstudios
- Twitter: @iamjoep @actingupstudios
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