Life and Work with Racquel McKenzie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Racquel McKenzie.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
To start, my family and I are from Jamaica. I immigrated to Chicago, with my powerhouse parents, when I was a child and they instilled in me the drive to achieve greatness. Between my mom being a dancer and my dad being a businessman through and through I decided to make art my business. My first memory of performing was at age five. Throughout school, I danced, acted, sang, played the violin, and modeled. It was the most comfortable place for me. The joy and even anxiety of being on stage had the same delight as trying to catch a butterfly. Once I graduated high school, I received my BA in theater which became the launching pad for my professional career. Getting back into the real world was terrifying because there was no safety net, but I jump anyway. That was all I could do. It was either make my dream a reality or find a normal job and waste all that college money and that was never going to be an option. I moved to Phoenix about four years after graduating after receiving an amazing promotion with my theater company. Phoenix, I quickly realized, is quite a different beast then Chicago. You have to thoroughly seek out work be it theater or the like. Acting/directing/choreography is something I know on a molecular level. I can always find the work or create it myself and since I felt I had a good handle on that I decided to take my modeling more seriously about a year ago. Instead of making it a sometime-thing, I made it part of my trunk of trades. I’ve sought out work and used both my acting and dance background to propel my shoots forward. I didn’t do it alone though. There’s’ no way. No one is an island. I have fellow actors/models who have made me aware of casting calls, projects, shoots, and the like. I have photographers who worked with me before I had a strong handle on my craft. I have friends who share and reshare the work on my social media to theirs. My family who reads my blog and every paper I’m published in and then shares it with who they know. These are the people who have helped bring me to this place. And those are the people I’ll bring along on this journey.

Has it been a smooth road?
The road has been mostly smooth as far as being a working actor. It has been less smooth as a model. I used to think actors were the most underappreciated individuals of the art world until I became a model. The general struggle is everyone wants free labor. I can understand that, especially if you are starting off but we have to remember without models there is no show, there is no print ad and without actors, there is no show. These people work terribly hard but because they love what they do they often opt out of being valued the way they should. If you are facing this now, remember that you have value and that you bring a certain set of skills to the table. Find where your line is. When do you trade your time and when are you compensated for it. For my young women, your body is on a constant display for criticism. How tall you are, heavy you are, or photogenic you are will come into play. It is up to you to be so rooted in your own self-power that fleeting comments don’t unearth you. And always practice. Always look through magazines, watch movies, pose in the mirror, and never stop growing. Being stagnant is the downfall for any entertainer. You must practice your craft. Also, never compromise your integrity. Don’t let a dollar sign push you to do something you know deeply that you don’t want to do. Things done in the dark will come to light as we have seen, so save yourself the heartache. There will also be times that you may be asked to do things that seem questionable or meet someone somewhere that makes you uneasy. That nagging feeling is your gut. Follow it. It will save you every time.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I do many things. I am an actor, model, dancer, director, writer, and teaching artist. Currently, I’m teaching theater literacy and musical theater to young children in the valley and a level 5 conservatory theater program. I specialize in stage acting from Shakespeare to contemporary, hip hop and liturgical dance, print modeling, performance poetry, and a variety of acting techniques including Meisner and movement/dialects.

I am the proudest of my work ethic and drive. What anyone who has worked with me will tell you is that I bring an undeniable energy to everything. I think critically and try to anticipate what a photographer might want to see or what problems can arise in staging a show or shoot. I don’t just think about posing or writing. I think about how a certain outfit might catch the light or how the audience might perceive a piece I’ve written. Will it stir them to take action or move them to compassion. This is what sets me apart. Working with me gets you a critical thinker and a problem solver. You get a positive attitude and an encouraging disposition. You get someone who takes what they do seriously and will never fail. Failure is just not an option. Whatever vision you or I have, it will come to fruition.

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
The most important piece of advise I could give to a young woman would be to have a plan. It sounds base but my dad used to say “if you fail to plan your plan will fail.” I used to hate that, until I realized setting up a plan of action sets everything into motion. It gives you a timeline and an end goal. It gives you the steps you need to get there and back up steps in case you take a different path. You can have ambition, you can have a great body or skills, but if you don’t draw a blueprint how will you achieve those goals? Don’t just be an artist. Be a businesswoman.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.racquelmckenzie.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kellzbroadway
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/racquelmmckenzie
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/kellzbroadway
• Other: www.kellzbroadway.wordpress.com

Image Credit:
Photographer: Ron Meade, HMUA/Stylist: Racquel McKenzie. Blouse: Ralph Lauren, Skirt: Windsor, Shoes: Christian Louboutin, Belt: Hermes

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.