Meet Safiya Fredericks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Safiya Fredericks.

Hi Safiya, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’d always sung in the church choir and performed at school functions but I got the bug when I was nine years old and saw a classmate perform in a play. I nervously auditioned for the same local program with an impression of one of my convent-bound teachers, and to my surprise, got in. I have an amazingly artistic family, my aunt Carole was a singer in Paris, my father owned an art gallery, my uncle is Taj Mahal, however my parents knew from experience how hard the road ahead would be and encouraged me to do anything but the performing arts. Though I loved acting and singing and was obsessed with television, I’d conceded to this idea and set my sights on being like one of the professionals portrayed on TV and not one of the actors playing them. Encouragement came from my brother, an accomplished musician, who told me to continue my artistic pursuits and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I started on a very traditional path, enrolling at UC Irvine in Drama, studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, moving to New York. However, I still struggled to work as an actor instead of a waiter/barista/the many jobs I bounced around in. I moved back home in a serious funk and eventually decided to audition again. I found that my years in NYC gave me the hustle one needs in this business, and moving back home gave me the career I had been longing for.

Unfortunately along the way, I lost my best friend and then my father, having already lost my mother while in college. Grief has often left me feeling very unsupported and lonely. I find comfort in honoring my loved ones through my work and solace in knowing my loved ones are still present with me. My work in the film “I’m Charlie Walker” was very poignant for me as my parents went through a lot of those same struggles. It was an honor to bring life to a woman like Ann Walker, who held down the household so Charlie could change the world.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I was very blessed by the fact that so much wonderful artistic work is being done at home in the Bay. Moving back (and that hustle) opened me up to a ton of new opportunities. That being said, I am most known for the flexibility and breadth of my work in theatre, which has allowed me to work at such renowned places as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Rep, Cal Shakes, Berkeley Rep, and many others. I love being able to do everything from musicals like ‘Hairspray’ or ‘The Color Purple’ to Shakespeare like ‘A Winter’s Tale’ or ‘Much Ado’. My personal peak experiences include ‘Power of Sail’ ‘black odyssey’ and most recently ‘Can I Touch It?’ as I have a preference for work in all mediums that pushes social justice forward and speaks to the Black experience. I am also really proud of working on ‘Book of Boba Fett’ because it offered such an intimate glimpse into the magic of filmmaking and was just plain fun.

How do you think about happiness?
I think happiness is ever elusive, but you can always find peace. I absolutely love to dance, laugh, puzzle, kiki with friends. However, its recently occurred to me that my major source of sustained joy is through gratitude. Through all of life’s difficulties, I make it a practice to celebrate gratitude daily, and through that I can see the rainbow in the clouds.

Contact Info:

• Website: safiyafredericks.com
• Instagram: @safiyaf
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/safiyafredericks/
• Twitter: @theonlysafiya