Shakura Dickson - You Just Want to Keep Talking to Her
- John Sloan III
- Nov 4
- 5 min read
Shakura Dickson Brings Heart, Humor, and Heritage to The Stratford Festival's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels — Catch It Before the Curtain Falls
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“People just need to laugh right now—and they will definitely get one with our show. It’s fast, it’s funny, and you’ll leave feeling lighter than when you came in.” — Shakura Dickson
Some conversations linger long after they end—not because they were profound or political, though those have their place, too—but because the energy exchanged was so full of light. Talking with Shakura Dickson feels like that. Her laugh is easy. Her honesty is refreshing. And her smile? It lights up a room, even over Zoom.
We spoke the morning after Stratford Festival’s opening night. The adrenaline had barely worn off, but you wouldn’t have known it. What poured through was gratitude—and joy. Joy at performing. Joy at being in community. Joy at finding herself in a role that feels both playful and powerful.
That joy seems to exist as her throughline – a thread that connects an entire life of family, friendship, and theatre.
From Dance Studios to Dramatic Stages
Shakura’s story begins like so many artists of color—with the quiet spark of possibility. A friend’s dance class. A musician father. A child who dreamed of being Brandy. That spark grew into formal training at Sheridan College’s musical theatre program, where she immersed herself in the triple-threat demands of voice, dance, and acting.
Still, the industry didn’t take her where she expected. “Honestly, I work a lot in straight theatre,” she says, using the industry term for non-musical plays. “That’s where I deepened my technique.”
Her portrayal of “Stella” in A Streetcar Named Desire stands out—an emotionally grueling, complex role that taught her not just how to act, but how to recover.
“Every night, we’d sit together after the show, decompress. We held each other up.”
It’s that kind of ensemble trust and emotional rigor that shapes her work now, even when the tone is lighter.
A Musical With Meaning
Returning to musicals in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is less of a pivot and more of a homecoming. The song “Here I Am”—her character’s showstopper—has been in her back pocket since college.
“It was my party piece,” she laughs. “When the audition came through, I just thought, I’m gonna get this.”
Her confidence was not misplaced. Shakura brings to her comedic role a subtlety that’s informed by years of dramatic training.
“If you’re a storyteller first, you can bring that to any medium,” she says.
“Musical theatre gets a bad rap, but to live in a world where we sing our feelings? That’s a specific kind of acting. That’s not easy.”
And with Stratford’s choreography? She doesn’t sugarcoat it.
“The dancing has kicked my ass,” she says with a grin. “There are lifts, spins, and all this crazy movement—it’s like athletic theatre. But it’s also a thrill. There’s nothing like making an audience laugh.”
What Makes Stratford Different
The Stratford Festival isn’t a summer-stock pop-up—it’s an institution, known for its marathon rehearsal periods, deep bench of talent, and commitment to the craft. For Shakura, that means months of rehearsal, character development, training, and a community that becomes family.
“It’s like an island,” she says. “We’re all here together. You hang out with who you work with. You build something.”
Her admiration for her castmates is clear, especially the ensemble dancers.
“They’re machines,” she says with exuberant reverence. “It’s incredible to watch. And there are so few places where you get to do a show this big, with this many people.”
And there’s the joy of discovery, too—the way an audience’s laughter shapes the show after months in rehearsal.
“At first, only the cast was laughing. Then after ten previews, no one laughs anymore—we’ve heard it a thousand times. So when the real audience comes in, and they laugh in places we didn’t expect, it’s magic. It’s like—oh yeah, this works.”
“Anytime there’s a school group in the audience, I always try to find the kids of color afterward. I tell them, ‘Stick with it—you can do this.’ Because I remember being that kid.” — Shakura Dickson
Laughter as Resistance, Representation as Ritual
In a season that includes deep tragedy and political drama, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels might seem like the perfect popcorn comic relief.
But for Shakura, the show is anything but frivolous.
“There’s a lot of heavy in the world right now,” she says. “People need a place to laugh, to breathe. This show lets them do that.”
And still—it goes deeper.
Shakura remembers being a kid, watching The Lion King tour, and seeing Black children run down the aisle as Simba and Nala.
“That stayed with me,” she says softly. “It mattered that they looked like me.”
Now, she’s on the Stratford stage creating that same spark for a new generation.
“Representation isn’t just a box to check. It’s oxygen for young artists trying to imagine a life in this.” Stratford, she notes, has long been ahead of the curve in inclusive casting.
“Even when I was in high school, I saw a Black actress playing ‘Celia’ in As You Like It. That stuck. And now, it’s not just one or two of us—it’s the whole cast. That’s real progress.”
A Cultural Bridge Built on Art
Spending nearly a year in Stratford, Shakura calls the town “a small, artistic island.” But like all islands, it’s connected to something larger—an artistic ecosystem that stretches far beyond the Avon River.
For decades, Michigan audiences have crossed the border to experience the festival’s stages, and Shakura understands why. “It’s a community,” she says. “It’s rigorous, but it’s also about belonging.” That sense of belonging—whether reverberating through a rehearsal hall or theatre lobby—is what makes Stratford special.
And in that shared space between nations, cultures, and stories, Shakura Dickson stands as both ambassador and artist: proof that the stage can be both escape and reflection, laughter and legacy.
“You won’t regret it,” she says, smiling. “You’ll have a great night at the theatre. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll leave a little lighter.”
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels runs at the Stratford Festival through the end of this month—and if ever there was a moment to cross the border, grab a ticket, and let yourself laugh, this is it. Because in a world still learning how to hold both joy and justice, a night at the theatre might just be the reminder we all need: that art heals, humor connects, and stories—especially ones told like this—can bridge more than distance.
Catch Shakura Dickson and the company of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels before the curtain falls on Nov 23.
