Yolanda Maria

Yolanda Maria Davis, a daughter of Detroit living in Chicago. Music, theater, film and writing are in her DNA. With a drummer/vibraphonist/bandleader for Father, and a poet/photographer/healer for a Mother, Yolanda is poised to shatter old stereotypes and build new images. She is currently writing, co-producing and recording an album of original songs that explores and embraces her musical influences and inspirations, from lilting tropical melodies to hard driving hip-hop lyrics and beats. Proud of her African-American and Filipino heritage, she is all too aware of the lack of relevant acting roles for her "type" and she is passionately penning scripts for various stage and film projects. Most recently, she was awarded the 2005 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Role in a Musical Revue. This acclaim was most likely due to her captivating performance of a woman scorned. Though warm and outgoing, Yolanda is capable of delving into a character's truth, no matter how dark or distant, to bring it to the song, stage or screen, where untold stories can live and breathe. Yolanda credits her talent to the support and inspiration from the artistic genius of her late grandfather, the painter Gervacio Bandico, as well as her thorough training at MOSAIC Youth Theater of Detroit, Interlochen Arts Camp and Columbia College of Chicago. A truly gifted and genuine artist, Yolanda's life, art and work is an expression of love for her people. "Maybe it's naive, but I believe an America is possible that sees me and understands me. I can't rely on the "old" America to tell my story - I don't exist in that paradigm. It's up to us living now to tell the "new" American story. Sometimes I tell the story on the page, sometimes I tell it to a beat. That's why I'm here. That's what I'm doing." -Yolanda Maria ***Yolanda is recording her album at Studio Sooner ***