Arts & Culture Black in the Green Room; Keith Arthur Bolden and How Spelman College Changed His Life
June 01, 2023
By Keith L. Underwood
Ten-years ago, actor Keith Arthur Bolden, known for a multitude of roles in film and television including “Till,” “Cobra Kai,” and the “Ms. Pat Show,” packed his bags for a new life in Atlanta, Georgia.
He left the over-crowded entertainment market of Hollywood for an opportunity to teach at Spelman College. Today, he is a tenured MFA Associate Professor of Theatre and Performance at the all-female historically Black college.
“This move to Atlanta has yielded some great growth in me personally, emotionally, and spiritually,” said Bolden. “I think it’s impacted my career.”
Bolden says he wasn’t exposed to the theatre growing up. He discovered the theatrical arts in college. Bolden attended Fresno State as a journalism major, and he was interested in becoming a film critic.
“There was something about movies, and watching people embody characters, that appealed to me,” expressed Bolden.
Then he remembers the university hiring their first African American professor in Theatre, Thomas-Whit Ellis. Ellis visited one of Bolden’s classes and asked students to audition for the George C. Wolfe play, “The Colored Museum.”
“I subsequently changed my major,” said Bolden. “I wanted to pursue acting because for me that applause was what I had been looking for my whole life.”
Bolden recalls, “I couldn't make headway into the TV and Film scene in L.A., but the L.A. theatre scene offered the most challenging work of my theatre career.”
Unfortunately, Bolden recalls not making any headway in the Los Angeles theatre scene. He says it was the most challenging work of his career. “You don’t make any money, because it’s not commercial theatre,” stated Bolden.
He feels community theatre is not respected in Los Angeles, and audiences are quick to judge it. So, he took what he learned in the L.A. theatre scene and carried it to Atlanta.
“I found the Atlanta regional theatre, The Alliance, and I did mail-ins to all the local agents,” remembered Bolden. “The agency that called me back, I met with them the same day, and now I’ve been with them for 10 years.”
That agency was Atlanta Models and Talent. Bolden discloses that he has been blessed with some of the most pivotal supporting roles of his career, thanks to his agency. And though the move to Atlanta has been fruitful to Bolden’s acting career, he affirms his role as a professor is more plentiful.
“I’m a tenured professor now for 10 years, and to see my students as they transition through the department and how their artistry flourishes is so gratifying,” exclaimed Bolden.
Keith L. Underwood is the host of the KBLA Talk 1580 entertainment radio show, "Black In The Green Room." A former entertainment publicist, he currently develops platforms for performers, creatives and Hollywood execs to shine and inspire. IG: @umaworldwide.