{"id":1852,"date":"2013-03-07T23:07:55","date_gmt":"2013-03-07T23:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=1852"},"modified":"2013-03-07T23:07:55","modified_gmt":"2013-03-07T23:07:55","slug":"jsu-alumna-erica-michelle-goes-from-the-jsu-theatre-department-to-the-big-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2013\/03\/07\/jsu-alumna-erica-michelle-goes-from-the-jsu-theatre-department-to-the-big-screen\/","title":{"rendered":"JSU Alumna Erica Michelle goes from the JSU Theatre Department to the Big Screen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Erica Michelle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taylor Bembery<\/strong>
\n Blue & White Flash \/ Variety Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jackson State University alumna Erica Singleton, better known as Erica Michelle, nabbed the role \u201cDaphne\u201d in the new horror film \u201cThe Last Exorcism Part II\u201d that just premiered in theaters Mar. 1. The El Dorado, Ark. native has gone from the theater department at JSU to the big screen inside your local movie theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy agency sent me an email about \u201cThe Last Exorcism Part II\u201d saying they were casting and the director wanted to see me. I didn\u2019t want to do it because it was \u201cThe Last Exorcism.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of sensitive to my faith and that was just something I did not want to do,\u201d said Michelle. \u201cI remember my agent emailing me saying the director has not yet received your tape yet. You need to have it in tomorrow by a certain time or they were going to drop me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle did the audition tape and about two weeks later they called and asked could they see her in New Orleans. She was in school at JSU at the time and I had to drive down for the meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could not remember what I was doing.\u00a0 It was kind of like and out of body experience. I had to act like I was killing somebody, beating the heck out of a chair with a newspaper. When I walked out I ran to my car crying because I felt disgusted and embarrassed that I couldn\u2019t remember what I did,\u201d said Michelle.<\/p>\n

Despite how she felt about her audition the best was yet to come for Michelle. A week later her agent\u2019s assistant texted her asking for her personal information. The next morning her agent called and asked, \u201cMay I speak to Daphne?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like who? This is Eric Michelle.\u00a0 Then my agent told me I needed to start claiming the role of Daphne because I booked \u201cThe Last Exorcism,\u201d said Michelle.<\/p>\n

Michelle went back and forth from school to New Orleans to film.<\/p>\n

Michelle\u2019s character, Daphne, is one of the four main girls living in the half way house. They are called \u201cThe Devil\u2019s Girls.\u201d\u00a0 Michelle\u2019s character is the first person to see that there is something wrong with Nell. Something is off with Nell and she doesn\u2019t trust her or the situation. Daphne has a negative vibe, there are moments when you might see her laugh or bust a joke every now and again.<\/p>\n

Michelle said she is pursuing acting as a career and not for celebrity status.<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly want to get my check and go home. I want to keep my life as private and normal as possible and do my thing. Some people grow up and want to be doctors, lawyers, accountants but I wanted to be an actress because it\u2019s what I love to do,\u201d said Michelle.<\/p>\n

Michelle is also appreciative of the faculty of the Theatre Department at JSU and also had some advice for students that are trying to pursue a career in acting.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy advice to students is to start off in the theatre department. I didn\u2019t have the opportunity to join MADDRAMA but if you are serious about your craft use your resources that will benefit your career and goal,\u201dsaid Michelle. \u201cI take my hat off to Dr.Nadia Bodie, Professor Yohance Myles, and Ms. Yolanda Williams, because they showed me some things.\u00a0 It\u2019s different going to an HBCU in a theatre program opposed to going to a predominately white institutions theatre program. It\u2019s a different form of learning, it\u2019s a different form of education, but if you utilize your resources that they give you, you can be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle describes herself as bold, colorful, strong, resilient, the opposite of safe but she is humble and determined. If you want to keep up with her you can follow her on twitter: @imericamichelle or visit her website: imericamichelle.com. Most importantly don\u2019t forget to check her out as Daphne in the new horror film \u201cThe Last Exorcism Part II\u201d in theatres now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taylor Bembery Blue & White Flash \/ Variety Editor Jackson State University alumna Erica Singleton, better known as Erica Michelle, nabbed the role \u201cDaphne\u201d in the new horror film \u201cThe Last Exorcism Part II\u201d that just premiered in theaters Mar. 1. The El Dorado, Ark. native has gone from the theater department at JSU to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1852","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-variety"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}