Who is Adama Joy Sall?
Where it all started...
Hailing from Phenix City, Alabama, Adama Joy, like the phoenix, continues to rise! Before I knew about the wonders of theatre-making or the life I would come to lead as a Griotte, I knew what it felt like to sing gospel music on Sunday mornings at my hometown church. This is where music became a spiritual offering for me. Church is where I learned that my voice was my way of expressing myself, my personal storytelling device. Using my voice to tell stories through the songs was my way of connecting to God, something bigger than myself. My mother encouraged me to find my artistic voice, singing solos in the choir in my own special style and creating songs to help me memorize my lines for speeches. When I would stand up in front of my church, ready to tell them a story from the bible or recite a poem from Langston Hughes, I felt equipped in my ability to perform in my purpose of reaching the people whose hearts and minds were ready to hear what I had to say. After years of performing in both community and high school theater, I decided to continue learning about the craft at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts!
During my time at NYU, I specifically found and fostered my passions for Playwriting, Music making, and Drama Therapy. One aspect of my artistry that has continued to become a part of my other disciplines is: Improvisation. Whether it be performing with my Improv team or playing around with vocal improvisation, Comedy will always be a part of me.
Who is the "The Modern-Day Griotte?"
“I am a singer and an actor. I am primarily an artist. Had I been born in Africa, I would have belonged, I hope, to that family which sings and chants the glories and legends of the tribe - Paul Robeson, 1936.”
The family Paul Robeson, legendary African American actor, singer, lawyer, athlete, civil rights activist, linguist, and more, dreamed of belonging to from his home of the United States was a family of griots or jelis, essential workers in preserving and shifting culture through the ways they tell stories. Griots historically belonged to families of griots in Western African or Sahelian societies who took on various titles and wore unlimited hats.
Over the years, I've put in over 10,000 hours as an actor & singer, but with the family I was born into, your creativity can't stop there. In addition to performing in musicals, plays, and everything in between, I've had the pleasure of creating and encountering storytelling through bringing creative visions to life!
For more of my philosophy on the purpose and history of the griot, check out the link below!
Telling Stories and touching people with my gifts has been and will always be a part of my life. The modern-day griots and griottes, across the diaspora, are the preservers of history through their forms of storytelling, and shapers of culture through their artistic voices. If I can inspire one person through my work as an griotte, it's just one more reason to keep going, keep creating, keep living.
My middle name is literally "Joy" I at least want to bring that to each audience I reach.
I know my Angels (Mommy, Dad, and Danda) are watching me from above, smiling at their little Adama Joy!