Downers Grove theater artist forges career onstage and online
Leslie Ann Sheppard’s talent was uncovered by chance.
The Chicago theater artist and filmmaker was a youngster wearing headphones and singing along to her parents’ stereo in the family’s Downers Grove home when her mom and dad — choristers at the Moody Church in Chicago — overheard her.
Recognizing their child had talent, they enrolled her in a children’s choral program at another church. Sheppard attended, reluctantly.
“I didn’t want to go at first,” she said. “It meant Saturdays I wouldn’t be able to hang out with my friends.”
The experience sparked her love of music, which she pursued as a member of her middle school choir. She began taking acting lessons with the Children’s Theatre of Western Springs. At Downers Grove South High School, she participated in the speech team and performed in high school theater productions.
Sheppard’s passion led her to Illinois State University, where she earned a degree in theater. After graduation, she headed to Chicago, where she’s been working ever since at theaters including Drury Lane, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, First Folio, Theater Wit, Steppenwolf, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Northlight and Shattered Globe Theatre, where she is an ensemble member. She’s currently co-starring in the company’s Midwest premiere of “Morning, Noon, and Night” by Kirsten Greenidge.
An SGT ensemble member saw the play’s world premiere in Boston and recommended it for the company. Sheppard knew Greenidge’s work, having performed in a workshop production of the playwright’s dramedy “One Penny Down” at Writers Theatre.
“She was a cool, interesting, intelligent human to work with,” said Sheppard. “I love her words.”
She continued: “I remember thinking: How beautiful to have a play about a mother-daughter relationship in a Black family where even though there is tragedy, it doesn’t end as a tragedy and people don’t stay broken.”
Set post-lockdown, “Morning, Noon, and Night” explores how mom Mia and her daughter Dailyn cope in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sheppard plays Miss Candice, an AI-generated social media influencer who “steps out of the algorithm” and into their lives.
“There’s magic, technology and jokes. Kirsten doesn’t write a play without jokes in it,” said Sheppard, who promises the production will make audience members laugh while also tugging at their heartstrings.
Sheppard doesn’t confine herself to the stage. In addition to appearing on the TV shows “Chicago Fire” and “Mob Doctor,” she wrote and starred in a digital short titled “Subordinate,” which she self-produced through her company, Padded Corner Studios.
She doesn’t favor one style or format over another. For Sheppard, it’s the story that matters.
“I appreciate poetry, which can happen in contemporary works and classical works,” she said. “These days, I’m more interested in being able to bring more of who I am into a piece.”
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“Morning, Noon, and Night”
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through March 28
Where: Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, (773) 975-8150, sgtheatre.org
Tickets: $20-$60