Conversations with Justy Robinson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Justy Robinson.  

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my art journey by acting in Creative Strategies for Change’s Community Cypher project at 17, an initiative that brought together a group of kids to devise a play and perform it. On the writing side, I had been trying to write novels since I was around ten years old and developed my craft into writing stage-play, screenplay, poetry, and even editorial and creative nonfiction primarily for the 5 Star News. More of my work can be read in the past issues of a publication my friends and I created, Don’t Shoot the Zine. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Through my art journey so far, challenges have included not getting roles in plays around Denver due to how young I am, having several screenplays and a full-length stage-play written but none of them being produced (yet, fingers crossed), flakey friends who previously said they’d be a part of a film and other projects just to put no effort in or not show up at all, a lack of support from the community unless what I’m doing explicitly helps them in their goals, a lack of financial backing to embark on bigger projects (which was more detrimental when I was younger and though it is still a problem, I’ve begun to search for alternate ways to make things work), the difficulty of surviving in an increasingly more expensive city like Denver, and much more. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a multifaceted artist who does writing in various forms, performances of various kinds, film, photography, production, and many more! The arts are why I live and so I fight hard every day to make most if not all of my money from the arts. I’m known most for my writing, creating Don’t Shoot the Zine with my partner Sophie Hernandez and our friend Lyus, for my previous involvement in Creative Strategies for Change, and for various plays I’ve been in with several Theatre Companies in Colorado. I am most proud of our first zine which was on activism and protest. I am set apart from others by my experience as a young black creative who near-voraciously craves knowledge and capability, while also intending to create work that focuses on the liberation of the human race. I am a person with an innate desire and need to serve others- as service is the highest form of love I have to give. 

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
There are multitudinous examples of people who have helped me to get to where I am including my Lt. Colonel from my JROTC days at East High School who helped me to develop the discipline needed to be a creator in an expensive city, brother jeff of brother jeff’s Cultural Center (he doesn’t uppercase his name) who has allowed me to get more experience with production on his daily show, 30 Minutes with brother jeff, Amanda Berg-Wilson and Joan Bruemmer-Holden who are the co-founders of The Catamounts, and Alicia “Lisa” Smith who is the founder of Idea Stages- who all have helped me to find and get rolls around the city with several theatre companies, my mother Euda Green who housed me while I wrote my first play, Rachael Sharp and Bianca Mikahn of Creative Strategies for Change who have given me space to share my work and to get paid while creating, my partner Sophie Hernandez who has been my most dedicated collaborator and support, and so many more I can’t list them all! 

Contact Info:

• Email: justy.robinson@gmail.com
• Website: https://linktr.ee/justyrobinson
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justyrobinsonmedia/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justy.robinson.7/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HASHIRAJusty
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Cv2856Wd_cS6EjOFORNUw 

Image Credits
Sarah Demuth