“First of all, when Dr. Stroble asked me to speak, I’ll be honest, I cried tears of joy,” Jenifer Lewis said about being invited to deliver the spring 2015 commencement speech for the general student body of Webster University by university President Beth Stroble.
As usual, the television, stage and film actress was larger than life – and good for a laugh – when she spoke of returning home this Saturday to usher new graduates into the real world. But there were moments of pure emotion blended in as well as she reflected on her journey from the halls of Webster College, as it was called then, to Hollywood.
“It just felt so life-affirming – talk about full circle,” Lewis said before taking a long pause. “I’m getting ready to cry again right now.”
She graduated in 1979. The Kinloch native credits The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University for laying the foundation for a career that now spans more than 35 years. Her more than 260 television show appearances (both as guest and series regular), more than 60 films and a host of stage roles are rooted in how she was groomed during her college days.
“Webster College was great to me and great for me,” Lewis said. “The training I received, the lifelong friends I still have … and, let’s just face it, I was everybody’s favorite. And even if I wasn’t, I sure did feel like I was.”
At Webster, she said, she learned “the magic of theatre, from the building of the set to the props and wardrobe to the script writing and dialect – everything that goes into the preparation, from the time you enter into the theatre to the time you leave, the magic you create there and the wonder and the joy of make-believe.”
TV and film reach wider audiences, but theater is is her preferred method for sharing her gift.
“The theater … honey, please,” she said. “There’s a Tony Morrison quote: ‘You enter like the seasons in the Midwest. In Ohio, each season enters like a prima donna.’ That’s theater.”
Then Theatre Department head Peter Sargent and Assistant Dean of Students Shirley LeFlore taught her to sustain herself and eventually thrive in the infamous entertainment business machine – where success is elusive at best.
“Shirley grounded me,” Lewis said. “She helped me center and focus.”
Lewis currently appears on the hit ABC show, “Black-ish,” and is working on her memoirs for Harper Collins. Her film “Secrets of the Magic City” will make its way to BET in the near future.
“Through it all I still have a smile on my face – and that is what I wish for them,” Lewis said. “I’m going tell them that when it is all said and done, it’s your humanity that matters above all things.”
She finished writing her speech last week and was beyond excited to share nuggets.
“I want to tell them how needed and how important they are. This is their world now, and I’m looking forward to living in the world that they create,” Lewis said.
She referred back to Morrison’s quote to drive home the perseverance element of her speech.
“The fall always comes – you’ve got to take the hits. You’ve got to understand that winter is long,” Lewis said. “But that same tree that was bare four weeks ago comes into bloom in spring.”
Her message is rooted in love – and a lesson that she wished she had learned early in life.
“Love yourself, so that love will not be a stranger when it comes – and it will come – in all shapes and sizes and in all forms and fashions,” Lewis said. “Find your passion: that is one way of falling in love with you. Honor your passion. Girl, if somebody had said that to me, I’d be president of the United States.”
