“I NEED to create,” says LOUISE ROBINSON, actor, singer, producer, songwriter, creative-expression workshop master, author, and founding/current member of the internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble “Sweet Honey in the Rock”.
Louise Robinson began nurturing her creative talents early in life when she started playing the concert bass. Her need and passion have been rewarded with experiences unimagined in her youth. Always cognizant of the intersection between talent and education, she landed entrance to the NY High School of Music and Art and then Howard University School of Fine Arts. As she attended Howard, her inner spirit pushed her to focus on the spoken word. She changed her major from music to theater and thus began her acting career. Excited to land her first job at the Arena Stage in Washington DC, subsequently she was noticed and then invited to be an inaugural member of the DC Black Repertory Theater’s acting ensemble by the esteemed Robert Hooks. Included in “Lovely Lou’s” list of acting credits are performances as “Ronnette” in the New York/L. A./National touring company productions of “Little Shop of Horrors”, her Broadway debut in Michael Butler’s production of “Reggae”, and roles in “TinTypes”, “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, and the Ruby Dee/Ossie Davis’ production of “Take it from the Top.”
Ironically, while an actor at the Black Repertory Theater, the seeds were planted in song for the start of “Sweet Honey in the Rock”. Louise is a founding member of Sweet Honey and her work with them has placed her on stages around the globe from New York to Australia and Oman in the Middle East.
Demonstrating her grasp and understanding of leadership in the industry, and adding to her profile, Lou founded and directed the Bay area-based acapella ensemble “Street Sounds” which she led to national and international recognition. Recognizing her songwriting acumen, Nickelodeon features her composition, “I Like It That Way” on their “Jack’s Big Music Show”. She is also noted for her work as a producer having worked with Carol Maillard and Smokey Ronald Steven to present a series of variety shows featuring Gregory Hines, Andre DeShields, Sandra Reeves Phillips, Adolph Caesar, and other greats at New York’s Village Gate. Currently, in between performances, Louise uses her decades of experience and insights as she facilitates experiential workshops in creative freedom and expression for executives, administrators, and staff at all levels for organizations that recognize the benefits of nurturing the seeds of creative thinking among those who work there.
Louise approaches all she does with the mantra, “We all have creative genius in us”.