Black Nativity ATL: Performers Latrice Pace Talks Shop with Maurice Griffin

This article is the second in a series of three articles about the cultural phenomenon, “Black Nativity: A Gospel Christmas Experience,” staged each year in Atlanta, GA by Robert John Connor, award-winning producer/director and CEO of Dominion Entertainment. 

This conversation takes place between Stellar Award-nominated performer Latrice Pace and Black Nativity performer and multi-hyphenate Maurice Griffin about their journey to one of the country’s most beloved renditions of Black Nativity. Read on.

LP: Your performances are known for their very high energy. How do you maintain such a vibrant stage presence across diverse shows?

MG: Studying, learning the environment that I’m in, getting the proper rest and just saying “no” to going out sometimes. It’s a sacrifice but I believe in the end the reward is much greater.

Latrice adds “That is so important. I don’t think many performers understand the power of not hanging out.”

LP: Your music inspires and empowers audiences worldwide. How do you approach songwriting to create such uplifting anthems?

MG: As a fellow artist who I watch and have been following is Jay-Z.  He said the same thing that I’m about to explain. I like putting out music that has a message for the now, for the moment for what’s happening in the world. And I feel that for me, putting music out is intentional. And so, I make sure that when I put it out, it’s intentional for the moment, for what’s happening in the moment. And it’s not just for a culture, it’s for the world.

LP: Can you tell readers about your role in Black Nativity: A Gospel Christmas Musical Experience?

MG: Last year, I was more than one character.  I was a wise man. I was a king. I was an ensemble. I got to dance.  You know what? I found dance to be a new love of mine but doing pushups during a show, we’re going to have to talk about that. (Laughs) It was a joy. It was a joy. The roles were great. I really embodied each character, even when I had to be a featured soloist in the show. All those components together were exhuberating for me. Last year was my first year with Black Nativity. There was a strike going on in the actors’ world so, for us to have an opportunity to get on that stage again meant so much to me. I am committed to every role that is given to me.

LP: What does being a part of a production like Black Nativity: A Gospel Christmas Musical Experience mean to you as an artist, especially in terms of its cultural and spiritual themes?

MG: I believe that every entity has a niche. And I think that for the gospel community that niche comes around the time of Christmas birth or around the time of Easter Resurrection Sunday. Those types of moments are important to us, to the Black culture because of what was going on back in the day, and now it has evolved to what it is today. I believe that Black Nativity was a very important piece in my life, and I needed to check it off my bucket list because it’s done everywhere. When you do an adaptation of the great genius himself – Langston Hughes – You want to be able to enhance his expression. And I think that’s what he wanted all of us to do anyway. Black Nativity reminds me of the promise God made to Abraham when he said “Look at the stars in the sky.  All these people will know you.” Every star is an adaptation of the representation of the sacrifice that he was going to present in sacrificing his son with. And so that’s what I feel this is. Black nativity is that promise that God made to Langston Hughes, and now everybody’s making the adaptation. I’m just glad to be in the best one. That’s all! 

Black Nativity: A Gospel Christmas Experience is playing at the Ferst Theater, on the campus of Georgia Tech University, December 12-22, 2024. 

This post was curated by Nsenga K. Burton, founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. It is the second in a series of three articles about Black Nativity: A Gospel Christmas Experience. The third and last article in the series will feature Black Nativity performer Maurice Griffin asking Latrice Pace questions about her experience as a performer and how she became involved in Black Nativity: A Gospel Christmas Experience. The last article in the series will go live Dec. 15, 2024 and will be linked to this article so make sure you come back for more about the creatives behind one of the most beloved productions of Black Nativity on the globe. 

Read the first article in the series, here. 

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