Taking on the Stage and Screen — This is Imani Moore
Imani Moore is a rockstar participant in the SPNN program and in her first year of college at Augsburg University. Imani is from St. Paul, near Washington High School, but was born and grew up in Gary, Indiana. Imani says there are more opportunities in Minnesota. “You can do anything in Minnesota,” she says, “A lot of stuff I couldn’t do back home. I didn’t know how to skate, or bowl, anything like that.” One of these opportunities available to her is the Set It Up program at SPNN.
She got involved with SPNN when representatives from the SPNN youth program came to her high school in tenth grade. SPNN staff members asked students if they wanted to be part of a TV show. Imani thought, “Yea! Who doesn’t!” She then enrolled in the youth program, Set It Up, thinking it would be an opportunity for her to be acting and in front of the camera.
Imani has always wanted to be an actress. Acting has been her passion since she was young, so being on a television show seemed like a great next step for entering the entertainment industry. When she arrived at SPNN, however, it was explained to her that she would be producing and editing the show, not actually starring in it. Imani thought, “What? I didn’t sign up for this!” At first, she was not that interested in filmmaking.
Imani wasn’t sure if she wanted to stick around, but nevertheless, she kept returning to SPNN. After a while, she gained more video production skills and her thoughts changed about the program. “I was like, this is actually kind of cool. I get to create my own videos about what I care about. I don’t have to worry about anyone telling me ‘Oh no, you can’t do this or you can’t have this a certain way.’ We get feedback, but it’s not like ‘Change your whole video concept!’, it’s guided feedback, [and] it’s youth-led. We get to really do our own thing.”
What is Set It Up? “It’s the teen-produced show,” Imani explains, “where you learn about editing, producing, filming, photography. You learn about camera skills. Everything you could need.” Set it Up creates resources to support youth interested in video production. It has three core episodes with the first two episodes composed of group and individual projects from students. Imani explains, “The last couple of years we have done a large group project for the third episode. Last year, we made a longer piece, a thirteen-minute short film. It was cool because everyone was able to participate, which has never been done before.” At SPNN, high school-aged youth can “get the practice that they want, and just create.”
Imani has been involved in a lot of interesting and exciting projects at SPNN. One example: she created a video about exploring skin color. “I did a piece on color, how everyone is equal, no matter what we look like or how people see us as. We all have bones and body parts. It’s a video of different skin tones of different ethnicities or races. Then, I added a voiceover to talk about how we are all equal and people shouldn’t be judged based on how they look.” She enjoyed this project and continues to want to create videos that start a conversation toward making a difference. Nevertheless, her favorite project she ever worked on was her first. Imani says, “It was the very first piece I’ve ever done. It’s called ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a High School Student’, and it was about everything wrong that can happen in a morning. I’d never done it before. I got to pick the music, I made it in black and white. It was a silent film. It was super funny and felt cool to be able to create something like that.”
Even though Imani initially joined SPNN to be involved in work in front of the camera, she fell in love with filmmaking and video production. She sees it as a necessary step for being in the entertainment industry like she hopes to be in the future. Nevertheless, Imani has an incredible passion for acting and the performing arts. She has been “in theater since third grade” and is continuing this passion into college.
Imani is in her first semester at Augsburg. She hasn’t had too hard a time with the transition, but she is learning how to stay organized. She keeps a close eye on her syllabi and has to remember she “won’t get a reminder later in class.” Imani talks about having a couple of close calls. Sometimes teachers will email the night before, and she will have to start the homework quickly. Overall, it seems like she’s doing just fine and enjoying her time in college.
At first, Imani wasn’t sure if she wanted to go to college, because in the entertainment industry it’s not always necessary. Sometimes it can be better to simply start a career. However, Imani’s parents felt differently. For them, it was important that she went to college, so she’d be able to secure a job later on. Imani didn’t want to waste her tuition, so she made sure to study something she liked and was excited about. “I was going to double major, but I didn’t think I would be able to finish in time,” she says. She decided to major in film and minor in theater. “In theater, I can still participate in the plays, backstage crew, and acting; I don’t have to necessarily be in the major.”
SPNN is how she got excited about filmmaking, but acting has been her passion for longer. If she could have a dream role, it would be someone who doesn’t get enough credit or hasn’t been given justice in her eyes. Some of these roles include: Diana Ross, Janet Jackson, Oprah. “I love Oprah,” she says. For Imani, it’s about portraying people that are known, “but are not necessarily honored.” She believes in the power of movies and media. For her, they can be a powerful way to tell stories and ask questions about our world.
Imani is energetic about bringing her perspective to all types of acting roles. She is continuing this work at Augsburg University. Currently, she is in the absurdist play by Max Frisch called The Arsonists. She rehearses almost every weekday but is excited about being involved in the theater community at her school. Both Augsburg and SPNN are so fortunate to have such a bright, charismatic, and thoughtful human supporting their organizations.
