WOMEN WHO INSPIRE
It’s All in the Music
THE ARTS CHANGED MARTY K. CASEY’S LIFE
By Vi c k i Fr e n c h B e n n i n g t o n
M
arty K. Casey grew up in St. Louis, a quick-
tempered girl with an attitude.
During her freshman year at Webster Groves
High School, she realized she had a singing voice
to be heard.
“My teacher knew I was talented, but she told me I needed to change
my attitude,” Casey said. “And I knew she was right. That was the
moment my life changed.”
She went on to become a singer, actress, writer, producer and
director. The fact that music had such an impact on her life inspired her
to found the Show Me Arts Foundation years later.
Since 2006, she has played the role of “Professional Woman” locally
and on national tours of “Menopause the Musical,” currently playing
through March 31 at the Playhouse @ Westport Plaza.
“While touring as an actor and singer in Europe, I met a girl from Atlanta
who told me the producers thought I would be good in ‘Menopause,’ but
I thought I was too young,” Casey said. “I didn’t know anything about
menopause then, so when I got the part, I really had to act.
“Eleven years later, I know from personal experience,” she added,
while laughing.
When you can relate to other women, it makes it easier.
Casey grew up in a dysfunctional family. Her parents divorced when
she was 8; there were financial difficulties, they moved often. By the
time she enrolled in high school, she had attended 10 schools.
As a high school senior, she sang in the black history program and
her performance was captured on a VHS tape.
“My mom was in the hospital, I was focused on just graduating from
high school, and hadn’t thought about college,” Casey said.
But while in the hospital, her mom kept watching the tape, a friend
noticed, and ended up taking the tape to Missouri Baptist University.
“I was called for an audition, and got a full scholarship in music - the
first black woman to receive one at MBU,” Casey said.
There, she was a part of the university’s vocal group, SpiritWing, and
became president of her freshman class. She began working on a music
teaching degree, and doors began to open.
“Then I had my daughter, and my life shifted,” Casey said.
At 25, she woke up one day and couldn’t hear out of one ear. She
was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease, and as a singer, she thought her
career was over.
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That’s when she took up acting. She auditioned for “Be Careful
What You Pray 4” and got the part.
“Nationally, at 25, I was playing an 86-year-old,” she said. “It was a
real confidence-builder. And it turned out that the hearing loss didn’t
affect my singing.”
Since then, she has appeared in movies like “Retribution,” “The First
Pick” and “Parallel Chords,” and had recurring roles in web series,
“Sunshine” and “Gonzo.” In 2015, she received critical acclaim for her
role in “Four-Way Stop,” a movie by St. Louis filmmaker Efi da Silva,
receiving a best supporting actress nomination in Kansas City.
The movie tells the story of a 17-year-old inner-city African-American
boy trying to improve his life, but lacks family and community support.
Casey plays his mother.
“At first, I wasn’t sure if I should take the role, but I am glad I did,”
Casey said. “I was able to tap into stuff I experienced as a young girl. I
pulled from real emotio ns.”
She wrote, directed and produced her own shows, “Lord Knows
I’ve Tried” and “A House Divided,” based on a true story, and produced
through her company, Casey Entertainment LLC.
When Casey saw the unrest that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri, in
August 2014, she wanted to do something to make a difference.
“Everyone is living in an angry state, dealing with things they don’t
like. Show Me Arts allows us to lead by example,” she said. “I viewed
what happened – not from the perspective of the shooting – but as a
mother who had lost her child. I wanted to make a change to help save
children, and I know what the arts did for me.”
When some parents can’t afford to send lunch money to school
for their children, they certainly can’t afford to enroll them in music
classes, Casey said, but in the last three years, Show Me Arts has helped
2,500 children to be exposed to music, dance, theater, poetry, visual
arts and DJ engineering - for free. The mobile program partners with
community centers, churches and schools in after-school classes. Not
only does it increase their involvement and appreciation for the arts, it
promotes self-discipline, confidence and integrity.
Other programs under the foundation’s umbrella are Un-GUN, Reg
Day, an anti-bullying campaign and the Spreading The Love Youth
Singers, who were recognized by Beyoncé when she was in town to
perform. The group’s 20 talented singers, aged 9 to 18, from 17 different
zip codes, act as arts ambassadors.