Desi P. Shelton-Seck

Growing up in Camden, Desi experienced life as inner-city female, not knowing how it would impact her until she moved away. Through her education she realized that the voice of the inner-city female was almost non-existent and largely ignored. This knowledge became the inspiration for her work as a playwright, actress, and director, feeling a responsibility to tell that story, rather than denying who she was and where she came from. Desi uses theater to preach, educate, and uplift, finding inspirations in normal day-to-day activity. She has been the Artistic Director of the Walt Whitman Arts Center and written and produced numerous projects including the Spirit of Camden Resurrection Through Dance involving artists living in or from Camden. She strongly believes in the power of playwrighting as a medium of expression. Desi is devoted to telling the story of her city and her people, and giving local artists a place to be heard and a forum to create and produce new work.