SHELBY, N.C. — During four days of performances at the DC Black Theatre Festival in Washington last summer, Samantha McSwain Stith, formerly of Shelby, was singled out by the festival president.
“I had no idea what was going on when my manager came to my dressing room and said the president of the festival was asking to meet Samantha McSwain,” Stith said in an email. “I greeted her and shook her hand. She said to me, ‘You are giving this festival an outstanding performance; where do you get the energy?’ I answered, ‘When I hit that stage, all of my tiredness, headaches and nervousness leave and I give the people something they can take home and enjoy reminiscing about all four days of the show, Jessie & Lucy.”
Stith’s performance earned her a nomination for outstanding actress.
“If you go to the festival page and click on the plays and DC Black Theatre Awards, you’ll see my name there,” Stith said in a phone interview. “I want everyone to know that I’m from Shelby. Shelby is a little place to them, but I am so proud to be from Shelby.”
More than 150 plays were submitted for the 2011 DC Black Theatre Festival season, of which, only 45 full-length plays were selected. Stith’s play, “Jessie & Lucy,” written by Garrett Davis, is a three-person show based on the personalities in sitcoms like Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons and All in The Family.
Stith lives in Petersburg, Va., with her husband, Kenneth. After leaving Shelby, Stith started her acting career in Broadway and completed her first movie in 2010. She is also filming a sitcom written by Keith McCrary Sr.
She said her husband and relatives in Shelby support her acting career. Her father, Carl McSwain, still lives in Shelby and is her biggest fan. And her smallest fan is her 8-year-old granddaughter, Zareha McSwain.
“I thank God so much for my granddaughter,” Stith said. “She is a role model for me because she’s always encouraging her ‘Maw Maw’ with such words as, ‘Maw Maw, I like the way you sung that song,’ or ‘I was so proud of you on that movie.’”
Stith’s son, Carlos McSwain, is also a performer, playing the drums for many artists and churches and tours with rapper Snoop Dogg, who calls McSwain his “little nephew.”
“I want the people in Shelby to know that I once doubted myself and thought I couldn't compete with other artists and actresses,” Stith said in the email. “I instilled in my son that we could do anything through Christ who strengthens us. So Carlos and I, once we hit the stage, we let go and let God. I'll stand with the best of them, because I'm so sure of who I am and whose I am. Now, I’m enjoying more than ever making people laugh and giving God glory every time my feet hit the stage or a movie set.”
For more information about the DC Black Theatre Festival, visit the website www.dcblacktheatrefestival.com.