Nicole Banks Long was working as a director in healthcare administration when she auditioned for the Alliance Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar Gospel, on a dare in 2008. To her surprise, she was cast as Mary Magdalene. “I went out to my car and literally cried,” she says. “I was that overwhelmed.”

Five years later, the Alliance featured Banks Long as the singer in the 2014 world premiere of Natasha Trethewey’s Native Guard, a role she reprised in the recent revival at the Atlanta History Center. “Audience members used to constantly ask me, ‘Where on earth can we go to hear you sing again?’ but I never had an answer,” she says.

But now Banks Long is preparing a return to Atlanta to celebrate the release of her debut album Fly. In advance of her September 22 concert, Banks Long checked in with ArtsATL from her homebase in Minnesota to discuss the album, her inspirations and what she learned from working with former poet laureate Natasha Trethewey.

ArtsATL: Does being a singer help make you a better actress, and vice-versa?

Nicole Banks Long: Bringing yourself to a role as a singer is unavoidable. But you have to know how to tap into your emotions to make a lyric feel real. By the time I was cast as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, my mind and body were skilled at interpreting a song to tell a story, which made it easier for me to slip into my character as an actor. But I think I’m a much better singer than I am an actor. There’s a much bigger intimidation factor when it comes to the mechanics of becoming and being an actor. Read More