Most artists at Reynolds tend to stick to one field. It is hard enough to have a talent and to be able to hone it in some way but I’zaah Gray-Jones has been able to do just that in both acting and dance.

During this year’s fall play “Peter and the Starcatcher” Gray-Jones played Prentiss, a self proclaimed leader of a small group of orphans. He was able to bring a lot of energy to the role as it involved a lot of intense reactions to the events of the play.

Gray-Jones has been dancing since he was three years old. This was largely due to the fact that both of his parents were dancers as well.

“I know it sounds kind of cliche but it’s kind of like I was born to dance” Gray-Jones said.

Gray-Jones then picked up acting around the age of 12 when some of his friends were doing it. As he began acting more and more he developed an interest in trying to pursue it as a career. 

“Dancing is more of my gift but theatre is more of my passion,” Gray-Jones said. “If I had the choice to do either I’d want to do both”

He has already managed to accomplish this at Reynolds during the spring musical of last school year “Guys and Dolls.” Gray-Jones didn’t play a lead  role but was able to take center stage at points with his dancing.

He works a lot on both art forms in and out of school; at Reynolds he takes classes for dance and theatre, as well as participating in acapella and school productions. On his own time, he goes to the Institute of Divine Arts for dance and the National Black Arts Theatre for acting.

Gray-Jones’s favorite characters he has played so far was a character named Tyrique, who was the main character of a play that he, along with other actors, wrote for themselves at a studio. 

“He went through losing his parents, he ended up dying at the end, which was cool to play,” Gray-Jones said. “He was going through a range of emotions and I really enjoyed playing that character.”

His vision for the future is to become a successful and well known actor and then to own his own studio or two for drama. 

For someone as talented and variable as I’zaah Gray-Jones, making it in the world in more ways than just one is more than a possibility.