Joy Keys chats with Actress Tyla Abercrumbie from Showtime’s The Chi

Abercrumbie, a stalwart of the Chicago stage, is known more widely for her television roles on “The Chi” created by awarding winning, Chicago native,  Lena Waithe. The Chi entering it’s forth season. Set to begin May 23, 2021. Abercrumbie plays Nina Williams, mother of two teenagers played by Birgundi Baker (Kiesha) and Alex Hibert (Kevin), together they face more than their fair share of challenges as residents of Chicago’s south side. Abercrumbie has regularly appeared in programs over the past several years including, Proven Innocent, Easy, ChicagoPD, ChicagoMed, Girlfriend Experience, Shrink, Unexpected, The Animator - to name a few.She has acted at Court, Goodman, Northlight, Victory Gardens and Chicago Shakespeare, among other regional theaters.  A talented writer, Director,  she is the inaugural  recipient  of The North Side’s Raven Theater $25,000 new-play initiative. Her  play “Relentless” formally scheduled to open at Timeline Theatre last May before the pandemic shutdown is currently in negotiations for a winter date this season. She is also slated to direct a postponed world premiere “The Last Pair of Earlies” at Raven, this fall. Her favorite quote to live by -

“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” -  Frederick  Douglass