KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A former Western Michigan University theater student and Kalamazoo native, Cassandra Blair, returned to her old stomping grounds to visit family and connect with educators who helped her in her journey to success.
The actress is a cast member of the social "mockumentary" 'Jury Duty', a television comedy on Amazon's streaming platform Freevee. Everyone involved in the show is an actor except for one unsuspecting man who is instead under the impression they're all filming a documentary on what it's like to be on a jury.
Juror #8 Vanessa Jenkins is sassy, outspoken and tells it like it is in the hit TV show. But in real life, Cassandra Blair, the actress who plays her is about as sweet and down to Earth as they come.
"This is so great," the actress said with a smile as she sat down in the seats of the Gilmore Theatre Complex, the same theater that she used to perform in as a college student at WMU.
Blair grew up not even three miles from WMU's campus and attended the school on a full academic scholarship.
Her college experience is two-fold: it holds memories where she honed her craft and met some amazing people along the way, including her mentor and WMU campus minister Kathleen Robertson King. But it also was a time of personal adversity for her.
“From the moment I met her, she was very clear she wanted to be in entertainment of some form," Robertson King said as she reunited with Blair at WMU for a quick meet-up.
Robertson King helped Blair get through school by connecting her with her faith, as it wasn't always easy for the hardworking actress.
“It was a hard time. I was working. I had three jobs," Blair said. "There were times I didn't have a car, there were times I didn't have a license. I had a medical condition so I lost my license."
Working so much and personal health struggles also took a toll on Blair's attendance and in her last year of college, she lost her scholarship and had to drop out. But having to drop out didn't get in Blair's way, and while she knew the journey would be tough, she moved to LA and began working in TV and film. Then during the pandemic, her biggest opportunity yet.
“It was pitched to us as an untitled legal comedy," Blair said with a smile.
Blair was cast as one of the 11 wacky jurors on 'Jury Duty', met with the task of putting one unsuspecting jury member through all kinds of situations at the fake trial. The show, which is spearheaded by the producers of 'The Office', is seeing critical success.
“It's good to be in something that people are enjoying," Blair said.
And Blair is just one of the many successes born out of WMU's theater department.
“This has been kind of an amazing year," WMU music theater performance professor Jay Berkow said.
This year alone, multiple WMU alums were nominated for the Tony Awards including Darren Johnston along his production company “No Guarantees” for Best Play, Best Director and Best Costume Design for 'Fat Ham' and Crystal Lucas-Perry in the best actress in a featured role category for 'Ain’t No Mo’, making the program all the more appealing for young talent all across the country.
“It doesn't hurt for recruiting, having students that are nominated for Tony's, having students that are leads on TV shows," Berkow said.
Blair says her future goals include more comedy work because of all the fun she's had on 'Jury Duty' and she continues to stay in touch with the cast.
She says her first return to West Michigan since COVID-19 was sweet and fulfilling and she's excited to return soon again, perhaps after her next big hit.
