Born to do it all

Derrick Whitsett was born to do it all. This musical theater and writing talent is poised to take over. But what makes him so unique is his background story and his determination to be heard. Whitsett, 31, was born in Pittsburgh in May 1987 and moved to Brooklyn, New York with his beloved mother, Joann Craig, at just three months old. Growing up in Bedford Stuyvesant as a relatively shy and quiet kid brought challenges, he said."That was an experience. Pretty much back then it was hustle and bustle,” explained Whitsett, who also called himself a “mama’s boy.” “You can't just sit around the house and just chill. You had to either be working or going to school. You just had to be doing something. With my mom, she was really one of those people who didn't want her son in the streets doing what the regular kids did.”As a result, Whitsett, who now lives in the Bronx, New York, was put into a number of extracurricular activities, including writing programs, that would have a lasting effect on his life.He adds that ever since the sixth grade, writing has been an outlet for him. And over the years, his writing has grown and taken him to unexpected places.Although he had a stable childhood, it wasn’t perfect. At one point, Whitsett said he was molested. It’s unclear how often the abuse took place and if the abuser was a family member.He has only told the details to one other person and even once wrote an open letter to his abuser, but never sent it. As he describes, it was an exercise to get his various thoughts and emotions off his chest. Whitsett now wants to use his pain to help others. He plans to put the ups and downs of his life, all of his loves, hates and traumas, into a musical he’s titled “Love Scenario.” "What I'm writing about and singing about are situations that happened to me when I was younger,” he said. “I started thinking about ways that musicals impact people. I started looking on Broadway and noticed that a lot of things I'm talking about in my musical aren't there. I wanted to put it on a platform to be vulnerable, to be an open book. And let people hear about that." He’ll also use his writing skills to touch upon another tragic moment in his life – losing his father, Derrick Whitsett Sr., 12 years ago. He’s penning a children’s book about a child, who loses a parent. Whitsett has already begun working with an artist to design illustrations.“My dad was there all the time,” Whitsett said of their close relationship. “He was a prominent figure in my life up until he passed when I was 19. He was honestly the person that got me into a lot of things that I'm involved in now – hospitality and roller coasters.”On his journey, Whitsett not only has the support of his family, but he’s got the support of his long time partner Denzel Taylor. The pair have been dating for the last two years. Whitsett saidTaylor, who has an Alvin Ailey dance background, pushes him to be better.Although Whitsett makes creating look easy, it’s not.For those seeking to follow in Whitsett’s footsteps in putting out their story, he leaves simple yet important advice: “There's more than one route to go somewhere. Someone else's plan A may not be your plan A or vice versa.”Whitsett’s long awaited musical, “Love Scenario,” will make its debut at the end of the year while his untitled children’s book will be available soon.

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