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BIOGRAPHY Edutainer, writer, entrepreneur and soloist, Kijana Wiseman, M.Ed. is a versatile performer of theatrical and communicative arts. A lyric coloratura soprano with a 3.5 octave range, Kijana has been performing since she was four years old professionally since the age of nine. She began her theatrical career as a child actress at Houston's Theatre Inc. and Alley Theatre where she held many lead roles in musicals and plays under the tutelage of Marietta Goss and Nina Vance. She received her BFA in Theatre from the University of Houstonwhere she studied under Sidney Berger and Cecil Pickett; and her M.Ed., specializing in African Theatre, as a result of joint studies at Texas Southern University and the University of Liberia, West Africa. She has appeared on stages in over a dozen countries on the American, African and European continents.
Ms. Wiseman lived and worked in West Africa for six years. In Liberia, she was employed, first, by Peace Corps, then, by the Ministry of Culture as assistant director and technical advisor to the National Liberian Cultural Centera government sponsored village of writers, singers, dancers, actors and musicians located in Kendeja, Liberia. She later became assistant principal of the NLCC Cultural Arts High School and worked as the speech and drama instructor of the American Embassy's school in Monrovia, Liberia . For three years, Ms. Wiseman was host of a national talk and entertainment shows, "Bargain Fair" and "Under the Palm Tree with Kij" on Liberia's ELBC-TV. Upon returning to America, Ms. Wiseman has done independent solo work, written and performed jingles for various Wiseman Company advertising agency/PR clients and provided back-up vocals for recording artists whose styles range from jazz to the classics. Kijana Wiseman has established a "singing lecture" style that often combines audience participation, poetry, on-stage costume changes, characterization, narrative storytelling and song to take audiences on musical journeys that spans genres from traditional African music to the classicsencompassing spirituals, musicals, opera, vaudeville and jazz. She has toured her popular one woman show, "The Griot" to over 200 schools and colleges nationwide. Readily adaptable to different performance venues, her holiday season program, "Sounds of the Season," and all-religious recital, "We Gather Together" have been well received. Her love of showtunes, jazz and new music is exemplified in the popular "Music for Lovers" concerts she gives. She also offers original stories, creative dramatics and motivational workshops for young audiences. Kijana has been a featured soloist/ performer with the Workshop Chorus, Sudan Arts Southwest, SSSteamMoga, Implosion, and has performed with the Conrad Johnson Big Band, The Houston Symphony Chorus, Greater Houston Chorus and Houston Oratorio Society's Masterworks Chorus. She has been a member of the African Overseas Union, Liberian Studies Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and APCA & NACA college booking associations and is past vice-president of the Houston Association of Black Journalists. Kijana has studied under the vocal tutelage of operatic soloist, David Brewer and has been professionally associated with The Ensemble Theatre, Kuumba House & the Community Music Center. Kijana is the eldest daughter of master-degreed educator Mary Helen Wiseman and the late entrepreneur El'Ray Wiseman, Sr. and is happily married to Aundra Sebastian Fusilier. RECENT AWARDS: In 1997, Kijana won 1st place in the City of Houston Talent Competition. 1998-2006 "The Griot" program was awarded inclusion by Texas Commission on the Arts as one of its 148 touring artist programs, making it eligible for performance arts grants to non-profit organizations. In 2001 & 2002: she was voted the "APCA Best College Diversity Program
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