Seventeen year old Omar Jarra is about to take to the stage in his first major role as “Luke”, in JCS Entertainment’s production of the Altar boyz. In a recent interview, Jarra , a past student of ASJA Boys College, Charlieville told this author that he fell into theatre by accident, and how he has been pursuing it ever since.
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Born in Maiduguri, Nigeria, to a Nigerian mother – Zainab Jarra, and Gambian father – Medical Surgeon Ebrima Jarra, Omar grew up in the Gambia. During his time there, he recalls singing and dancing to the music of Michael Jackson, R Kelly and Usher that his brother used to blast from his room. Accompanying his father who moved to Trinidad for work, Omar left Gambia at age 5 with a fire to perform burning within him. In our interview he shared, “I always wanted to sing and perform but I was always too shy.” In 2014 he responded to a casting call for Jesus Christ Superstar, a musical by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, but confessed he had no idea what he was getting into.
I thought JCS was auditioning for singers or something. I did not know what they were auditioning for so I came because I thought I could sing, or so I’ve been told. So I came and auditioned for it and I found out it was for a musical and I had to act and dance and all those other stuff and that’s how I got into acting.
Omar Jarra
Within the span of two years he has already been part of seven productions in theatre and film, but playing ‘Luke’, the bad boy of the Altar Boyz is his biggest role yet. When asked how does he feel being in this major role, Omar said, “It’s challenging but fun.” He is confident and excited to channel all those Michael Jackson and Usher moves but admits that sometimes he is insecure about his acting. However, with the help of the director – Raymond Choo Kong, he is learning how to let go and portray the vulnerability that his character needs.
Show dates for JCS Entertainment’s production of “The Altar Boyz” are scheduled for April 8-10, at the Central Bank Auditorium, with special School Shows scheduled for April 11-14. For more information and early ticket bookings please e-mail jcsentertains.tt@gmail.com
This feature was originally published to TeenStyle Magazine
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am Triston Wallace, a Versatile Performing Arts Professional, Founder and Managing Director of the Trinidad and Tobago Performing Arts Network.
I am going to be completely honest. I only rediscovered this 2016 feature, while going through an old email address in January of 2024. I originally wrote it for TeenStyle Magazine – a website that is no longer in existence. I decided to republish it to this website, not only as an archive of my work, but also for it to function as a virtual time capsule, to be used as a resource when someone decides to make a biopic out of Omar’s life… or at the very least for him to look back and reflect on how far he has grown as an artist.
The actual date of this feature was published to this website is 23/01/2024, but the story has been backdated to when it was originally submitted to the initial publisher. Thanks for reading. While you’re here, here’s a photo of what I used to look like back in 2016. You’re welcome 😛
The Trinidad and Tobago Performing Arts Network 