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China L. Colston was born and raised in Chicago. She pursued acting more than 20 years ago, hoping to move audiences like other actors have moved her. She may fall short at times but she'll never be guilty of not trying. In fact, acting and screenwriting have added another layer of joy to her life.  

 

However, her first artistic passion is dance. At the vulnerable age of 8, she was overlooked by a day camp counselor, selecting girls to dance in Meyering Park's summer day camp talent show. Undeterred by rejection, the following four summers her choreography and dancing earned her 4 first place trophies in the very same talent show.

 

Moreover, as an adult, she received her core theatre training at Chicago's  Eta Creative Arts Foundation, under the expert instruction of her late teacher Okoro Harold Johnson. 

 

NYC stand-out performances include:

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 -Fannie Mae Brown (Silk Stockings and a Bible) performed at IATI Theatre

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-Char (Hercules Didn't Wade in the Water) produced by the Negro Ensemble Company

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-Mary (Day of Absence 2016 revival) produced by the Negro Ensemble Company

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-Della (Black Wall Street) produced by 4 Dreamers productions and Shades of Truth Theatre

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-Dora in the feature film, (Pocket Full of Nickels) New York Latin film festival

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 -Mother in the multi award-winning short film (Strings Attached) an official selection of Urbanworld film festival and broadcast on Apire TV.

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In addition to that, she has written and acted in four of her six screenplays produced here in New York.  With that being said, she is very pleased about becoming a 2023 member of New York Women in Film and Television.

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Manager: tammy@fivestartalent.biz

 

Without doubt, her most meaningful artistic achievement is DARK SEED wherein she wore the hats of screenwriter, director, producer and lead actress.  She is over the moon, it has been celebrated with the following:

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• S.I.T.A-Our Choice Best Feature film winner

• Validate Yourself Film Festival-Best Feature film winner

• Validate Yourself Film Festival-Best Actress in a Leading Role winner

• Validate Yourself Film Festival-Best Director nomination

• African American Arts Alliance of Chicago-Best Feature Film Black Excellence nomination

• S.I.T.A.-Best Lead Actress in a Feature film nomination

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Additional Accolades

• S.I.T.A.-Best Acting Reel winner

• S.I.T.A.-Best Short film nomination for SWEET THANG

• Black Theater Alliance- Best Actress In An Ensemble Nomination

• Black Theater Alliance- Best Featured Actress Nomination

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What's more, she wrote a dynamic and heartwarming 2 hour screenplay titled, TO COOK OR NOT TO COOK which follows the journey of a beloved chef in Harlem, who is determined to fix his broken relationship with his daughter through the means of cooking. She was beside herself upon being gifted with a $5,000 City Arts Corps grant from the New York Foundation of the Arts in 2021. She is very grateful to GOD for such a blessing.

 

Equally Important, she is seeking business sponsorships, grants and donations to cover the cast and crew 150K budget of the same film. Her goal is to to shoot in 2024 or the summer of 2025.  You can donate to her Gofundme campaign.

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Lastly, during the spring of 2023, she wrote a 20 minute short screenplay entitled, NEFERTITI- about a highly successful femininity influencer, who is hell-bent on salvaging what's left of her dignity offline.  She aims to shoot it in 2024 as well. She is currently accepting donations for this short film via cashapp at $ChinaLColston.