For years, Tiffany Johnson stepped on local stages and embraced characters that never felt right. Peers described her as “brilliant” and “captivating,” but behind…
For years, Tiffany Johnson stepped on local stages and embraced characters that never felt right.
Peers described her as “brilliant” and “captivating,” but behind the curtain she struggled to find roles that weren’t stereotypical — maids and butlers weren’t cutting it. A 40-year-old local activist and single mother of four, Johnson wasn’t seeing her story represented in Des Moines theater.
Artistically stifled, she could’ve left Iowa’s capital city in search of bigger and richer opportunities.
But if Johnson abandoned the city she’s called home since childhood, who would push for change?
“Running away is the wrong answer,” Johnson said. “If you want something to change, commit yourself to being part of that change.”
Joining a handful of like-minded artisans, Johnson embraced the change she wanted to see and co-founded in 2015 Pyramid Theatre Company, an Iowa group dedicated to showcasing the depth and diversity of local talent by bringing to life stories written by black playwrights. Producing two shows a season, Pyramid teams Des Moines talent with nationally-recognized writers and actors in offering productions never-before seen in Iowa.
And it’s working. In 2018, Pyramid earned the Bravo of Greater Des Moines “Standing Ovation” award for community impact and brought home two Cloris Awards for excellence in local theater. Hosted in the Stoner Theater, Pyramid brings about 3,500 theatergoers each season to downtown, selling out most weekend performances in the roughly 200-person venue.
Johnson, one of the Des Moines Register’s 15 People to Watch in 2019, takes the day-to-day reins of the organization in 2019, an opportunity to continue growing the city’s cultural tapestry.
“I want to leave Des Moines a little bit better than when I got here,” Johnson said. “To make it a little bit more culturally accepting than it is.”
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Johnson first saw in 2014 the impact black storytelling can have on central Iowa when she and Ken-Matt Martin, Pyramid co-founder and executive director, produced the August Wilson classic, “Fences,” with the Des Moines Social Club. The show played for a week to sold-out audiences at the Kum & Go Theater.
