Joshua Olatunde

JOSHUA OLATUNDE  is a native Chicagoan; born in Cook County and graduated from Alan B. Shepard High School.  There he was a member of the state wrestling team, ranking among the top Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestlers in the nation.   Off-season, he participated in the schools Speech and Drama teams.  Here he was persuaded by the team’s coach to not only focus on being a good orator, but a good writer as well.  “Creative penmanship spurs creative thought”, was the team slogan.  At the age of eighteen, Joshua moved to New York City and received his Bachelor’s degree from the City University of New York at Hunter College, where he studied English with a concentration on Creative Writing.

While in school, Joshua worked as an Actor in many Regional and Off-Broadway theatres, including The Lamb’s Theatre and the H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players of Harlem.  In 2000, he began producing and writing shows, many of which fared well in New York, including Hey Hollywood, Over Here!, 25 Days in Kuwait and One Life: The Sidney Poitier Story.  He’s also been included as a Supporting Actor in films like Prime, Pride & Glory, Phobic and My Super-Ex Girlfriend. 

Big on learning, Joshua has spent the past several years honing the craft of screenwriting.  He recently completed a feature-length film entitled, MINE.  His love for learning and the arts has transpired into teaching children in an untraditional way – through something his mentors have coined “edutainment!”  He’s toured the country four-times teaching Math and Science to kids using theatre; and has worked with Chamber Theatre Productions, The National Theatre for Children, True Colors, Inc. and the Children’s Theatre Center of New Jersey.  Joshua has also served as an English and Computer Science Teacher to high school students in Namibia through Harvard University’s World Teach Program.  He is the Chairman and Co-founder of H.E.L.P. for Youth, Inc., a non-profit organization which assists youth in achieving academic excellence in science through the performing arts.

Not long ago, Joshua moved to Atlanta where he worked on several projects with Houghton Talent Agency.  He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild.   

“I’ll continue to use the arts to inspire people to create and learn, not only for themselves but for generations to come.  In my opinion, a performing artist has the most important job in the world– to be honest to the only craft that’ll reflect this generation through time.”