Sarah Toce
Dancer Jayme Overton knew she was destined for STOMP stardom from an early age, but there was no way to prepare her wholly for what was to come.
“I was introduced to STOMP when I was eight years old. My aunt showed me a video and I remember watching it and just falling in love with it,” the Williamsburg, Virginia, native said.
STOMP is comprised of an eight-member troupe who make music using everything but conventional percussion instruments – matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, hubcaps – to fill the stage with magnificent rhythms.
“I thought it was the coolest thing ever making music out of everyday objects. I’m a dancer, but more specifically a tap dancer. Tap dance is making music with our feet; we’re percussionists and drummers.”
Overton’s first professional audition was ironically for the New York City STOMP production. She was 19 years old. It would turn out to be the production’s final Broadway casting.
“It was a three-day audition process. They taught us things from the show, which was so cool. I was fangirling,” she remembered.
She was cast in 2021 and spent one year in the role before the show ended its run. Then came the touring cast opportunity where she not only got to see the world, but also meet the girl of her dreams.
“My favorite memory from from the show in general was meeting my girlfriend [Zahna Johnson],” Overton said. The two currently tour in the show together. “We met at the audition and she’s helped me through so much through this process. We both came into the show together and [continue to] learn from each other and others around us…. I met my life partner.”
Overton’s STOMP cast mates have become a functioning family off-stage as well.
“I love being able to travel the world with them,” Overton said. “These people are going to be in my life forever. I’ve definitely met my best friends on tour and I love getting to travel everywhere with them and make music with them.”
A sizable chunk of the appeal in performing STOMP night after night is rallying the audience to make them part of the artistic canvas.
“There’s actually a lot of audience participation throughout the show,” Overton shared. “so they you know they can is a “Dance is a universal language so they [the audience] can just really sit back and immerse themselves into this rhythmic experience.”
Overton’s coming out story wasn’t exactly an easy one. As a “scared little Christian girl living in Southern Virginia,” it was important for her to find other queer artists she could connect with and relate to. She still looks to her LGBTQ+ counterparts for community and belonging.
“I didn’t have the best experience coming out,” she said. “It was definitely hard, but finding people and leaning into the things that you love is really important. Music and dance are an escape from reality for me… It’s really so important to do what you love no matter what and do it with everything in you. Be 100 percent you no matter the circumstances. That’s what I have to remind myself of a lot; I just need to be myself and surround myself with the people and things that I love most.”
Get your tickets for STOMP at The Moore Theatre (1932 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101) Jan. 24-26, 2025.
