When The New York Times called Francois Battiste ’99 one of the “most compelling stage actors today” last October, Battiste only heard about it secondhand. He doesn’t read reviews.
But in an interview days later with NBC New York, Battiste couldn’t avoid the latest review. It came from the individual seated on the couch next to him: his 10-year-old son Toussaint.
The real-life father-and-son were interviewed while portraying fictional father-and-son Walter Lee and Travis Younger in an off-Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun. Toussaint answered questions of who had the neatest dressing room and better preshow routine. His father looked on proudly, his hand resting gently on his son’s shoulder.
Then, in a grab-the-Kleenex moment, the two confessed they were each other’s heroes.
“He’s my son, but now he’s my scene partner, and he is so good,” Francois Battiste said. “He doesn’t have any stage fright. He’s trying new things. People are lining up trying to watch him on the monitors to see what he’s going to do every night.”
Sharing the stage with his son was a full-circle milestone for a veteran actor who has prioritized his family over his career. Battiste and his family relocated to Sacramento, California, eight years ago. It’s where his wife, Shevawn Nicole, was raised, and where they have raised their three children.
Compared to the American entertainment poles of Los Angeles and New York, Sacramento might as well be the moon. But Battiste and his family make it work. For an opportunity to be right for Battiste, it must be right for his family, too. They almost always travel with him.
“When I take a job, they have to accommodate the family,” Battiste said. “If they can’t, then maybe that job isn’t for me.”
Battiste’s career spans more than two decades. His Broadway World and IMDB pages highlight the credits of a working actor. He jokes that his bank account prefers TV work—he’s appeared in recent episodes of New Amsterdam and Godfather of Harlem—but he’s also lent his talents to voice work, audio books, and commercials.
“I had some pretty good years just doing Toyota commercials,” Battiste said. “Commercials are a great way to keep that bank account poppin’.”
He readily admits, though, that his passion lies in the theatre. “I grew up onstage,” said Battiste, who will, in another full-circle moment, make his directorial debut by leading a production of Broke-ology at Sacramento’s B Street Theatre. It opens April 26.
Battiste traces his acting roots to growing up in Dolton, a southern suburb of Chicago, in a predominantly white neighborhood that shifted to a predominantly Black neighborhood—seemingly overnight—during his formative years. Battiste had diverse peer groups through his involvement in youth baseball, Cub Scouts, and speech and theatre productions.
“It was a natural thing for me to get into the world of acting and assume different characters because my circumstances dictated that I culturally expand and adapt,” Battiste explained.
Illinois State University played an important role in Battiste’s journey. He first visited the Normal campus to perform with his high school’s state champion speech team. He caught the eye of Illinois State’s fine arts faculty, who offered him a scholarship on the spot.
Battiste was influenced by Illinois State faculty and staff members like Sandi Zielinski, Kim Pereira, John Stark, Pete Guither, and the late Jean Scharfenberg. He formed connections with classmates like Brendan Hunt ’96, with whom he roomed during a summer of performing at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. He’s had meaningful interactions with notable alumni from John Malkovich to the late Suzzanne Douglas ’11.
After his time at Illinois State, Battiste performed on Chicago stages, including the Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Lookingglass Theatre, and the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. He eventually enrolled at the Juilliard School, the prestigious performing arts conservatory in New York City.
“I’ve been able to watch his career develop from working in Chicago, going to Juilliard, and then working in New York,” said former Illinois State Provost, Dean, and Department Chair Alvin Goldfarb, who flew to New York to see a performance of A Raisin in the Sun last fall. “It’s been a joy to stay in touch with him all these years and watch him become such a significant figure in the national theatre scene.”
Battiste has been recognized by his alma mater many times, and he’s regularly volunteered his time back. He’s been inducted into the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame and is on the Illinois Shakespeare Festival’s Actor Honor Roll. He’s been an Alumni Day honoree and College of Fine Arts commencement speaker.
“Life is a trip, man, especially when you do the work we do. It’s sort of nomadic. You put blood, sweat, and tears into a production, but then you’ve got to keep moving,” Battiste said. “So, there are people and places and productions along the way that stick with you, with whom you have a very special bond.”
Battiste felt all those special connections in last fall’s production of A Raisin in the Sun. A production of Raisin, with his two older brothers in the cast, was one of the first plays he ever saw as a schoolboy. The setting of Chicago and strong themes of family, history, race, and socioeconomics all resonate deeply with Battiste. Having his son on stage alongside him and bringing the character of Walter Lee Younger to life made it all a very special experience.
“I love his love for his family, his drive, his persistence, his entrepreneurial spirit,” Battiste said of the Raisin protagonist during the NBC interview. “I connect with him in terms of his politics. I connect with him in terms of how he pays homage to his mother and father, his ancestors and those who came before him—those who fought, sacrificed, endured, and persisted for his generation.”
