Dean at Alabama State University Pads Her Acting Resume

Tommie “Tonea” Stewart, professor and dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Alabama State University in Montgomery, has added a new role to her impressive acting resume. She recently appeared in an episode of the TNT crime series Memphis Beat. She played a psychic.

Stewart is a native of Greenwood, Mississippi. She is a graduate of Jackson State University and holds a master’s degree in theatre arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Ph.D. in theatre arts from Florida State University. She was the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. from the Florida State University School of Theatre. She has appeared on many television shows including In the Heat of the Night, ER, Matlock, and Walker, Texas Ranger. Her film credits include Mississippi Burning, A Time to Kill, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers III.