Lovesexidentityambition: Like She Said...
The Lovesexidentityambition festival, taken from the Hear Me Now Audition Monologues for Actors of Colour, sees four actors perform 16 monologues covering the themes love, sex, identity and ambition. The performances illustrate the multi-faceted stories women of colour have to tell, lending a temporary platform to their voices; the normal, the layered, the complexed.
The week long festival at Theatre503 which ends on February 8th is hosted and directed by a different woman each night. We were fortunate enough to see the directorial exploration of Jessica Kalissa, director of award-winning Queens of Sheba. Her transitions between each monologue were fluid, with a minimalist approach, putting the actors and their stories front and centre.
I AM interviewed the festival curator and editor of Hear Me Now, Titilola Dawudu.
IAM: How urgent and essential was/is Hear Me Now Audition Monologues for Actors of Colour?
TD: For me it seemed pretty urgent. I’m not an actor but I had been writing audition monologues for actors in the past. When I was studying for my MA, I spoke with black actors and they were telling me how loaded casting rooms can be. Not only are they thinking about the audition and doing a good job, they are also thinking about how they are coming across, are they being professional enough, etc – as well as swallowing the issues that are lurking being cast in stereotypical roles. The book has done really well and I believe that’s because having 87 brand new monologues, varying lengths and subject matters – is not easy to find.
IAM: What has it's reception been like in the echelons of theatre?
TD: Hear Me Now has been received very positively. It was a labour of love between so many people. I get so happy when an actor DM’s me telling me they’ve used one of the monologues for an audition. I remember when we were doing the workshop process with the actors and writers, and one actor told me he had used the same monologue for 5 years and desperately needed more to use.
IAM: You have curated Lovesexidentityambition, a week long festival with 16 monologues being performed. What drove you to bring these stories to the stage and in this format?
TD: I watch a lot of theatre and I’ve seen some amazing work but what tends to win people’s attention if a play is written by a black woman and it tells the story of a black woman, is if it is heavily seeped in trauma. It’s like theatre programmes connects us (black women) with stories of pain only. I’m yet to see a light hearted story of two black people in love and that is the central focus. Yes, of course the couple need to go on a journey and be gripping and exciting – but does she always have to have had some traumatic past?
IAM: Tyler Perry has received huge criticism for his lack of a writers room and the continuous depiction of black women suffering trauma. Do you think there is a view in the industry that a broken women of colour sells?
TD: Absolutely. I’m not hating on Tyler Perry, but having more people working creatively together will result in a more varied body of work. It can seem a little one-note if not. Misogynoir is rife in the arts and the entertainment industry as a whole.
We don’t have true diversity in writers’ rooms, as programmers, artistic directors, literary managers etc and that shows because stories about women in general, but especially women of colour need to be more varied.
IAM: Is this standard compelling more women to write their own stories?
TD: Yes I believe we are writing our own stories and putting on our own work. I’m a huge fan of collectives such as Blacktress – they created a whole season of work by and for black womxn. I’m apart of a team of 4 black women called Black Women in Theatre where we celebrate, honour the giants that have come before us and give platforms to those killing it in the game. We had a photoshoot of over 250 black womxn working professionally in the theatre industry last year at the Globe Theatre – we’re here all with stories to tell.
And if I think about other women too, I like Kate Greenall’s work – Fatty Fat Fat. It’s about her experiences and life of being a ‘fat woman’. If a man wrote her story, it would not be told as well, she would be portrayed differently, especially because (and I know I’m generalising, so don’t shoot me down) men have a different standard of beauty.
IAM: Which plays have you seen recently that have portrayed the nuances of women of colour?
TD: Queens of Sheba was layered!!! A story of misogynoir and discrimination turned into an empowering anthemic story of wanting justice. It was funny, sad, complexed...
OUT by Rachel Young was a rollercoaster of a ride where the layers kept on peeling and peeling throughout the performance. And there were oranges! A whole sequence when Rachel Young and marikiscrycrycry peeled and ate oranges and the audience sat in this (some uncomfortably) – was glorious. OUT was challenging homophobia and transphobia and it was sublime.
IAM: How do you think your involvement (as a panellist, trustee etc.) in the Arts is making a difference to the underrepresented?
TD: I’m just trying to make changes using the tools that I have. I’ve always had a heart for tackling injustices and giving opportunities and spaces for underrepresented voices. I believe taking action is better than some of those panels sometimes. I’d rather run a workshop or ask people to come and see my work or the work of others and support with your pockets, support with programming our work etc.
My work with young people is incredibly important to me because I am who I am because I have had people listen to me, be patient with me, help me, support me. The theatre industry is beautiful, but it is also hard.
IAM: If you could change anything in the Arts right now, what would it be?
TD: I’d get rid of the term ‘BAME’ and ‘BAMER’ and artistic directors and trustees can’t be in those roles for 20+ years - that’s too long to have the same views and opinions about what should be programmed and how a theatre should be run. Next.
