RIOT RENAISSANCE

'Passing Strange' has come and gone and I miss it soooooo much. I keep hearing that sexy bass line and when I start to rock some air bass, I get a little sad, because it hits me that I won't get to do that, badly, as a member of the Scaryotypes anymore :( But that's ok! We had a great run, despite the turn-out. It fills me with joy to know that everyone who DID see the show, left FEELING something. PRICELESS. That does not happen all the time. I especially love when fellow actors come and see a show. Even though actors are great at pretending, you can always tell whether or not they truly enjoyed themselves. Usually it's in the way they express their delight. A guy told me that when he was watching the show, he could feel the outside world going away and he got trapped inside the world we were creating. Two of my girlfriends called their mom's to tell them they loved them on the way home from the show. That's beyond awesome to me!! Precious moments. This was a life changing experience that I will always cherish.

As I reflect on 'Passing Strange' and dive into 'Palmer Park' it amazes me how RACE really is an issue. It hadn't really dawned on me. I guess because my life has always been racially integrated, and for that I am so thankful. But man oh man, race is a big deal to a lot of people....even today. This 'race issue' hit hard when a good chunk of the regular New Line audience was not in attendance for 'Passing Strange'. I thought that it was mainly because it's a show that a lot of people hadn't heard of. Well, then I thought back to opening night for 'I love my wife', and there were waaaaaay more butts in the seats. That show is not well known at all and it hasn't been on Broadway in ages. So what's the difference....both had a small cast....biggest difference to me is subject matter and color of actors. The run of this brilliant show opened my eyes to what black people will be stuck with for who knows how long...being viewed as conspicuous.

There is a line in 'Palmer Park' that really brought it to my attention. 'Palmer Park' deals with trying to capturing racial harmony and reality hitting the fan. In one scene a white man is pouring his heart out and says this in reference to black people in the united states..."Unlike Ellis Island immigrants, you were always conspicuous. This is not an equation that includes an equal sign." Black people may forever be viewed as conspicuous in some people's eyes. When a clerk watches a black person browsing in a store intensely... shame. That little old white lady is just as capable of shoplifting, but is not nearly as conspicuous in most clerks' eyes. It is what it is. I wish I could say it WAS what it WAS, but for some reason racism just won't roll over and die already. Racism can stay in it's ignorant world, and out of my neighborhood. I have never personally been oppressed. No one has maliciously called me a nigger. I have never been denied anything simply because of my race. My mind is open and my heart is big and warm thanks to that. I don't have any resentment towards any race. I think about people who have been oppressed and the bitterness that's got to ignite, and the cycle it produces. Racism....known, unknown, big, small is just no good....DIE ALREADY!! Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said "The issue of race could benefit from a period of benign neglect." Well, HOLLA!! I wish it were something that could simply be left alone. But then something happens like, a poor turnout for an amazing show that follows a black man's journey and features black actors and we're right back at it. It makes you wonder..... Well, I'm over it. I don't look at people and try to find what's different between us, I look at them as a human being, because even if we have no similarities, we share that common ground and sharing is caring ;)

'Palmer Park' is a powerful show. For some of those who see the show, it will be a trip down memory lane. For others it will be an incredible reality check. We've been rehearsing for a while and day after day our sense of community and pride grows and grows. This show has really made me appreciate generations before me. The lives they've led, the mistakes they've made, the struggles they've risen above....all so that I'm able to do what I do today. I can't wait to share it with an audience. I know a lot of people will learn some things they might not have known before and that's part of the mission of art....to inform and delight. I'm ready to do this!! Cue to cue's are here and we all enjoy that so much ;) ;) Bring on those performance enhancers!!! Okay, more juicy deets to come, but for now, I'm spent and so it's sleepy time for this gal. Thanks for reading, stay tuned.

Too bad it takes so long

AWWWWWW!!! I can't even believe we've come this far. I mean I can, that was the plan after all, but I'm just so proud of us. I remember rehearsing like it was yesterday and now we have three more performances left. THREE!! I will miss this. I will miss that sexy bass line that gets the party started. I will miss hugging my cast-mates before starting the show. I will miss watching, story telling, transforming. As the nights go by I am increasingly emotional. This show holds a special place in my heart, it has left it's fingerprints on my being.

From the moment I heard the music I was intrigued. It didn't sound like typical musical theatre. It sounded like something I'd hear on the radio, or better yet, straight from my play list. I was smitten! Then I saw it on Netflix and I was metamorphosed. I had never seen anything like that!! NOTHING ever spoke to me so personally. The relationship between the boy and his mom is so much like me and my granny's relationship, it's frightening. The fact that he finds joy in music and art and creativity and expression....it's like looking in a mirror. Discovering paradise, growing bored with it. Learning, loving, losing. These are things that all people can relate to. So I was rather surprised when it came to the turn out. I thought people would lose their minds over this show, like I did!! It's been a bit disappointing. I don't know if it's because it's a lesser known show or because it's a small cast or because it's a black cast and the story of a black man's journey, I don't know. But something has definitely effected the crowd. Honestly, I figured there would be a fair amount of apprehension from some of the white theatre going crowd. And sadly, it goes without saying that there is a lack of presence of black folks in the theatre community as a whole. Directing, starring, contributing, attending. Just period. But, I cannot, will not worry about who is NOT in the seats. It's my job to deliver the message to the people that ARE, so that they tell all of their friends ;)

Slowly but surely, that's been happening! I love it when people talk to us after the show. You can see the emotion on their faces. The greatest thing I've heard, is "We loved that experience." That makes me so proud!!! 'Passing Strange' truly is an experience, it moves you. No matter who you are....young, old, man, woman, black, white. Once you see it you realize it's less about race and more about the human being. This show has given me answers to questions I may have never asked. It has stretched me as an actor and I got to speak with a sexy German accent LOL!! Not a day goes by that the songs aren't in my head. Same goes for some of my friends who have seen the show. I was at a party and a buddy of mine was humming "Arlington Hill". That makes me smile big and bright!! To see what we have all worked so hard to create, delight and inform people is just magical. The kind of magic, that I'm ok with, not the dark and creepy kind.

THREE more performances. Three more times to call and respond. Three more times to explode!!! Three more times to wave those Amsterdam hands. :( I am going to miss this, but it will ALWAYS be with me. 'Passing Strange' is an experience that I can't wait to share with y'all three more times!! So, I'll see you there! Okay, cool....be sure to stay afterward so that I can give you GIANT HUGS!!