Deborah Randall: Puttting the "F Word" in Theatre

By the time I saw the world premiere of Carolyn Gage’s powerful and raw play, Ugly Ducklings, Deborah Randall had been running Venus Theatre for over four years. It was April 2004 and I was catching one of the final shows at the Warehouse Theatre in Washington, DC.

Deborah (and her set designer Paul Kelm) had transformed the small auxiliary stage into the Maine all-girls summer camp that is the setting for the unsettling play. For over 90 minutes, an intriguing and diverse cast of no less than thirteen women actors (some as young as eight-years-old), held the audience in rapt attention. As they expertly wove the delicate tale of discovery, pain and betrayal, in the world of tenuous summertime sisterhood, you knew you were seeing something unusual. Not just Gage’s well-written script, but all those women on one stage.

Since 1999, the founder and artistic director of Venus Theatre has been on a mission to create as many opportunities for audiences to see complex and provocative stories told by and performed by women. Deborah’s first indication of the power of theater in women’s lives was during her membership in an interactive improv female troupe, Venus Envy, which provided programming for women in domestic violence shelters. Through broken teeth and blackened eyes, the women embraced the empowering and healing skits and activities that gave them some of their dignity and voices back.

During this period, Deborah was also seeing a “dumbing down” of the already limited roles for women in theatre and she could no longer abide by the worsening opportunities for an entire generation of female actors. In response she created Venus Theatre. Within a year she had incorporated and was now Washington, DC’s only non-profit feminist theatre. Almost immediately she started requesting work from women playwrights, submissions now number in the hundreds, and the wRighting Women Reading Series was born. The series allowed Deborah to cast talented actors in challenging and important roles and introduce fresh stories to hungry audiences.

Deborah has noticed that there are female actors that shy away from auditioning for roles at Venus. When asked why she thinks this is, she is frank in her response. “I think actors who work primarily in mainstream theater, who often contend with paper thin characters and productions, find the material, that Venus is known to produce, intimidating. We want to show life from multiple angles and that means seeing actors on stage who depict stories that are complex, heady and challenging. So, yes, you might see two women kissing.”

Deborah reflects on one of her own earlier challenges when mounting these productions. “For the first seven years of the company, every time we launched a new show or reading, I had to rent a space.” Over the years, Deborah has set up her feminist caravan in every available theater space in Washington, DC (as well NYC , Pennsylvania, and Baltimore). In 2007, she decided it was time to create a permanent home for her mercurial company. Venus Theatre The Play Shack is now located at 21 C Street in Laurel, Maryland. The convenient location makes it accessible to theater lovers coming from DC, Annapolis and Baltimore. “Once we moved into our own black box, I was surprised to discover how much stress I had been feeling having to bounce around D.C., finding venues to do our plays. Now I get to park right in front of my own theatre,” an amused Deborah shared.

Deborah is the first to admit that it takes a great deal of sacrifice to do what she has done. It helps that her partner of 21-years, musician Alan Scott, has been unwavering in his support of her work. He has encouraged her to take more risks and make Venus her chief focus in her artist’s life. She hasn’t had a “day job” in years. She is immensely grateful, that on a daily basis, she has the opportunity to embrace her desire to create a space for women.

But running a theatre company doesn’t mean that she gets to churn out her own plays in any regular frequency. After ten years of producing and directing Deborah has had to put her own writing and performing to the side at times. But this year, she will direct the second play of the Venus season, In the Goldfish Bowl, which focuses on four women on Texas death row. She will also debut and perform in her own one-act play, Tuesday, at the Capital Fringe Festival, later this summer. The play centers on a hotline volunteer that is faced with the truth of her own crumbling life as she tries to support the women who call the hotline. Lee Mikeska Gardner, who Deborah is eternally grateful for her talent and her demand that she stretch herself in this new work, directs Tuesday.

When asked what is her advice for women who want to follow their dreams, Deborah sighs. “Don’t try to do this alone. You don’t have to isolate yourself. As women we are not always in a team environment when we are younger. We are pitted against each other to be the prettiest, smartest, or the center of attention, so we don’t always recognize each other as valuable supports.” Deborah admits she has been guilty of trying to go it alone for a long time. Now as she reflects on this decade milestone, she is happy that she is embracing the idea of collaboration and learning what kind of support is out there for her. “Reach out and ask for help. It is much easier than we think. I think the Internet has become for women artists what the golf course is for men. It cuts down the isolation and opens up a community we might not have access to in any other way.”

What’s next for Venus Theatre? More plays that set flight to the voices of women. “I was born to do this. This is where I feel like I’m in my vein of gold,” Deborah says, as she prepares to get back to work.

On March 11, 2010, Venus Theatre will kick off its 10th season with the world premiere of Zelda at the Oasis, written by P.H. Lin and directed by Lynn Sharp Spears. The play takes a fictional look at the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, wife of the noted American novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wants nothing better than to be recognized as an artist in her own right. Two things stand in her way: an inherited mental instability, and an overbearing husband. The play runs until April 4, 2010. For more information on tickets click here.


Michelle Sewell is a screenwriter who was horribly miscast as the “wicked witch” in her sixth grade Halloween play, when she really wanted to be the “cute alien,” and has been plotting her revenge ever since.

Filmmaker Debra Wilson: Telling Our Stories

I had the good fortune of running into out Black filmmaker Debra Wilson while hanging out in the lobby of the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) and she was gracious enough to give a spontaneous interview.

A California native, currently in the Oakland area, Debra has been very deliberate about how she uses her gift as filmmaker. She feels it is her mission to tell the stories of the various communities she belongs to and communities that are consistently ignored. Debra is quite aware of the power of film and how it often educates audiences who might never come in contact with provocative topics in any other way.

Debra’s own curiosity also helps determine what stories she will develop. After being asked to leave a break out session for “butch-identified lesbians” (because she was not one) while attending the 2001 Zuna Institute National Black Lesbian Conference, she became determined to shine a light into this mysterious world. Over two years, paying for the project out of her pocket, she developed the documentary film Butch Mystique and went on to win the Showtime Black Filmmaker Showcase, where the film first aired.

The documentary follows six butch-identified African-American lesbians in the San Francisco area. Through interviews, issues of power, lifestyle, masculine/feminine energies, outward appearance, and identity are examined.

The Showtime win afforded Debra a $30,000 budget and the opportunity to develop another project that would also air on the premium cable channel. In 2006, Jumpin’ the Broom: The New Covenant made its debut. The documentary focuses on committed same-sex relationships among Black lesbian and gay couples, who build families and lives in the face of opposition to “gay marriage” in the Black community. The term “jumpin’ the broom” is a custom from the days of slavery. During this period, black couples weren’t allowed to legally marry and jumping over a broom was a symbolic gesture to celebrate their love and commitment to each other. Debra’s film suggests that modern day same-sex couples are placed in the same situation of creating their own rituals and ceremonies to legitimize their loving relationships.

At the time the film was released only one state in the U.S., Massachusetts, recognized same-sex marriages. Two years later, the LGBT community in California was in a bitter battle against supporters of Proposition 8, which would overturn the courts decision to mandate marriage for all couples, regardless of sexual orientation. On November 4, 2008, Prop 8 was passed and the right to marry was taken from same-sex couples (who were not married before November 4th). Debra voiced her disappointment that her film was not used to educate the Black community during that campaign. She says she made the film to be accessible to the straight community and hopes to still get it out to its intended audience.

Debra’s most recent project, where she serves as a producer, is Mississippi Damned, a feature film written and directed by Tina Mabry. The true story focuses on a young girl growing up in Mississippi and battling family demons to carve out her own life.

With 15 years of experience in the film industry, Debra looks forward to developing more documentaries as well as webisodes and television projects. She loves what she does and recommends that up-and-coming filmmakers tell stories that they are passionate about and can’t wait to tell. “That passion will buffer you from those who tell you your story is not worth telling,” she counsels. And as far as Debra is concerned, she will never stop telling our stories.



Michelle Sewell is a freelance writer who makes it a habit of hanging out in lobbies.

East Coast Poetry Rocks!

If you have to travel three-thousand-miles for real poetry, then DC is the place to get your fill. The west coast needs to take some notes. Yes, I knows them some fightin' words...lol.

Keeping my good parking karma going in snowy DC, I headed over to Chief Ike's Mambo Room to check out the collaborative project Black on My Back: The Poetic Intersection of the Black Experience. The three poets headlining the show were Gayle Danley, Sonya Renee Taylor, and Twain Dooley.

The show, which the threesome (insert 9th grade giggle here) has been performing for a wide ranging audience in prisons, coffee houses and schools, is a mash up of their original work and the work of celebrated poets such as Quincy Troupe, Amiri Baraka, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni and Langston Hughes.

The performers did the impressive work of blending the various pieces together seamlessly. The 60 minute show was eclectic, funny and at times sentimental. Sonya Renee, who is an HBO Def Poet and National SLAM Champion, shared that they decided to collaborate on the showcase to educate audiences on how effortlessly page and stage poetry can share the same space and be entertaining. The supportive audience seemed happy to prove their theory correct. Check out the video below for the highlights.



Michelle Sewell is a screenwriter that travels for good poetry and has extra parking Karma for sale.

Are You Ready to Mother Your Mother?

The winter Meg Federico’s 81-year-old mother, Addie, fell and hit her head on the sidewalk, while vacationing in Florida, they suddenly found themselves cast in a geriatric version of the movie Freaky Friday. Seemingly overnight, they swap roles in the parent/child dynamic and every day, for the next three years, is a series of unexpected and unbelievable adventures.

Federico’s bittersweet and humorous memoir, Welcome to the Departure Lounge: Adventures in Mothering Mother, is in many ways an instructive step-by-step narrative on the Herculean task of taking care of an aging parent, while trying to live your own life.

If the natural cycle of life plays itself out as intended we will outlive our parents; and in doing so we might also be placed in the position of caring for them in their final years. Federico bravely writes about her imperfect attempt to do just that and the lessons learned along the way.

The story is told in a series of compelling flashbacks, starting with the author’s father dying on her wedding day. If there was ever an example of foreshadowing you couldn’t get a better one than that. It is also clear early on that Meg and Addie have a strained relationship, a fact that will become critical as Meg becomes one of the central people in charge of her mother’s care.

Once Federico and her siblings make the decision not to place their frail mother in a nursing home (prompted by Addie’s earlier escape, aided and abetted by her Alzheimer's-addled, 83-year-old second husband) they realize how ill-equipped they are to take care of their strong-willed and sometimes alcoholic mother. But determined to give her the best care possible they call in a team of in-home “experts” that range from tremendously caring to outright crooks.

As Addie and her sex-crazed husband, Walter, become more like petulant teenagers, the author the frazzled parent, and the incidents stack up at an outlandish (sometimes outright life threatening) rate the reader can’t help but wonder why they continue at this impossible circus, with all its loony characters. No one would judge them if they called it quits.

In the midst of the chaos of bedpans, missing jewelry, and sex-toys, Federico must also come to terms with the uneven and sometimes-distant relationship she has had with her diva mother. As the youngest of five children, Federico always felt that her mother saw her as an inconvenience that never met her expectations. Faced with these long held resentments, now butted up against her new power and responsibility, she somehow resists the temptation to “pay her mother back.” In fact, as Addie decompensates, and her own family life starts to show the strain of her routine absence, Federico renews her commitment to maintaining her mother’s dignity and making room for her to have a say so in her care, even when it was inconvenient or impractical to do so.

Just as the author deftly uses humor as a way to soften some of the more difficult issues caretakers face (i.e. changing diapers, dementia, and slowly losing the person who once took care of you), she is also straightforward in the reality that ultimately, unlike parents taking care of children, there is no future or bettering the situation and what frees you from this obligation is death.

Their last days together are both tender and a celebration of her mother’s long and determined life. And although Federico knows that death is how this obligation will end, it doesn’t make it any easier when her mother takes her final breath while sleeping in her arms.

Welcome to the Departure Lounge is a poignant testament to how human we all are, including our parents.

Michelle Sewell, founder of GirlChild Press, has recently been hired to write a memoir involving death, teen pregnancy, and raising kids in the Valley. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Avatar: Is it Racist?

My writer friend, Kellie, and I are riding down Sunset Blvd when she asks me if I think the movie Avatar is racist. I have to tell her I’m one of the few people who hasn’t seen it. Well she is dying to talk to someone about “all the racist images” and demands that I put it at the top of my viewing list.

Later that weekend, I made my way over to the multiplex, snuck in some goodies from 7-Eleven (hey, I’m a struggling artist), and settled down to see the much-hyped, 3D spectacle.

If you have somehow found a way not to be sucked in by the blockbuster Avatar hype, here is the basic plot: A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.

I got to give it to writer/director James Cameron, he put everything he had in this movie (not necessarily good storytelling, but you can’t hit every ball out of the park). Avatar is a perfect example of a filmmaker not letting go of an idea and finding the right time to execute it.

Before I answer Kellie’s provocative question, here are the things I can easily answer about Avatar.

1. Avatar is the perfect 3D movie to see if you have never seen one before. This was my first.
2. Avatar is boring --according to the two guys who started to snore twenty minutes in. One of them eventually left.
3. Avatar takes movie making to the next level. Once again, Cameron has set the bar for big and huge and spectacular.
4. Avatar is visually beautiful. Cameron gives us all the bells and whistles.
5. Avatar has ridiculously shitty dialogue. Cameron, I know you are heralded as the tricked out technology director, but would it kill you to take a script writing workshop?

Now back to Kellie’s question: Is the movie Avatar racist?

I suspect if you feel your racism alarms going off it’s because Cameron intends to ring it. In many ways Avatar is a textbook example of how indigenous people and their communities are taken over and destroyed. The colonist find something valuable that the locals are sitting on and they try every trick in the book to get them to give it up. If not by offering cheap trinkets, then by good old- fashion force (and smallpox- infested blankets).

In his heavy handed way the director means to be clear that this is a story of “us” and “them” In the “us” column is Giovanni Ribisi’s character, Parker Selfridge, whose disdain and impatience for the “monkeys” of Pandora grows by leaps and bounds as the story progresses. He makes Bill O’Reilly look like a super liberal in comparison. And a story of colonist gone wild would not be complete without a benevolent soul, Sigourney Weaver’s Dr. Grace Augustine, who only wants to learn from the Nav’is (and if time allows collect some samples).

The “them” come in the form of the fourteen-feet tall, bright blue Nav’is. They are a not so subtle mash up of all the people who have ever had their land and culture stolen and left out on the margins. With their spears, flying Pterodactyl and spiritual connection to their ancestors, they are a hint of Aborigines, Native Americans, Zulu Nation, and magical.

Thrown in the middle of this cultural stand off is our reluctant hero, Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, who eventually finds himself “going native.” During the montage where Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri teaches JakeSully the way of the Nav’is, I found myself thinking of the 1995 Walt Disney animated film Pocahontas. So, my mother is right again; there is nothing new under sun.

For all the bells and whistles, Avatar, at least in part, is a story that has been told before, in fact, many times. Here the story is being played out on the gaseous planet Pandora (and please, don’t wreck your brain on why he calls the planet that). It is a retelling of how people, who believe they have more right to something, will go about getting it, regardless of the cost – often to the indigenous people.

So, is Avatar racist? No. Just a flimsy, but visually spectacular allegory older than time.


Screenwriter Michelle Sewell wonders if it would be wrong to sneak a turkey leg into the movies next time?

Movie Making with the Federal Government

You have never experienced the concept of “hurry up and wait” until you’ve been hired by the federal government to write and produce an educational script on parenting.

May 2007, I was brought on board by my friend and director Paul Grant (Tangy’s Song) to write a short script that would be developed into an educational video promoting the concept of “anticipatory parenting within the mother/daughter dynamic.” A mouthful indeed, and according to the feds - an issue that needed to be addressed. The media company overseeing the project wanted a writer that could develop a serviceable script and had experience with the population that was to be the subject of the video. According to Paul, I fit the bill perfectly. I had a masters in social work (with a lot of experience working with girls and their families) and I had just been accepted to a prestigious Los Angeles- based screenwriting fellowship. So basically, a match made in heaven. And to top it all off, the agency that was paying for the project had run several focus groups, made up of the identified population of mothers and daughters, and as a result generated a meaty report that I could use to build a story and cherry-pick dialogue from. Easy as pie, right?

The senior manager and her staff from the media company were crazy cool. They provided clear directions around what needed to show up in the script (five scenarios highlighting problem behaviors and solutions) and then left me the hell alone to write. Over the course of two days I churned out a 14-page script. Afterward, Paul and I met with the senior media manager and her team over coffee and tweaked it. It was then passed off to the agency that commissioned the script and everyone went back to their regular programming.

About a month later I was notified that we would be meeting with the agency to receive notes and feedback. At this point I had been in a couple script note meetings, while working on a short with BET, so I was not overly concerned. That was until I found myself sitting at a large conference table surrounded by folks that didn’t seem too happy with my handy work. Based on the feedback I was getting you would have thought I had turned in the first draft of “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.” Paul and I kept looking at each other like WTF? They had issues with the “language”: a character said “hell”. They had issues with the “dialect”: a character dropped a couple “gs.” They had issues with the “violence”: the mother grabbed her daughter by the arm. Finally I couldn’t take it any longer, and with a sweet smile, I asked, “Have you guys read the focus group report?” They nodded yes. Then they knew that the mothers were using harsher language than “hell” and in their world jacking up your kid was as natural as breathing. As I understood it, my job was to show both the inappropriate and appropriate techniques regarding parenting and that focus group report was just bursting with inappropriate. So as far as I was concerned: mission accomplished. But by the end of the two hour meeting, my marching orders were clear: water down my coarse, illiterate and heinously violent opus.

I turned in the revised draft the day before I left for my fellowship (where I would be told I was a frickin’ genius and needed to move to L.A. immediately). Every few months I would check in with Paul regarding the project, but it seemed it was stuck in some sort of special project purgatory. A couple times during 2008, I was asked to rewrite various sections of the script, but basically there was no indication that it would ever make it into production. So eventually I stopped asking about it all together.


Fast-forward two years. I am now living in L.A. and planning a visit to the east coast to see family and friends. The day I land in DC, I get a call from Paul who laughs as he reports that the project has finally gotten the green light and he was entering into a four-day shoot during the exact week I’m home. We both laughed like hyenas and I promised that wild horses couldn’t keep me from coming by his set.

As I drove up on the little blue town house, tucked away in a suburban cul-de- sac, that was to serve as the family home, I suddenly remembered why I like being a screenwriter. No matter how frustrating or exhausting the process, there is no feeling like hearing actors breath life into the words that you had slaved over.

It was really fun spending an afternoon with Paul as he took our little script to the next level. The actors were great and his crew very skilled. Paul runs a very calm and respectful set so there is no drama to report. He did let me know that the original focus group mothers reviewed the “watered down” script and they thought the “inappropriate behaviors” were too weak and they would have done worse. I was vindicated!

I wish I could report that the DVD is now in circulation and being used by parenting groups across the land, but no such luck. The last word is that the rough cut is being “reviewed.” I guess back to purgatory it goes.

Check out my on set interview with Paul.

The Soulmate Secret: A Book Review

If you think the concept of having a soulmate is crap or that “attracting” the perfect person into your life is double crap, then you should probably stop reading here. But if you have been romantically attached to a long list of losers or every weekend you find yourself reluctantly sitting on your couch with only the company of a bag of Doritos — then read on.

Arielle Ford’s The Soulmate Secret: Manifest the Love of Your Life with the Law of Attraction just might be the antidote to your partner-less life that you’ve been looking for.

I bumped into this little book of love and joy while searching the new arrival stacks at my local library. I am personally not in the market for a new mate, but Ford’s sunny and hopeful writing style compelled me to check this little puppy out and I have not been able to put it down.

Let me be clear that The Soulmate Secret isn’t bringing us any late breaking information that we have not heard before. What makes this 207 page quick read so compelling is its accessibility. Ford saves you from chapters of psycho-babble, that normally makes you feel like who would want to date you any way, and jumps right into how to find that special person.

The book takes you through a quick soulmate IQ test: Do you believe there is a soul mate out there for you? Are there past lovers who still have their energetic hooks in you — or are yours in them? Are you psychologically ready to receive your soul mate? These are just a few of the probing questions put to you on page one. If you answer “no” to any of the nine questions, Ford lets you know right off the bat that you and the current state of mind is the barrier that is stopping your soul mate from showing up. If you must know I answered “no” to half the damn questions.

But don’t fear; she has a host of activities and testimonies to get you into relationship shape. In many ways the book ask that you accept full responsibility for all the sub-par mates that have been showing up in your life. When you look back on your failed relationships you knew they were trouble or broke or alcoholics or needy or crazy from the very start, but you let them in anyway. From the start they couldn’t give you what you needed and you certainly could not impact change in their chaotic lives, so you were forced to ride it out until the relationship died some horrible, often messy, death. Then you were back on that couch, with your bag of Doritos, feeling like a failure and wondering why you are so unlucky in love.

To combat these unintentional relationships, Ford suggests that you make an exhaustive list of the attributes you want in a partner. I know it sounds super easy but try it. After you scribble down the first five or six characteristics a lot of folks find themselves struggling to come up with the recommended minimum 25 items. Partly, the exercise is about showing you you are not necessarily connected to what you want in a partner. This disconnect is why you accept anything that shows up. Once you get past the cute, nice, good in bed and not allergic to the cat, you discover there is a lot of things you hate about your new love. And there you are, back on the relationship roller coaster. The author suggests you should commit about 30 minutes to making this list.

Making your soul mate list is just the start to the process that leads you through a lot of purging and reflection in your life. When it comes to your physical space, throw away those sheets that are still around from two relationships ago. They are probably carrying around some bad love juju. Make a vision board of what you want your soul mate to look like and what you would like to do with them and hang it in your bedroom. Set up an altar to remind you that you “purposely” trying to attract your true love. When it comes to you, get your butt into therapy or some form of counseling. Take inventory of your life. There is a reason that you keep attracting the wrong person. Find out why, and then stop doing it.

My favorite part of the book is the couple testimonies sprinkled throughout. Ford says that all the couples highlighted took the steps recommended in the book and found their true love. We got people meeting on planes, in gyms, in snowstorms, at seminars, and in parking lots. One guy reports that he woke up one morning, with a random phone number running through his head, and when he called it it was a woman living 50 miles away that he had never heard of. After he told her how he came to call her, and she did not hang up on him, they met for coffee and have been together ever since. Stop rolling your eyes, especially if you are still sitting on that couch covered in Doritos dust.

If I had any criticism of the book are Ford’s “Feelingizations.” These are meant to be meditation that you can do when you want to connect to the idea of attracting your soul mate. I personally could not get through them, but maybe you will have better luck. There is also a website that provides a guided audio of these feelingizations that could make the meditation a little easier.

All in all, I think this book is perfect for those who are ready to take a real hard look at their romantic life and are serious about getting into an intentional and healthy long-term relationship. Happy manifesting!

A Day at the Library

I know it's not like a celebrity sighting, but I was in the mood to get a library card and spend a couple hours roaming the stacks at the Glendale Central Library.

As a kid I loved the library and would walk over a mile to go hang out in the Little Falls Library. OMG! I sound like when your grandparents tell you they walked a mile in the snow, with no shoes, to school. Anyway. I've been trying to get back to the simple things in my life and I've always enjoyed a good book.

And just so you know - the Dewey decimal system is alive and well:) Check out my quick video below and go get yourself a library card if you don't have one.

Film as Reflection

Last month my friend Allie showed me an article about some adoption advocates that were considering calling a national boycott of the suspense movie Orphan. The movie centers on a husband and wife who recently lost their baby and as a result adopts a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be.

A boycott wasn’t wishful thinking for these advocates because they had already gotten Warner Brothers to delete what they considered offensive “anti adoption” language from a trailer. These protectors of children-looking-for-parents absolutely believe in the power of film and didn’t like that it was not shining a positive light in their direction.

As a side note: You do have to wonder about potential adoptive parents, who watch in horror as the celluloid orphaned bad seed goes about causing chaos and bashing in nuns' heads, and then change their minds about adoption. Do they deserve to adopt a child, bad or otherwise, if they consider the gruesome thriller appropriate research on the topic?

After much eye-rolling Allie declared, “It’s just a movie, people.”
But we can’t pretend that movies don’t have a profound place in our society. It might be through a movie that a kid in India sees a picture of the earth for the first time or girl discovers that she, too, can become a spy. Movies assist in closing gaps and creating common understandings. Movies made a big-eared, black boy from Philadelphia an international film star and maybe made the way for another big-eared, biracial boy from Hawaii to be accepted around the world.

What are movies after all but a filmmaker’s vision of what the world is or could be? For Steven Spielberg it is a world filled with aliens and mystery. For Kevin Smith life is filled with fart jokes and good friends. And every weekend we happily crowd into theaters and join them in their fantasy world.

So, that got me to thinking. The marketplace seems to bear all kinds of films. From the over-the-top gruesome to the delightfully frothy comedy, why wasn’t it seeing the potential in LGBTQ films? The celebrated Milk, starring Sean Penn, showed that a film prominently featuring LGBTQ characters not only makes money but garners awards. But for the most part LGBTQ films are relegated to the film festival circuit, then off to DVD. There are even fewer films that feature black, gay characters in the mainstream consciousness.

Patrik-Ian Polk’s feature film Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom did make it to movie theatres, in limited release, and primarily in indie and art house venues. The film, based on the LOGO hit comedy series Noah’s Arc, focuses on the life and loves of four black, gay friends in Los Angeles. Often compared to the HBO series Sex and the City, the movie was landmark in that no other feature film, with four openly gay, black characters, has ever received a theatrical release.

What was actually more surprising to me about this film was the number of straight black women who went to see it. My very straight family friend Brooke went to see it a grand total of four times, dragging friends to discover the quirky and fun world of Noah, Alex, Ricky and Chase. Of course, I had to ask her what about these gay, black men spoke to her - to the tune of $40.00 worth of movie tickets. Brooke disclosed that she never really knew gay people before (clearly I didn’t count) and certainly did not know they could be so “cool and interesting” (clearly I don’t count). I think what Brooke was really saying was that gay people that look like her had never been put in a “regular” context for her. I don’t mean three-piece suit or mowing their lawn in the suburbs regular, but struggling and loving and making mistakes like everyone else. That is what Polk’s film did for her.

Black LGBTQ filmmakers need to continue to add our stories to the film canon. Take the risk like Debra Wilson, Tina Mabry, and Cheryl Dunye of creating compelling, funny, outrageous narratives that allows us to see and celebrate ourselves, and ultimately for others to do the same. Don’t listen to the naysayers or negative nellies. Movies get made because someone believes the story must be told.

I, for one, recognize and embrace the power of film and its ability to shine light on unique stories or even promote tolerance. Look at how it has improved the PR for vampires.

Blog Talk Radio Interview!

Had the opportunity to be a guest on Sippin' On Ink and chatting with host extraordinaire Kat. We talked about GirlChild Press, the future of publishing girls and women, and following your dreams!
Check it out and leave some comments.

Daddyhood: The Movie

Tagline: Fatherhood is going to make a man out of Eric Matters whether he likes it or not.

No there is no bun in the oven! And if there was there would be a lot of explaining to do. The guy to the left is the extraordinarily talented Matthew Brown of Brown Medius. We became friends a couple years ago (he did the final edit on my first short film Spoiled) and now we are both living in L.A.

Last summer Matt got a hold of me and asked me to write him a feature length comedy script. He was interested in directing a mini budget feature that would display his eclectic and versatile skills. He wanted the story to happen in a day, feature a male protagonist, and be funny. This call came at midnight east coast time so I thought I was hearing things. By now Matt had seen my portfolio of work and nowhere in there was male, funny, or situational. But he seemed to think I was a good enough writer to pull it off. A week later we had a treatment we agreed on and I went about the business of constructing the world of "Eric Matters" and the cast of characters that inhabit the Cresten Pine Mall.

Daddyhood is a cross between Friday and Clerks. Our protagonist is a reluctant young father, who is faced with taking care of his infant daughter for the day when his frustrated ex-girlfriend unexpectedly drops her off at his job. During the course of the day Eric discovers what it takes to be be father and how far he will go to fulfill that responsibility. It is a PG-13 film and has a nice feel good ending (after all the madcap and unexpected adventures).

It was a fun story to write and I was surprised how easy. I am now working on a rewrite and Matt is in talks with a "name" actor to take on the lead role. We spent a few hours together yesterday mapping out how we would pull this production off and what it would take to get our quality story on the screen. MONEY!

But besides money we are putting together a package (name actor, budget, production time, audience, etc) that we think will attract investors. So if you have a million or so laying around - hit us up:)

Michelle

You Can't Cry While Hiking Uphill

My east coast friends are both amused and baffled by my new love affair with hiking. They swear that I have been sucked into the Southern California lifestyle vortex of bean sprouts and healthy living, overnight. The reality is that hiking has turned out to be a happy, soul saving accident.

About six weeks before I was scheduled to leave for California my five year relationship came to an abrupt and painful end. By the time I left DC I was a shell of myself and I was virtually unrecognizable. All the drama and upset had effectively sucked the confidence and joy out of me. Only the love, support, and insistence of family and friends got me across the country - with the hopes that I could pick up the pieces once I got to sunny Los Angeles. But what I discovered, once all the fanfare died down, was that my sadness made it impossible to perform the smallest task at hand. I fixated on the broken relationship and saw myself as a failure. This is not how I had envisioned the start of my L.A. adventure.

My new housemate, an avid hiker, tried to pull me out of my increasingly darkening mood by inviting me on her morning hikes. I had met Carolyn two years ago at a writing fellowship and we became fast friends. She had taken me hiking during a couple of my visits west and I absolutely hated the experience. Tipping the scale at 300 pounds it was like pushing a boulder up the mountain with a q-tip. Impossible.

Every morning we went up on the trail I tried to remember that living in California was to be about new starts and pushing myself beyond what I thought I was capable of. Lumbering my way up Verdugo Mountain those first couple weeks was painful. I felt inadequate and struggled with a great deal of shame that I had allowed myself to get so big that I could barely make it five feet without gasping for air and stopping. Carolyn was extremely supportive, but it was difficult to watch her seemingly effortlessly make her way up the winding ridge, all while controlling two large dogs that outweighed her by at least 20 pounds. It didn’t matter that she had been hiking for over ten years and took extremely good care of her body; it frustrated me that I couldn’t keep up. As far as I was concerned hiking was just another thing that I could fail at. Those first couple weeks I almost never finished the hike.

Then one morning, after another restless night, I decided I was going to go out hiking by myself. I chose Griffith Park which is purportedly an easier hike than Verdugo. The verdict is still out on that. As I pulled up to the virtually empty parking lot, I promised myself I would make it all the way to the top no matter how long it took. The Griffith hike is challenging to me because it immediately starts off with a steep incline. You are walking at least 15 minutes before you encounter a flat lay of land to rest your burning legs and lungs.

That first solo hike I felt every single step, every single curve and bend. I noticed how other hikers stared at me as they passed (running or briskly walking) and I knew they were judging me, doubting that this big, black woman, heaving and grunting her way up the dusty trail, would ever make it to the top. By the time I did I was drenched. I’m sure I looked like a shiny black piece of coal under the hot morning sun. But I had done it. I had made it to the top at my own pace and on my own terms.

By the time I made it back down to my car, and sucked down 16 ounces of water, I suddenly realized that for the entire hour I was up on that trail I couldn’t feel my heartache. My body had only one imperative – get air into my lungs - if I insisted on taking another step. Every other worry was pushed aside.

So, every morning, at least five times a week, I wake up just after sunrise and lace up my shoes. No matter what kind of day I had before or how the day is going to unfold later on, for that one hour I have peace. For that one hour I can’t cry. For that one hour I don’t feel like a failure.

And it’s also nice that I’ve lost 17 pounds.

Open Letter to the UCLA Comedy Panelists: You Suck! Tina Mabry and Michael Hyatt: You Two - Rock!

When I walked out of the UCLA Writers' Fair last Sunday I was extremely agitated.

I had come to help a friend hand out business cards to promote her resource website for writers (very awesome- check it out) and hopefully do some networking of my own. The Writers' Fair was an attempt to attract writers - of all genres - to the fabled UCLA Extension program. More than a few success stories had come out of there, so I was geeked to have the opportunity to get some free advice from the various panels that were set up for the day.

My primary concentration is screenwriting, but I've committed myself to adding a couple television spec scripts to my portfolio - so I took my happy ass over to the Comedy Writing for Television panel. Comedy! What better way to spend 40 minutes? Almost immediately I had the sense that I should leave. The four panelists in attendance seemed knowledgeable enough, but the amount of grousing going on was absolutely off-putting. The first ten minutes was used to tell all the potentially most talented writers in the world sitting in that room (and the place was packed), that the business was hard and there was only a handful of opportunities for the most determined and young writers. WTF!

Why were these people representing the Writing Program? They had clearly been beaten up by the game and were clearly bitter! In fairness, the chairman of the panel, a gregarious guy who was born to be a comedy writer, tried to keep the proceedings a little more hopeful, but the other panelist (especially the husband and wife team) would have none of it. Finally, during the Q&A period, one of the attendees asked, what I'm sure we all had been wondering, "Do you like being a writer?" They all chimed in a mostly convincing "yes," but the damage had already been done, at least as far as I was concerned.

Now don't get me wrong. I am fully aware how tough this business can be and how much talent road kill litters the halls of studios and production offices, but you don't go out of your way to crush a dream before it has even gotten its sea legs.

As I drove home, still shaking my head at the ridiculousness of the most inappropriate people to populate a "come spend your money at our school" panel, I was grateful that I had had a more encouraging dinner with director Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned, Brooklyn's Bridge to Jordan) and actor Michael Hyatt(Mississippi Damned, The Wire) a couple weeks before.



I'd met Michael in church of all places. I had just seen Mississippi Damned the night before and was blown away by her performance. And as the Universe would have it she sat right next to me in the packed room. She let me be a gushing fangirl for a moment (very gracious woman) then we chatted like normal people (me telling her I was a screenwriter and new to LA, and she congratulating me for following my destiny). At the end of the service she asked that we exchange info. I was floored. Actors are really regular people...lol

A couple weeks later I got a call from Michael inviting me to dinner with her and Tina. We ended up meeting at Morel's French Steakhouse and Bistro at the much talked about The Grove. Almost immediately I knew I was in for a hell of an evening. Tina and Michael were bawdy and funny and smart and way down to earth. Over escargot (yuck!) and wine, they shared stories of their time on the Mississippi Damned set (I wont repeat the more juicy details here) and how profoundly blessed they felt to have the opportunity to make this provocative and moving film (see review a couple entries down).


I was totally sucked into their banter so I was completely caught off guard when they both turned to me and asked why I had given up my life in DC and moved to the city of movie dreams. Now I barely can remember what I said. Maybe something about always loving movies? Understanding how film has been a huge cultural touchstone in our society. And who wouldn't want to live in sunny Los Angeles - even as a struggling writer. Something like that.

Suddenly Michael and Tina got all serious on me. They started doling out some "sister love and advice." Tina was adamant that I remember exactly who I was when opportunities came my way. She was clear that no amount of money was worth forgetting that. At the end of the day I needed to feel good about myself. She was currently getting a lot of praise and opportunities, as a result of her stellar work on Mississippi Damned, so she knew what she was talking about. Michael chimed in that as artists we should never sell our art short. What we do is not easy, even if some claim it is frivolous, and we shouldn't give it away - ultimately causing others to believe it not valuable.

Somewhere in there they both shared that the business was hard. That I always had to show up with my A game. That I shouldn't get caught up on the perceived "lost opportunities" because there were plenty more right around the corner. But what they really wanted me to remember? If I kept my integrity and maintained a solid support system, I would always be alright.

Sure these fabulous divas led me astray on the escargot (did I mention - yuck!), but on everything else, I know they were absolutely right. And they certainly had a better pitch than the bitter bitch panelists at UCLA.

Love, Michelle:)

My Day at the "Happiest Place on Earth"

We all knew this day would come. HOMESICKNESS! I have been moping around for the last few days wishing for all things east coast: friends, Busboys and Poets, my king sized bed, and familiarity. Nothing could seem to shake me from this foul mood until I got a call this weekend that resulted in an all-expense trip to DISNEYLAND. My friends Carmen and Jacqui are in town and they have the hook up in the form of Carmen's very pregnant sister Valentina. The most awesome Disney Cast Member (that is what everyone who works for Disney is called) treated us to a day at the park and we had a frickin' blast! If you are a Facebook friend you can check out the pics from the day or check out my video below of some of the things we got into while at the "Happiest Place on Earth." If Disneyland can't help you shake the blues, maybe you need meds...lol


Five Things I learned while at Disneyland

1. No need to go to the gym that day. You will walk your ass off!
2. The Screaming roller coaster is truth in advertising.
3. The Soarin' aviation ride proves how innovative the human mind really is.
4. It is best enjoyed with friends
5. The 8:45 fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom is AWESOME!

BONUS
According to Mary Poppins - we are practically perfect in every way.

New Writing Workshop (L.A. and DC)

I can't believe the summer is almost over, but I am looking forward to some amazing things for the fall. One of those things is the return of the Woman's Work Writing Workshop! I'm excited to announce that we will be hosting the workshop on both the west and east coast. See information below.



GirlChild Press
presents
Woman’s Work Writing Workshop

Los Angeles - Sunday, September 20, 2009 1:00pm-4:00pm
Facilitator: Michelle Sewell

D.C. - Sunday, October 4, 2009 – 12:00pm – 3:00pm
(scholarship available for DC class - see below)
Facilitators: Yael Flusberg and Michelle Sewell

This interactive 3-hour workshop is designed to strengthen your ability to access your original voice, take creative risks, and move your writing to a deeper level. Writing exercises and feedback from your instructors and fellow writers will allow you to expand your powers of observation, imagination, and language. The workshop is perfect for writers at all stages of development.

THE WORKSHOP WILL FOCUS ON
Writing Exercises to Produce Draft Work

Discussion on:
Writing Habits and Tools
Craft Elements
Revision Techniques

EACH WRITER WILL RECEIVE:
A Workbook
A copy of Just Like A Girl: A Manifesta!
After workshop opportunity to submit up to 2 excerpts/pieces to GirlChild Press for a written critique

The final hour of the workshop will allow for discussion and review of existing projects. Writing should take no more than 10 minutes to read aloud.
Class size is limited to allow for maximum feedback and review. Registration will close when the class is full. Register Now!


The $50.00 workshop fee is due no later than the day before the class. Early registration is encouraged due to limited class size. For more information: girlchildpress@aol.com
Read more!

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION
If you or someone you know is interested in securing the scholarship for the DC Workshop all you have to do is complete a one page, double space essay on why you want to attend the workshop and what you would like to accomplish as a result of your attendance. All essays should be submitted by August 28, 2009 to girlchildpress@aol.com. We'll make a final determination by September 7, 2009.

If anyone else is interested in providing a scholarship for a woman writer please feel free to contact us at girlchildpress@aol.com

Writing Tip # 59 - Create A Word List

Okay, let me say up front that this tip came from a book that I am rereading. A Manual of Writer's Tricks: Essential Advice for Fiction and Nonfiction Writers by David L. Carroll is full of little tidbits that can get your through almost any writer's block or creative downturn.

I am currently digging on Chapter 1 - Finding the Right Word. Carroll is of the opinion that a thesaurus, or word finder, is more valuable to a writer than a dictionary. He cautions us to get away from the myth that great writers don't use any of these tools to produce their work. Sure Toni Morrison has a big vocabulary but I bet she also owns a thesaurus.

So before you start your next writing project consult your thesaurus to compile a list of words that you will expect to use during the writing. For example, if you are writing a piece on cars, you should be looking for synonyms for that word such as "sedan," "clunker," and "automobile." This trick will save you lots of time, maintain your flow of writing because the list is right there on hand, and bring a richness to your writing.

Let me know if this tip works for you.

Until Later
Michelle

Roberta Munroe: A Champion of Independent Filmmakers Everywhere!

I first became aware of Roberta Munroe in 2006. She was featured in a filmmaking magazine where she talked about her experience as a Sundance shorts programmer. What struck me first about this article was that she was a woman of color. I know we are supposed to be all Obama post-racial, but this was 2006. In my mind (and I suspect a lot of other folks) the Sundance Film Festival is synonymous with quality, prestige and primarily white content. So I was shocked to discover that one of the shorts programmers actually looked like me. Well not exactly like me, but still. Little did I know that three years later I would be sitting in her garden talking about film, Malcolm Gladwell, hiking, and the price of being a smart black girl.

In those three years, Roberta has released two short films: Dani and Alice and Happy Birthday, left her position at Sundance, and published a book, How Not to Make A Short Film. Nowadays she runs a film consulting firm Roberta Munroe, LLC and travels around the world hipping filmmakers to a better way of building the movie mouse trap.

Our chat started with me asking her what kinds of films make it into Sundance? She couldn’t help but laugh. She had heard that question at least a thousand times over the last five years and she says she gives the same answer all the time – good ones. According to Roberta, less than two percent of the all films submitted to Sundance get in. If she watched 100 shorts on a particular day, ten were good. Of the ten - six were flawed in some way that made them completely unprogrammable. Of the remaining four (which are really good) two hit the bulls eye and the other two will be eliminated for length. That is how slim the margins are.

Apparently there seems to be some myth about getting into the Sundance Film Festival and it involves a lot of cloak and dagger and knowing someone’s uncle. Roberta says none of that is true. “Sundance is in the business of finding new and amazing talent and none of the programmers are going to take the risk of not watching a submission and then find it playing at another top tier festival without an explanation why they missed it,” she explains. According to Roberta film festivals want to program excellent work so please let go of the conspiracy theory.

So if Sundance is so awesome why did she leave? Roberta still does work with Sundance on special projects, but at some point she wanted to branch out on her own and explore other opportunities. One of those opportunities was writing a book geared to filmmakers who produce short films. A handbook of sorts. By the time she left the festival they were receiving over 5,000 shorts a year so she had first hand knowledge of what works and what doesn’t work in the world of shorts. She wanted to help up-and-coming filmmakers to produce their best work by sharing the knowledge that came from watching over 15,000 hours of video and film.

How Not to Make A Short Film is a wonderful handbook for anyone interested in making an excellent short film. Roberta takes you from story concept, emergencies on the set (i.e. crack heads banging on the adjoining wall to your set) and the necessity of budgeting for a solid post production experience. The tone of the book is straightforward and honest. You won’t find elaborate formulas or long drawn out diatribes on film critique – just clear advice and examples of how to make the best film possible. For those who don't fancy yourselves readers, you can check out the series of videos that Roberta put together to illustrate her point - hilariously - regarding the mistakes that filmmakers make.

As a consultant Roberta is approached by clients for all kinds of reasons. Some need a simple script consult. Some want her advice on some elements of their projects before they head into production. Others want to strategize around promoting their film or securing a producer. But she says one of the more challenging situations is when a client has already completed their film and they are trying to figure out why they are being rejected by film festivals left and right. Roberta says, “The reality is they know why they are not getting into festivals. I think they ask other people hoping they will give them a different answer.” By the time a filmmaker with a completed project gets to her, they have told themselves a series of lies about why they are not seeing movement with their project and they are paying her to tell them the hard truth. Roberta believes filmmakers, all artists for the matter, need to really get real with themselves. “You know when you are compromising on your vision, or when you have bitten off more than you can chew on your project,” she counsels. Basically, you can’t cut together a 45 minute “short” that suffers from poor editing or a horrible actor and think that any festival is going to touch you with a ten foot programming pole – no matter how “genius” the story. Save yourself the time and aggravation and just go back to the drawing board.

The best advice she thinks she can offer filmmakers is to listen to feedback and understand that every experience is a necessary link in their film making career. She looks at her own career and knows that this is true. When she went into production on her first short film Dani and Alice she made sure she surrounded herself with really smart and capable people. She says there was so much she didn’t know about the process and in some ways it was trial by (blazing hot) fire. She praises her producer Effie Brown (Real Women Have Curves, Stranger Inside) who helped her to make hard decisions and not lose her mind. Dani and Alice premiered at the London LGBT Film Festival to rave reviews.

Roberta also encourages filmmakers not to look at someone else’s career and think they have been sprinkled with some magical fairy dust to get where they are. She recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Outliers: A Story of Success (I, too, love this book!) and she says it is an excellent read to fully understand how success comes. A series of, what appear to be, unrelated events link together in your life. You follow your passion. You do your homework. You work really hard. And when the opportunities arise you will be ready. She knows that is the formula that has helped her land some of the most plum assignments in her career.


What’s next for Roberta Marie Munroe? She has been tapped to sit on a special U.N. panel with an emphasis on programming shorts with HIV/AIDS content. Hopefully the initiative will lead to the production of socially conscious features. She is also preparing to write a YA novel with a gay theme and of course, making more films of her own.

If you live in the Los Angeles area you have the opportunity to access the genius of the shorts guru. Roberta will be holding her Best Short Film Workshop Ever on Saturday, August 22, 2009. The full day intensive workshop starts at 9:30a.m. and it will cover everything needed to pull together that killer short film that will get into every film festival known to mankind and launch your filmmaking career into the stratosphere – all for $59.00!

Five Tips for Filmmakers - According to Roberta Munroe

1. Don’t use all your own money to finance your film. Ask friends, family, or investors to get in on the act.
2. Create a budget that allows for a solid post production experience. You can skimp on a lot of things, but don’t skimp on post.
3. Don’t spend a lot of money that you don’t have. Shorts rarely make back the money that it took to produce them so be comfortable not seeing your investment back.
4. $5,000 -$20,000 is the maximum that should be spent on a short film. It is a short after all!
5. Read. Watch movies. Listen. Don’t think you know it all. Read some more.

California is for Donuts

As I adjust to my new life in Los Angeles, there is a lot to get use to. Traffic. Never ending sunshine. Celebrities roaming the streets like free-range chickens. More traffic. But the code I have not been able to crack over the last few weeks is L.A.’s obsession with donuts. In a three block radius of my new house there are a minimum of six donut establishments. One of them has the nerve to be 24 hours! Really! Back at home I can’t think of even one Dunkin Donut near my house, much less 6. In the land of size zero and 24 hour gyms how in the name of tarnation is this allowed to be?

Initially, I thought it was just a random store on the corner of Chevy Chase and Central, but as I made my way through my new neighborhood I started to notice these donut shops at a more frequent rate. I couldn’t help but wonder who is making a living, in this economy, selling just donuts? So one night, out of curiosity and a sweet tooth that wouldn’t quit, I stopped by the 24 hour shop. Inside there was a little dark-haired woman cleaning off tables and making fresh coffee. The space was sparse, with its weird green-colored walls, and except for a large refrigerator with coke products on sale the only thing on the menu were donuts! I ordered a cup of said coffee and two old fashion donuts with chocolate. I took my goodies to my car and decided to stake out the joint. There was no way she was seeing any donut business at 10:00pm.

Before I could pop the top on my coffee two guys jumped out of their silver Prius and headed inside. They seemed to be regulars. The little woman chatted them up as she loaded up a bag with their order. Within five minutes the laughing pair exited with a large bag of donuts. I immediately dismissed them as night watchmen who needed the sugar fix to stay awake and protect whatever they were supposed to be protecting. Then two skateboarder kids, both around sixteen, skated up to the shop. Doesn’t California have curfew laws? They headed inside, grabbed a couple cokes from the cooler, and ordered up donuts. A couple minutes later and they were off on their skateboards munching away.

By the time I pulled away from the donut shop, twenty minutes had past, and no fewer than ten people had made their way into this unassuming, little strip mall store. Of course, my spontaneous late night stake out created more questions than answers. So I Googled the history of donuts and California. Here is what I found.

First of all, donuts have existed since the beginning of time. Seriously. Archaeologists are still finding fossilized donut remnants in what is believed to be prehistoric Native American settlements. But donuts didn’t hit their stride until John Blondell was awarded the patent for the first “doughnut cutter” made out of wood in 1872. By 1920 a Russian refugee invented a donut machine which allowed for the automation of the making of donuts and causing the sugary, doughy confection to spread like wildfire.

So what’s the deal with California’s over-the-top love affair with donuts? There isn’t a clear story for their migration pattern here. The best I could fish out was the Portuguese immigrants who settled in Hawaii and brought their tradition of malasadas making (yeast dough deep fried in oil and rolled in granulated sugar) that they readily shared with other immigrants from other ethnic groups and they then migrated to California bringing a variation of that tasty treat with them. Somehow all that dough rolling and cutting and frying has made Southern California the region with the largest number of donut shops (franchises and mom and pop) in the country.

I don’t know if I solved any mysteries, but I do know where to get some kick-ass chocolate donuts at two in the morning. And by the way, I never saw a police officer pull up to the 24 hour shop that entire time I was there.

Sonya Renee Taylor: Making Poetry Smart, Sexy and Funny

(originally posted on Velvet Park)

I caught up with Sonya Renee Taylor at L.A.’s famous Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffle restaurant this week to get the low down on what has been happening in her poet's life. We have recently switched coasts (She back to east and me, newly here, on the west.) and wanted to compare notes about living the artist's life – fulltime. Sonya is an HBO Def Poet and National Poetry SLAM winner and over the last couple of years has taken the leap to make her living as a fulltime artist on the road. Her verbal acrobatics have taken her from Texas to New Zealand and back again.

I first saw Sonya do her thing at a venue in Washington, D.C. about five years ago. D.C. is one of those places where you can literally go to a venue every night and hear some amazing work being delivered. From the moment Sonya hits the stage, you can’t take your eyes off her. She is this voluptuous, confident sister armed with take-no-prisoner poetry. That particular night she came with an over-the-top, part erotic, part public service announcement piece on using condoms. By the time it was all said and done, the audience was left begging for more. I didn’t know Sonya at the time, so count me shocked when a few months later, while attending the March for Women’s Lives on the National Mall, I heard her distinct and booming voice coming from the main stage. Her call to arms piece “What Women Deserve” energized the 1.6 million people in attendance in a way few of the other headliners were able to.

About a year later we ended up sharing the same stage at MotherTongue, a women’s open mic, and after the show we formally met. I was not surprised to discover that Sonya has a master's degree in non-profit management and has devoted a good chunk of her adult life to issues impacting a great many marginalized populations. She has lent her expertise to educating and protecting sex workers, getting the word out on HIV prevention, and protecting women’s right to choose. No wonder her poetry comes off so real. She is at ground zero on many of these important issues and knows the ramifications if we remain silent and do nothing.

But Sonya knows how to keep it fun and sexy on stage as well. She wants people to enjoy themselves and for those who come to her performance with a certain set of expectations she wants to shake them of those. “People who are new to slam/performance poetry sometimes believe it’s not as good as 'page poetry' or worse, that it is just plain bad,” she shares. Five minutes into any of her sets and they quickly abandon those notions. She says she loves to watch the looks on her audiences’ faces when she goes to some taboo place through her work. “First, they are always shocked, then self-conscious and eventually they loosen up and go along for the ride,” she says. During her performances she brings as much of herself to the stage as she can. She references her blackness, her womanness, her thickness and strength. “People know when you are faking it. They know when you are just pushing the words out and don’t care whether or how they land.”

So how does she keep her work and herself fresh when she is performing at such a constant pace? She says she has over 800 poems in her catalog to pick from (about 200 of them memorized) and tries to read her audience at the very beginning to get a sense of what they need to hear. She admits there are times that she gets bored with doing her “top 10” – she gets a lot of requests for her signature pieces – but figures there are worse ways a girl could make a living than telling her truth through her poetry.

Sonya’s recent move back to the east coast is also inspiring her to take some new risks with her work. She wants to adopt a new tone for her poetry and address subjects that she might have neglected in the past. She is also putting together a poetry book, A Little Truth on Your Shirt, that will debut in early 2010. (Her latest CD, Thick Girl, can be purchased at www.PoetCD.com.) Any trepidation she has about switching things up on her fans she keeps in check by recognizing that, as she grows, her work grows, and that’s good for everyone involved.

I recently discovered a video performance of one of her poems that I’ve never heard. I don’t know if “Slices” is in her top 10, but it should be. Enjoy!

Mississippi Damned: A Damn Fine Film

(originally posted on Velvet Park)

First, I have to tell you how I even came to see this film. I was hanging out in the DGA the day before its L.A. premiere and ran into one of the producers, Debra Wilson. We struck up a conversation and I learned that she was promoting Mississippi Damned. This was not the first time I had heard of the film. Before I left D.C., Lisa Moore of Redbone Press sent me the trailer and informed me that I had to check the movie out if I was going to be in town during Outfest.

When Debra and I parted company, I had all intentions of buying a ticket that day. But somehow I got sidetracked and, before I knew it, the film sold out. The only other alternative was to get to the theatre an extra hour early and hang out in the "stand-by line" in hopes of snagging a vacant seat. This whole L.A. thing has been my little adventure so I was game to waste an hour and see if the ticket gods were on my side.

One of those rare times when I am on time for anything resulted in me being the first person in line. I knew this positioning guaranteed that I would get into one of the 10 seats that are historically open during sold out shows, but I wasn't expecting that at 7:30 p.m. one of the Outfest volunteers would walk up to me and hand me a FREE ticket. Seems that they were having some sort of contest and the first person in the stand-by line for the showing of the film won a ticket. Lucky me! But my luck didn't end there. The line they instructed me to stand in turned out to be the crew/cast line and, before I knew it, I was being ushered into an empty theatre with my choice of seats. So I go from fretting I wouldn't get into the movie at all to being pushed to the front of the line.

So, clearly, all this good fortune put me in a great mood to receive this much talked about movie. But I have to admit I was secretly worried. The buzz on the film, and there was a significant amount of it, was that the story was compelling, the photography haunting andthe acting, by a primarily all-black cast, was exceptional. Still licking my wounds after being shamed into seeing Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married, with the weirdly same kinds of accolades, I had reason to hold on to some of my skepticism.


I’ve been to my fair share of film festivals and often the centerpiece film stinks to high heaven. It is often chosen because of the stars in the film or some other political reason. So what if this film fell into that category? What if it sucked? What if the mixed audience didn't get the story that writer/director Tina Mabry was trying to tell in her feature-length directorial debut? What if all the fanfare was unwarranted?

Five minutes into the film it was clear there was nothing to worry about. Mississippi Damned was in the capable hands of Ms. Mabry and she never lost control.

Based on a true story, the film follows a tight knit and expansive Mississippi family over the course of 12 years. On the surface, it appears like everyone is happy and doing their best to carve out a quality life, but through the eyes of the youngest members of the family, we quickly learn there are more than a few cracks in the foundation of this fiery and volatile southern clan.

Physical and sexual abuse plays a large part in this story and touches virtually every member of the family. And, like a lot of families, everyone knows but no one talks about it. Mabry is especially unflinching in the depiction of the sexual abuse of the youngest members. The audience was audibly disturbed when young Sammy is made to participate in oral sex with a family friend in exchange for the money he needs to attend an out-of-town basketball game (and maybe his one chance to escape his soul-sucking hometown).

The large cast is stellar. With stand outs being Michael Hyatt (Fame, The Wire), Malcolm David Kelley (Lost, Saving Grace) and Simbi Kali Williams (The Bernie Mac Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun). Their performances are riveting and heartbreaking. You can’t help but root for them, although it is clear not all of them will make it and their undoing is often by their own hands.


During the Q&A, Mabry shared that the film was shot in 19 days. The seasoned filmmakers in the audience literally gasped understanding what an amazing hat trick was pulled off. There is nothing about this film that seems rushed or lacking. Coming in at 120 minutes, the director takes the time to show us all the nooks and crannies. Each character is given the opportunity to develop and make an impression. The script is solid, with memorable dialogue like, “When you get one of your titties cut off then you can preach to me about thanking God. Until then, shut up!”

My chief complaint is that it is not clear that the story is being told primarily though young Kari’s eyes. It would not be until the narrative shifts into her young adult years that it becomes clear that she is the one that we need to invest all our hopes in escaping the suffocating dysfunction that surrounds her.

The cocktail reception that followed the screening elicited a lot of conversation around the various taboo subjects that were broached during the film. Two very interesting observations came up among the primarily black audience. First, why was the only family member to make it out a very light-skinned, pretty character? Second, why did the only gay character in the film end up in a mental hospital? Since the film is based on fact it is hard to argue with the outcome, but I do wonder if Mabry has heard this feedback before?

I suspect the other feedback she will hear, especially if the film wins a larger audience, is the way in which the men in the family are depicted. They are all at the mercy of some sort of vice, be it liquor, gambling or the need to batter their wives. It appears the women are left to hold the family together, but if we look close enough we can see that they are significantly flawed as well.

Mississippi Damned has received much deserved praise and high visibility on the festival circuit. Now the producers (Morgan Stiff and Lee Stiff) and filmmaker are hoping to treat the film to a theatrical release and, hopefully, to a wider audience.

Without a doubt, this powerful film needs to be seen at a theatre near you.

Review by Michelle Sewell

For more information on the film, check here.

View the trailer of the Mississippi Damned below