3: BGB

Black Girl Blues is a project several years in the making that Danielle created from an experience of momentary (unexplained) hair loss and manifestation of celebratory vanity. "3" is a result of pairing down a larger idea built from the former and is the first play of the Black Girl Blues Series. The women in "3" (much like the characters throughout the series) are full of contradiction and we love every single one of them. Their contradictions frighten me. The refusal to search for inner-self baffles me - and I can't see them any other way. There was no urge to "redeem" their vicious deeds. Nor did I feel compelled to save them for the sake of happy endings. To do any of this was not only false but a dishonor to these women all together. The theatre is one of the few expressions that allows room for absurdist rigamarole - a connection to life circumstance which frustrates the outside party. "3" was my way of saying: "...things do not always make sense because people don't always make sense. Sometimes things just happen." 

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Our goal with the series is to create one woman plays for black women that are full of beauty and complexity. Danielle has taken on the task of originating the roles and bringing these woman to life. Danielle's technique - despite understanding of the craft - is non-traditional yet patriotic by process. Every role contributes to her distance of range and places her outside common limits, often, put upon Black artists. It has been assumed that the role of the Black artist is to represent the Black experience, be it relevant by social standards or shallow exploits, which destroys humanity and buries complexity. We fear complexity because we fear our layers will make us look bad (Through american history Black folks have had to prove to Whites that we possess angelic purity which lifts the wicked from our actions), and yet we look bad by eschewing layers all together, leaving two voided dimensions and celebrating the minstrel show we call ourselves offended by. This is not the route Danielle or myself have taken. We have lost the energy to complain and have extended effort to make it happen. We've come this far. We've sparked an interest. At this moment it's all we can be grateful for.