Playwrights Courtney Dilmore & Tatiana Christian on creating ‘FULL FOLOR’
BY COURTNEY DILMORE & TATIANA CHRISTIAN
FULL COLOR is simple and straightforward and authentic and ordinary: it is also bold, barrier-breaking, and extraordinary.
<BIPOC = Black, Indigenous, people of color>
Eight BIPOC actors speak the truths of their eight BIPOC playwright counterparts, in a bold declaration that their experiences are not monolithic, dispelling stereotypes, and presenting the depth and breadth of BIPOC experiences here and now in Utah.
Diné playwright Courtney Dilmore: FULL COLOR combines the human experience from the perspective of those who have encountered it from a place rarely visited. We hear many stories like these but who is telling them? Where is the lived experience from past stories of trauma, drama, oppression, discrimination, benevolent racism, triumphant wins that only matter to the individual, finding peace and cultural connections? They’re all right here, in full color.
While visiting these retellings, it is important to listen closely to the innate use of words, the tone, and the things that are being said, or not being said. Each piece is meticulously crafted for the purpose to send a message or to simply jolt something inside. It may cause discomfort, but we’d simply like you to stew in that discomfort for a moment to fully understand that particular experience. It may cause a stir of emotions that you never knew existed. We have described some of these pieces as “calm, it’s calm till it’s not calm,” “unapologetically about the language,” and “it’s up the entire time and we don’t get to come down to take a breath.”
This group of storytellers have had to reach inside a place where these particular experiences lurk: a very sacred place that not all are allowed to see. FULL COLOR is an invitation to glimpse into that space. Some are the delighted memories that want to be held forever, and others just need to be told, to be heard. Call it a theme or trope, but when they come straight from the source, they become real and powerful.
My piece, Here, was completely inspired by a combination of memories. It’s a recollection of cultural teachings that I hold near and dear to my heart because of its immeasurable impact. It’s a story I’ve repeated several times as a prime example of the wisdom held within our elders. I share this wisdom as a souvenir for any and all who’d like to partake in finding a sacred space.
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Black playwright Tatiana Christian: My monologue I Still Have To Live Here was inspired by the complete 180 I did intellectually after leaving Twitter. I never bought into white progressivism or Black politics. I disagreed with concepts like anti-racism, racial justice, representation, “our ancestors died for the right to vote”
Black progressives are dishonest in their ideas and motivations. So much so that I find them fundamentally anti-Black; in fact, they hide behind their race (and gender) to justify their bankrupt opinions that just so happen to align with those of white racists.
All the racism I have experienced has come from liberal white women, my least favorite demographic. Of course, since Black progressives are able to shame white women into a certain level of compliance, these racists become saviors.
In Candace Owens' memoir she muses about this, how white saviors feel as they "help" Blacks—like people who donate to Goodwill: something that helps them feel good in the end.
But the relationship between white saviors and Black leftists is mutual, though they'll never admit it. They rely on white guilt to elevate them, to be invested in their work, to hire and pay them—all while saying that none of this is actually happening.
Of course, any Black person who critiques this is only doing so at the behest of white interests. But a Black influencer who spends all her time talking about racism or white supremacy is doing it for ... the culture?
But Blacks have no idea how to end racism!
The racism and classism from white and Black progressives is mind-boggling. Elites coming together to ignore the Black poor and prop up narratives that don’t serve the average Black person, all while they skip their way to the bank, a promotion, or a book deal.
Perhaps that's why I connect to Chris Curlett’s monologue [Fox and the Mormons] so much as he details his experiences of degradation at the hands of well-intended whites. This is probably a very common experience; we suffer silently at the hands of whites, with no recourse at our disposal. Our only way out is to have our own backs, become a fox, and bite back in the face of subjugation.
When I would go to Temple, I would hear about anti-Semitism on the left. But I never heard Black people complain about racism on the left.
Maybe that is what I am hoping can come out of FULL COLOR. I don’t believe in bleeding for white people; our blood is the balm they use to soothe their own discomfort. But I do hope that the white people who see the show notice that their racism is alive and well, and it is impacting the lives of those around them. Whatever they are doing, it is not enough.
Nothing seems to have changed, even after all those marches in the summer of 2020.
THE OTHER SIX MONOLOGUES
Fox and the Mormons by Black playwright Chris Curlett, performed by Alex Smith: “A tale of youthful ambition, a journey embarked upon under the wide-eyed guise of dreams, only to be ensnared and weathered by the venomous embrace of a foreign culture's malice. It unfurls through the allegory of the fox and the grapes, where sweet aspirations turn sour in the cruel twist of fate.”
Fried Chicken by Black playwright Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin, performed by Yolanda Stange: “EVERYONE I know LOVES fried chicken! I will eat it whenever and wherever I want.”
At Least One by Persian/Okinawan playwright Bijan J. Hosseini, performed by Alec Kalled: Every minority has at least one of "those" stories. This is mine.
Let’s Not by Mexican/Chinese playwright Tito Livas, performed by Pedro Flores: “An actor calls BS on the ‘positive’ reasoning behind not getting cast.”
Life is Color by Mexican playwright Iris Salazar, performed by Estephani Cerros: “As a person of color, there’s a lot to say and, for me, it feels as though there’s so much to be angry about. I didn’t want to write an angry piece, I wanted a positive, but not a rose-colored-glasses cheesy piece. A while back I took a DNA test and was fascinated that I had so many different ancestors from around the globe; that’s why I decided to focus on the fact that all of us are made up of so much color.”
American Survival Story by Black playwright Darryl Stamp, performed by Terence Johnson: “A synopsis of my journey across America, and what it’s like to seek a peaceful existence in skin color seen as dangerous, exploitable, and inconsequential.”
THE 'FULL COLOR' PLAYLIST
Tatiana Christian: “Can't Hold Us” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (featuring Ray Dalton)
Chris Curlett: “Old Skin” by Olafur Arnalds
Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin: “Work That” by Mary J. Blige
Courtney Dilmore: “Hwéeldi” by Connor Chee
Bijan J. Hosseini: “You’ve Got to Learn”by Nina Simone
Tito Livas: “Shut Up” by The Black Eyed Peas
Iris Salazar: “De Colores” by Joan Baez
Darryl Stamp: “Black America Again” by Common, featuring Stevie Wonder (and here's a short film version)
TICKETS
FULL COLOR receives its world premiere October 24-November 10 Plan-B Theatre. Please click here for details and tickets.