Journey Post: The African/Not-So-African Actress Experience
13:07
Anyone who is in the entertainment industry or intimately
knows someone in the industry knows that life in this industry is made up of a
series of colorful jobs, colorful people and very colorful audition. I recently attended a pretty colorful
audition and I thought I’d share.
The audition is question was a well-publicized audition at
KNT for an African reality show centered on actors. When I first heard about it I thought it was
an
awesome premise for a show; a lucky number of contestants competing on different acting challenges with one victorious finalist. It sounded fun. But what I appreciated the most was the platform it would give not just the actors competing but also the industry as a whole. So with high hopes and positive vibes, I drove down to KNT to ‘throw my hat in the ring’ as they say. After standing in a seemingly stagnant line for about 2 hours, I finally managed to register, and two hours of napping in the car and catching up with acting buddies later, I was finally called in for my audition.
awesome premise for a show; a lucky number of contestants competing on different acting challenges with one victorious finalist. It sounded fun. But what I appreciated the most was the platform it would give not just the actors competing but also the industry as a whole. So with high hopes and positive vibes, I drove down to KNT to ‘throw my hat in the ring’ as they say. After standing in a seemingly stagnant line for about 2 hours, I finally managed to register, and two hours of napping in the car and catching up with acting buddies later, I was finally called in for my audition.
I walked in, greeted the two judges and stood on the ever-intimidating
X and introduced myself. Now, one of the
monologues I had been doing for years had been written for a black American
character so I asked if accents were acceptable and lets just say, I saw dark
clouds started rolling with the response.
One judge replied, ‘we want to hear your accent. What’s you accent?’ Crap!
You see for individuals who have lived in more than one country,
especially in the early years of their life, you might be familiar with this
predicament. My accent changes according
to who I’m around, how comfortable I am, and what I am doing. Furthermore, unless I make a conscious
effort, I don’t control its fluctuations.
Long story short- I don’t have a set accent. After trying to explain this to the panel,
seemingly in vain, I decided to do the monologue anyway.
So I launch into the monologue, and about 3 lines in I GO
BLANK. I COMPLETELY forget what my next
line is. If I’m honest, I completely
forgot what the whole monologue was about. I stopped, I asked if I could start again and
went for it (mind you I still hadn’t remembered what my next line was). Thankfully I got through it all and the
Q&A commenced. As I anticipated, the
main questions centered on my accent.
How can your accent just change?
How are Africans supposed to relate to you when you speak like
that? Can you speak in any of the
African accents at all? It was pretty
clear to me that one of the judges wasn’t buying the ‘charade’ she thought I
was putting on but I’ve had that reaction before so I wasn’t very surprised by
the skepticism. Eventually I did my
second accent in a ‘more African accent’ - to be honest I have no idea how
African or fake it sounded but I had to try - I said my thank yous and
left.
Now it definitely wasn’t by any stretch, my worst
audition. I actually enjoyed it. What bothered me though, was the insinuation
that I wasn’t ‘African’ enough because of the way I spoke. I
mean, what determines your ‘Africaness’? How you look?
How you carry yourself? The
values and traditions you follow? The
way you speak? We are so ready to
criticize the extremely skewed image of Africa held by the rest of the world, yet
we promote those skewed expectations ourselves?
Must you have a specific background and come from a specific
economic status to be ‘authentically’ African?
And what exactly are we saying to the millions upon millions of Africans
who live as expats? Are they no longer
African because they have had an international experience? We MUST stop putting ourselves in this
impossibly small box of African stereotypes.
Africans are extremely wealthy AND extremely poor. Our skin is as dark charcoal and as light as
sand. Some of us have never left our
city or village and some of us have travelled and lived all around the
world. And that DIVERSITY is what makes
this continent so special. Africa is not
in our skin or our wallets or our travels; Africa is in our minds and out
hearts. Our sense of community and our
reverence for those who have come before us.
Our love of peace and our devotion to centuries old traditions. Our pride in ourselves and our curiousness
and drive. THAT’S what makes us African.
I may not talk African enough for you, but my greatest source
of pride is my africaness. I am honored
to belong to the people I belong to and get to practice traditions that have
been passed down from time immemorial.
Yes, I have had the opportunity to live elsewhere and though I greatly
value those experiences, I have always been on the first plane home. Africa is in my blood, in my mind and in my
heart. She belongs to me as MUCH as she
belongs to you.
She is mine, and I will always be hers.
1 comments
Good piece:) very interesting perspectives out there especially that AAfrican are as dark as charcoal and others are as light as sand:)
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