By Kendall Murry
On a Wednesday afternoon before curtain, theater director Ibi Owolabi is excited to share the call she received from her mother five minutes previously about a surprise television appearance on a local television show.
“My headshot and stuff was there, and she was like, ‘You’re on TV!’” she says with a laugh.
It is one of several media nods the director has received since the opening of True Colors Theatre’s production of “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” a character-driven comedy staged at the Southwest Arts Center.
Along with director Lileana Blain-Cruz, who serves as director for Alliance Theatre’s production of “Bust,” both women have the distinction of being Black female directors who are helming projects penned by Black female playwrights.
“It felt so right to be able to bring it together,” Owolabi notes. “I want people to come in and feel so seen by this show.”
After all, it was the ability to relate to the experience of authentic Black female characters that first led the Georgia Southern University graduate to become a fan of “Jaja” playwright Jocelyn Bioh.
“[In 2019], I remember I sent this long letter to Joselyn and her agent for letting me be inside on the joke,” Owolabi said. “I just felt so energized by her work.”
Over five years later, True Colors assigned Owolabi to direct “Jaja,” which she describes as a “slice of life” African comedy. The play follows the title character (Aba Arthur) and the employees and customers of her Harlem braiding shop as they discuss the dreams, love, hope and personal challenges prevalent in their lives.
The story is close to home for Harlem resident Owlabi, who relished the opportunity to work with her performers to make the setting as authentic and lively as possible.
“I grew up in a beauty supply … I have aunties who are like Jaja,” she notes enthusiastically while praising Bioh’s writing.
“I think there’s always glamour because it’s impossible not to be African and glamourous, but I think she spends so much time with people that we could know onstage. I think when you watch something like Jaja, you may know somebody like the braiders on the stage, but you may never asked them about their hopes, their dreams, who they love, who they’re taking care of, and that’s the beauty of Joselyn’s work to me.”
With “Bust,” Blain-Cruz expresses similar feelings when it comes to the work of playwright Zora Howard.
“In Zora’s case, her love for Black people is deep. And so is mine,” said the Tony-nominated director. “When you share that depth of love and care and wanting to uplift and complicate and challenge and give to that community, you can’t just analyze that. That has to come from your spirit.”
The play, produced by the Alliance Theatre on the Coca-Cola stage, is a journey that Blain-Cruz struggles to categorize as just one genre.
“It’s a mystery, it’s suspense, it’s hilarious, it’s a comedy, it’s a tragedy,” she notes with a grin. “It’s all of these things combined.”
The theater veteran, weary of giving away too much of the plot, describes the piece as a character study about a multigenerational Huntsville, Alabama, family that witnesses “something kind of crazy” occur close to their residence. What follows is the family’s and their fellow community members’ attempt to process the event’s aftermath.
While the play features heavy elements, Blain-Cruz notes that the story is not rooted in perpetuating Black trauma or pain.
“Yes, sad things happen, but then, two seconds later, something crazy and hilarious also happens. And that’s the coalition of life,” she noted. “Our lives are complicated. They are rich, they are full and I think this show seeks to celebrate that.”
Throughout their respective interviews, Blain-Cruz and Owolabi express joy about being part of productions centered around Black stories. However, they also say that while plays utilizing Black female playwrights and directors are being produced more often than in past years, there is still a disparity in theater.
“I think it may be from my own experience as a Black woman, but we’re tasked with universality when it comes to caring for people and seeing everybody’s side, and being pushed aside in that way,” noted Owolabi.
“Every Black woman that I know who has lived to be 31 has lived a million lives and has seen a million things and heard a million things, and so many Black women directors are the strongest choice for productions, but we do continue to be overlooked.”
“Black people are increasingly shining, and that is wonderful,” added Blain-Cruz. “But there is always room for more.”