Kellie Dantzler’s Grandfather and Harlem Renaissance Writer, George Wylie Henderson<\/p><\/div>\n

In this interview, Indigo Thread blogger, Michelle Flowers, discusses Dantzler\u2019s life philosophy, motivation and the significance of her ancestors who inspire her work.<\/p>\n

MF: Your play Evolutionary brings the BWSOTU audience to tears of laughter and joy. How have you mastered the ability to bring out such strong and extreme emotions in people?<\/p>\n

KD: I am flattered my play brings both laughter and joy to people, and praise be to God for it all.\u00a0\u00a0I am also aware plays are just writing on a page and it is the actors, who bring the \u201cemotional life meat\u201d to its production.\u00a0\u00a0In this incarnation of\u00a0Evolutionary,\u00a0<\/i>both Kila Kitu and Lony\u2019e Perrine have done an incredible job breathing life into the piece.\u00a0\u00a0I was blown away by their talent and enjoyed seeing the play unfold, even though I wrote it, I felt like they both took me on a ride and I too was laughing and crying by the performance.\u00a0\u00a0I am so grateful to BWSOTU, especially Ayana Cahrr who directed\u00a0Evolutionary<\/i>, for their time, vision, and care.<\/p>\n

Evolutionary<\/i>\u00a0truly found itself in more than capable hands. As far as the \u201cmastery\u201d of the being able to create range of emotion from laughter to tears in my writing, it \u201ctalent\u201d certainly doesn\u2019t belong to me alone.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, I feel the mastery belongs to God and I try to get out of God\u2019s way and be a vessel for something greater than me.\u00a0\u00a0I have an understanding that plays are collaborations between God, me, and the actors.\u00a0\u00a0I try, I practice, I practice daily to allow Grace to flow, and get out of the way of Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0I try to think, as the saying goes, \u201cThink mystery not mastery.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a writer, I am very curious about the range of emotions we have as humans and the spaces in between, the energetic vibration in which we choose to experience.\u00a0\u00a0I don\u2019t think emotions in life are as antithetical as we perceive them to be.\u00a0\u00a0I think emotions, such as laughter and tears, are two sides of the same coin.\u00a0\u00a0Evolutionary<\/i>\u00a0is a demonstration of the spectrum of Joy, which at one end is Joy and the other end Grief.\u00a0\u00a0In a way, it is all joy; grief is only a different vibration of joy.<\/p>\n

MF: When did you accept your gift as a playwright?<\/p>\n

KD: Well, let\u2019s just say that question just made me throw my head back and let out a big cackle.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, cackle!\u00a0\u00a0I am still trying to accept this gift.\u00a0\u00a0As much as I love the creative process of writing, I often feel daunted by it.\u00a0\u00a0I am often plagued with self-doubt.\u00a0\u00a0I am still trying to wade through the murky waters of a rather fragile psyche in this area at least that is what it feels like now.\u00a0\u00a0I am learning how to do what I can and let God do what I can\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cJust write,\u201d I hear.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m trying to listen and do just that.<\/p>\n

MF: Who has been your greatest influence?<\/p>\n

KD: My greatest influences have been Jesus, Silas, Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, August Wilson, Fannie Lou Hamer, Harriet Tubman, and I\u2019m sorry if this sounds corny but also my parents Timothy and Pearlethel Henderson.\u00a0\u00a0All of the individuals named are\/were strong and had to overcome a lot of opposition but still kept focused on their goals.\u00a0\u00a0I hope to become a stronger more focus person by learning from these examples.<\/p>\n

MF: As a black and female playwright, do you feel any responsibility to represent those groups?<\/p>\n

KD: I do feel a certain responsibility as a woman, a Black woman in my writing.\u00a0\u00a0For example, I probably won\u2019t write a Black man who is a rapist or just a thug.\u00a0\u00a0If I do, I will also write a Black man who has integrity and\/or understanding of what unconditional is, displayed by his example.\u00a0\u00a0I also would like to tell our stories differently, meaning, I\u2019m not interested writing plays about \u201cbaby mama drama\u201d or about Black women looking for \u201cMr. Right.\u201c\u00a0\u00a0I feel it is my responsibility to not be part of the problem that I see in the ways in which Blacks have been depicted in plays or movies.\u00a0\u00a0My intention is to become part of the solution, and I don\u2019t want to just talk about it, I want to be about it.<\/p>\n