Introducing Kenya Mahogany Fashaw
Please introduce yourself! Where might audiences have seen your work before and what can they look forward to next?
My name is Kenya Mahogany Fashaw. I'm an actress, playwright, producer and spoken word artist. My last works include: Toni Stone produced by Aurora Fox theater. I am currently in the amazing production Cadillac Crew produced by Vintage Theatre. My next project will be at Firehouse Theater Company, where I will be directing. The Nacirema Society requests the honor of your presence at a celebration of their first one hundred years. Opening February 2024.
(Auditions will be held October 21. And every fourth Thursday, Kenya brings House of Poetry to Vintage!)
What is your favorite part of working with this team?
I love working with diversity and of course, we have a great director who is very much diverse in her networking and her knowledge and talent in this theater community, and so bringing all of that together makes a welcoming environment for us as a cast to create.
Have you experienced any discrimination?
Absolutely, I experienced discrimination actually on a daily basis. I work in an environment where I am the only Black employee in my department. People can be very passive, aggressive with their approach, and it is very tiresome and very exhausting when you understand what is happening.
What can audiences expect from Cadillac Crew?
Audience can expect a roller coaster of emotions. Cadillac Crew is brilliantly written. It takes you on a ride from being funny, to it being emotional, to it being heartfelt. Hopefully, the audience takes away some type of awareness and education and not allow this story to be forgotten as it already has, but continue the conversation and keep these women's names alive. #saytheirnames
In the play, Abby says, "Sarah, you can't be scared of a Black woman's rage. Believe you me, the bite is never as big as the bark." How does this line ring true for you?
I believe this is a stereotypical type of phrase where it's believed that Black women are very much loud and dangerous, (Bark) but in actuality Black women are gentle, soft and beautifully fragile. (Bite) So the term the bite is never as big as the bark is how I interpret it.
Do you have a favorite line from the play? (Doesn't have to be your own!)
"Same way I'm doing. Being Negro everyday. Especially when it hurts." -Rachel Helen Christopher.
Even though the majority of the play is set in 1963, it has intersections with social impact movements of today. In your opinion, what makes this piece timeless?
It's timeless because we are still fighting as Black women to be seen and heard and valued! I relate to the feeling so deeply. Erasure culture. The disregard for a Black women's bodies. Giving space and permission to show up as themselves. It's a never ending, racism, classism, socialism battle.
If you were hosting a dinner party and could invite five Black women who inspire you, who would you choose?
Shirley Chisholm. Toni Stone. Michelle Obama. Nikki Giovanni. Erykah Badu.
Playwright Tori Sampson was inspired to write Cadillac Crew while reading a biography of Rosa Parks.
Upon discovering what Cadillac Crews were, she thought: "Well, this is a magnificent thing that has happened in American history, and it was led by women, and Black women at that.' And that really excited me, and the fact that there's no record of it is...sad. It saddens me, but at the same time, it falls in line with what I understand about how history is written and who is written in and who is written out of history. I hope people walk away from this play thinking about how much they know about history and how much they understand--I hope that people feel like there's a hole. Like there's a little bit of misunderstanding. Like there's something missing."
What/who are lesser known historical moments/figures that you'd like to share?
Toni Stone
Cadillac Crew runs October 20-November 26 in the Bond-Trimble Theatre.