Debra Ann Byrd on Becoming Othello: A Black Girl's Journey

Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited

Folger Shakespeare Library

Arts

4.7 • 837 Ratings

🗓️ 17 January 2023

⏱️ 35 minutes

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Summary

Theater-maker Debra Ann Byrd has played Othello in three different productions: first, in a staged reading in 2013, then again in 2015 and 2019. Each time, she learned a little bit more about Othello, and about herself. In her one-woman show Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey, Byrd recounts her experience discovering herself while playing Shakespeare’s tragic hero. The show reaches back to her childhood in Spanish Harlem, her mother’s tragic death, and her own struggles with depression. She also tells the story of how she was inspired to start the Harlem Shakespeare Festival after seeing how few opportunities there were for actors of color to work in classical theater. Byrd discusses her journey, and the play it inspired, with host Barbara Bogaev. Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey is onstage at Seattle Shakespeare Company through January 29, 2023. Debra Ann Byrd is the founder of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival and Producing Artistic Director of Southwest Shakespeare Company. She is a former Folger Artistic Research Fellow. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published January 13, 2023. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. Leonor Fernandez edits a transcript of every episode, available at folger.edu. We had technical help from John Buroker at HEARby sound in Seattle, and Jenna McClellan at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Transcript

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0:00.0	How does an actor become Othello?
0:04.0	Well, if you're Deborah Ann Bird, you start with a physical transformation.
0:09.0	Now I change my hair from long and flowing to a short curly afro.
0:15.0	I remember the days when I outdid the boys in gym class.
0:21.6	I'd watch men and get a refresher on how they move, how they sit,
0:26.6	how they speak, how they handle women.
0:31.6	Flirt and how they behave.
0:35.6	No perfume, no makeup, no earrings,
0:41.7	except for Othello's little gold hoop.
0:51.8	From the Fulcher Shakespeare Library, this is Shakespeare Unlimited.
0:56.3	I'm Michael Whitmore, the Fulcher's director.
0:59.1	Deborah Ann Bird is the founder of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival and producing artistic director of Southwest Shakespeare Company.
1:06.7	But she got her start in theater as a classically trained actor.
1:10.7	Now she's stepping out from her work behind the scenes and returning to the stage.
1:15.6	In her one-woman show becoming Othello, a black girl's journey,
1:20.6	Deborah Ann recounts her experience discovering herself while playing Shakespeare's tragic hero.
1:26.6	She has tackled the role of Othello in three different productions,
1:31.3	first in a staged reading in 2013, then again in 2015 and 2019.
1:37.5	Each time, she learned a little bit more about Othello and about herself.
1:42.5	As Deborah Ann explains in the show,
1:44.7	these discoveries led her to write about her experience
1:47.3	as an actor of color through the lens of playing Othello.
	...

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