Since We're Talking About Single, Black, Professional Women...again

Womanism is Not My Problem!

by Nicole Moore

Going through my blog I just realized that lately I’ve been largely writing in response to the shenanigans and ignorance that plays out on the Web and in the media. I’ve been playing defense and anyone who knows me, knows I appreciate the tackle, but personally I prefer to run the ball in. As a woman of color it’s so easy for us to find ourselves constantly defending our style, our politics, our culture, and our bodies, but as of today I’m officially over it! I’m tired of having to articulate my reasons for living a certain way, for having to defend the specific choices I’ve made about my career, about my hair and my love life. I have to reclaim my blog and myself from this insanity.

So starting right now I’m going to make a concerted effort to write more from an offensive point of view. I want to create spaces so tight, so authentically defined by my own womanness and Blackness, that only power, respect, and love can enter and reside. My body is a site of resistance, no doubt and that whole Nightline, CNN, Economist debacle reminded me just how much that it, along with my psyche, is still under siege. Furthermore I was stunned to see how I and other women, mostly women (and some men) of color fall into the trap of complaining, defending, venting and SMH’ing, and in turn we in a way become that “problematic” that the media makes us out to be.

Read the Full Essay @ theHotness

Single Black Female Opens @ The Duke

You are invited to the limited Off-Broadway return engagement of

Lisa Thompson's SINGLE BLACK FEMALE

Directed by Colman Domingo

The comedy “Single Black Female” stars Soara-Joye Ross (“Jerry Springer: The Opera” at Carnegie Hall, “Dessa Rose” at Lincoln Center, “Dance of the Vampires” on Broadway) and Riddick Marie (“A House with No Walls” at New Repertory Theatre, “Faust” at the Metropolitan Opera). Director Colman Domingo, whose acting credits include “Well” and the Tony nominated
“Passing Strange” on Broadway, has directed productions at Geva Theatre and the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Rep.

The Duke on 42nd Street
229 West 42nd Street (between Broadway & Eighth Ave)

Tickets are $30 for all seats, all performances
For tickets call 646-223-3010
Box office walk up T-F 4-7 pm, Sat 12-6 pm

Running Schedule: June 10 - June 29, 2008
Tuesday- Saturday at 8:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday at 2:00 PM

***

The New York Times- Theater Review
June 20, 2006

Brainy Black Women, Still Looking for Love, in 'Single Black Female'
By Anita Gates

Lisa B. Thompson doesn't think much of that old comment about a woman in her 40's' having a better chance of being killed by a terrorist than of marrying. If that woman is black and has a college degree, Ms. Thompson has a character say in "Single Black Female," she's more likely to be struck by a meteor.

The play, having its New York premiere at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, is a socially significant and very entertaining two-woman show that manages to be simultaneously self-deprecating and proud. Soara-Joye Ross and Riddick Marie play a variety of characters in 15 scenes illustrating the imperfect lives of educated, middle-class, single African-American women.

They discuss which white men they would consider dating: Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Sting make the list. They have come up with the perfect reply to relatives who ask when they are going to get married: "Well, Aunt Ernestine, I'm just being a patient and obedient Christian. Whenever the Lord sees fit to bless me with a God-fearin' husband, I guess I'll plan my wedding day."

They devise the perfect Internet dating profile: "New York mind, L.A. face, Oakland booty, Vineyard trust fund." One woman brags about her workout routine, but the other challenges her: "Heifer, you do not swim. That thing is called a whirlpool."

The commentary gets off to an unpromising start, though, with a litany of brand names preferred by the single black woman. Ms. Ross and Ms. Marie seem a bit stiff at first too, but they soon loosen up, as does the material. The evening's first big laugh goes to the mention of the kind of man who would hear the words "pinot blanc" and think they referred to a light-skinned Filipino.

"Single Black Female," directed by Colman Domingo, has a few serious moments and slides into them gracefully. And there are serious issues underneath much of the humor. As the play points out, so many women have chosen to better themselves by going to college and building great
careers, "and Tiger Woods marries a nanny."

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company