Azure D. Osborne-Lee is the mastermind and playwright behind Mirrors.
Mirrors was recently filmed and is set to premiere November 10th, 2021. There is a beauty in letting a writer weave thoughts into abstracts.
Read along with the transcript of this interview below.
For more information about Mirrors head over to our website.
Azure D. Osborne-Lee (he/him, they/them)
Starting a Play: Objects Tell Stories
I started writing Mirrors in 2010, and I didn't necessary know how to go about writing a full length play. So, the first thing that I had was this image of this covered mirror and this sort of older house... I knew it was going to be a play about a death ritual. So, then what I went about doing was researching certain death rituals... and aspects of Southern culture. And that involved going to the public library and checking out a bunch of books... also calling up a librarian I knew from college. I learned how to make biscuits.
Births, Weddings, Deaths: Azure on Themes
I'm not sure where the idea of death ritual came from. I guess that's part of my work... Red Rainbow is also [a death ritual play]. It's one of the most important times. Births, weddings, and deaths. I'm not exactly sure what brought me there. I think that one that enjoy a number of different stories and mediums... but maybe doesn't have complete control over what one will write.
Honoring the Dead and Queer Folx
I think sometimes that Queer Folx can end up being the keeper's of culture... One of the remarkable things about Bird is that is able to hold onto a number of... truths. And I think that she is really motivated by a desire to allow Belle to have a respectful home going. She is determined to make she that Belle receives her rights, in a very challenging situation.
Artifacts and Memory
I think that artifacts are a great way to enter a story. I have artifacts from a lot of my plays sprinkle throughout my apartment... This mirror is a touchstone for the piece. I found that I am fairly obsessed with radios or stereos. Memory is triggered by... a number of things. All of the senses that we have go into building a memory. So there are different ways to sort of get at memories and access events. I had this idea of sort of bell ringing to as part of ritual, but also to bring forth memories. That's part of what led me into this idea of the old time-y telephones with the bells. For me that is one of the rich potentials of theater.
Radically Accepting Space
When I think about theater, I think about the entire process... the rehearsal room, to the stage, to the post postmortem. I have been lucky enough to have a couple of really transformative experiences. I feel like that's what really gets us hooked on theater. Making sure we're creating a place where people feel like that they can be fully themselves... is really important to me. Particularly black people, black queer people, black trans people. Making radically accepting space benefits everybody. It makes room for our straight/cis friends, as well. And I think that all of that translates to the piece itself. When you allow people to be their full selves and it really empower them as people... and as artists then they're able to bring their best work to the table. That is the kind of theater that people are longing for.
Black Characters with Disabilities, Body Diversity
The characters themselves are maybe people... who wouldn't necessarily have a story told about them in traditional pieces. I focus on black lives, there is a southern sensibility around most of my work because I am southern. I also have queer and trans protagonists. Body diversity is really important to me. Having people with disabilities involved.
Under-parented Teens: Love Styles
Regarding inspiration for Belle and Bird's relationship. I don't know if I had a particular source of inspiration. I just thought about, what is the significance of foundational relationships... that form, touch and affect every relationship that comes after. I think a lot about teenagers. I teach. Teenagers are my favorite age group to work with. That's when their love style... that's when they learn to love. That is something that effects people for the rest of their lives. Learning how to be in loving relationships with other people. What is acceptable. What is not acceptable. People start to learn their place within society. How much love currency do they have?
Queer Relationship Models
Exploring queer foundational relationships is particularly important. People who are in queer relationships don't get a lot of guidance.
Role Models For Youth
This character of Alma Jean, she's 17. She's not necessary someone's who has had a lot of guidance. There is something so important about having all sorts of role models available. All sorts of people available within the community. Young people absorb information that they may or may not even realize. Who it's ok to be. Examples of personhood and possibilities for their lives. When it comes to being a person of size and not really seeing any models for a fat person being in love or desirable. It's important to see multiple possibilities. It's important to see dark skin folx. Different models of people doing their thing... How are you supposed to recognize that you can have a full existence?
Things like recognizing that Bird is not light-skinned. That's not something that people talk about explicitly... but it's a thing that is programmed into the way she is treated by her community. That's a little tricky because that's something that black folks would know. There is this sort of thing that happens when people touch a story, if they are not familiar with that cultural identity, it gets converted back to the societal norm... I think being very specific in the text is the best ways to keep the integrity... You want to make sure those collaborations of enriching the work, instead of diluting it.
I started writing shortly after moving to New York City. I move to New York to be a theater maker. I was 24. At that point I understood myself to be primarily an actor, but had started to explore writing for a stage. I hadn't shown it to anybody. I was given a chance to explore my voice as a writer. I think that stories come from what is important to you. I think there is a sort of meditative connection to Spirit and ancestry. I think that you can teach people things about craft and form and process. But there is always a certain of je ne sais quoi, something about being a writer that can't be taught. I write about things that are interesting to me. If I feel that little tug on my brain that says, 'Hey, we could really spend hours thinking about this.' Or I'm just really curious, I want to nerd out about this.' It might be mushrooms or biscuits or what's the difference between a rabbit and a hare. I translate that into a paradigm that works for me and usually what works for me is a black queer one.
Azure D. Osborne-Lee's Mirrors, is set to premiere November 10th, 2021. Click here for tickets.