Mirrors Unveils: Southern Superstitions and a Love Story

Black hairstyle of the 1960s, a woman drinking a cocktail with a bob.

A story of my grandmother's generation, arranged in matters rather complicated. Bird is a gay woman living in Etheridge, Mississippi when she becomes the guardian to Alma Jean. Alma is the surviving child of Bird's lost lover, who trusted only Bird with her daughter.

Gay South, Mississppi filled in the small squares of rainbow colors.

Being gay in the South has traumatic impact. Particularly on Bird, a masc-presenting metalsmith. She gives me all types of Bismuth vibes, for my Steven Universe fans. A tough exterior, so at least inside yourself you're safe, right? 

What is most compelling is the undying loyalty that Bird shows to Belle, even after death. It's what makes it such a profound love story. So often, we bound love to our own ideas of who each other should be. How we perceive love exemplifies how we view freedom. 

These characters all, eventually, offer each other freedom within their love. Even in the after. I’ve always hated hearing, “I love you too death,” because what about after then? Mirrors begs that question.

Black plays about the gay South a quote from Azure D. Osborne-Lee that reads: “We both made some mistakes, said some harsh things, and your mama decided it was time for her to move on”.

Shadows Serve Reflection: Life After Death

Azure offers us such a compelling look into unconditional love. Belle seemed addicted to a fast life. It brought about many consequences for them both. And yet, her former lover honors the entirety of her character. A striking witnessing.

Bird only wanted people at the funeral who “loved [Belle] as she was.” What a protagonist to follow. It's a strange vocation to honor the dead like a knight. A crept-keeper of memories, borough-ed into her house, the only place she can demand respect.

Alma Jean does not know what to respect or where to begin to unpack herself.

Alma reminds us that we are not the only ones searching for more information about Belle. We learned that she is searching to understand her mother in wholeness. With her new guardian being so "close" to her mother, if nothing else in her stay, she hopes to gather some clarity.

White candles at a funeral.

Louise is my favorite piece of this story, the current lover of Bird has a selfless way about her. In some ways, it felt like a softer much healthier version of Cersei and King Robert. Lightheartedness aside, we always feel the absence of past lovers, and often there is a wonder. On how to fill your one up, after a ghost has won. The complexity moved me.

Each character seems to be a piece of Belle in some way, since she's gone. How they speak of her, is the legacy. When there is no longer a vessel to house you, you have no choice but to live through others. Becoming a waking thought.

Graphic of a Black woman dressed for church.

Death Be Not Proud

As a Queer Black Southerner, I am humbled and shrouded in the honesty of Azure's writing. I am haunted by a prevailing sense of love that could not shatter. I did not want anything more, but to  drape in the shadows that guides us through Bird's house.

How many matriarchs, by social classification, sacrificed exclusivity in their Queer relationships? Secrecy to avoid further harm than being Black and seen, which can be Death.

Black plays quote 2 by Azure D Osborne-Lee reads as follows: “Wasn’t neither of us too good with sayin’ we was sorry and I guess time just got away from us..”

But Death need not be proud. Belle lives on, the woman who is socially-downtrodden. Rather it be because of her "ways" or identity. She lives through them all.

Similarities to Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford

So much of Belle and Bird's relationship reminds me of Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford. Masculine-presenting AFAB folx (Female assigned at Birth) face the brunt of violence. Queer people risk saftey depending on where they love in public, or what family they’re born into. Sometimes the violence is scrutiny. If Whitney had a community who could see her, they wouldn’t have had to only remain “close” all those years.

A rose laying across a hand-written love letter.

There is a star-crossed feel to Belle and Bird. There is something unspeakable in the bond. They had known each other for so long. Kids, they were. Similarly to Houston and Crawford.

Robyn Crawford writes in "A Song For You: My Life With Whitney Houston" that they met as camp counselors. A history, beyond romance. A lover that knows your beginning.

Bird encounters these harsher realities. While Belle, like Whitney, being femme-presenting served as an advantage. Belle avoided similar treatment by happenstance of being consumed to the male-gaze.

Black plays Azure D Osborne-Lee, a quote from Mirrors reads as follows: “I can tell you, though, that right there, letting the time get away, is one of the things so done in this life that I truly am sorry for”.

All I'm saying is that Belle and Bird were loving each other in the 1960s South. I mean, this isn't The Fosters. The consequences were grave then. Maybe that’s all the fear that Whitney felt?

What we will never know, we must explore through a created perspective. We need more artists to explore the depths and possibilities of humanity. I haven’t read a story in a long time that has moved me to understand the un-condition in love. I would highly recommend viewing the in-person or digital screening of this production.

Azure D. Osborne-Lee's Mirrors premieres online this Fall. Get tickets here.

MIRRORS Teaser Trailer

Watch our teaser trailer for the upcoming filmed premiere of Mirrors by Azure D. Osborne-Lee.

Get your tickets here to join us Wednesday, November 10th at 6PM for the premiere.

LGBTQ Representation in Mirrors

Mirrors explores representation in many layers. What about the audience members who will relate most to Bird? What does it mean to be a darker skinned lesbian in the South? What if you're plus-size, or masc-presenting?

And what about Belle? She could possibly be seen as a bisexual portrayal of a woman within then 1960’s. And not just any woman, a black woman. It's critical that the portrayals of the LGBTQ communities be of full accuracy and complexity. I wish that wholeness was exclusive of the stories told of us. 

Many times, the portrayal of bisexual people are watered-down. People are usually either closeted or open. But what about the shades in-between? It feels dishonest when we tell stories of sexuality from a black and white perspective. 

LGBTQ Representation in Media

We know Will and Grace, and probably The Kids Are Alright very well. Even Annalise Keating gave us some black bisexual representation on television on How to Get Away With Murder.

There must be further conversations around ideas of queer baiting within media. There is also a lack of authenticity within portrayals of LGBTQ experiences... as if queer and trans people do not exist. Why is there ever a need to cast anyone other than these experiences? And are not at times, fighting to stay alive. But, I digress. Make no mistake. Representation most certainly matters.

Mirrors, is part of the representation that we require to be painted fully as Black LGBTQ+. We are hungry to be seen as whole beings. Azure D. Osborne-Lee's Mirrors premieres online this Fall. Get ticketshere.

Why Black Actors Need Black Writers

A Black actor performs.

I love a good telling, based on the superstition of covered mirrors. Unveiling the mass of heartbreak in the 1960s South. The reflections illuminate past loves that never leave.

Ashley Noel Jones is a musician, songwriter, educator, and actress. She worked on Parity Productions’ Mirrors. Jones played Alma Jean and composed some of the music for the show. Mirrors is gearing up for a premiere November 10th, 2021. A filmed-staged production of the play by Azure D. Osborne-Lee.

“Theater has always been a place where it felt like the rejects could go. So, it's really cool to say, ‘Yeah, can we continue that..?’ It's not just that there will be a place at the table. The table will be recreated by those eating at the table. There is no table, we are making the table together.”  

It was an honor: to hold space, and speak in real terms about the real footwork this story is. On behalf of the Black and Queer experiences in this world.

Jones was full of insights about the current state of our world, and how theater will hold as a marker for it.

In the rehearsal process there was a heavy awareness of identity. From Ashley’s recall, it seems that it was a space that felt inclusive, that felt inviting for people to be who they were.

What Is An Inclusive Performance Space

Ashley Noel Jones (she/hers), a Black actress, plays acoustic guitar in a spotlight.

“ ‘This is your name.. this is how it's pronounced.. what are your pronouns..?’ It was so beautiful to [create] this space that felt brave for people. To be who they are. We saw a lot of this in the “racial reckoning” during the pandemic.. But this experience continues to make me hopeful. Because you are in the space... where these are all different people, coming from all different walks of life. Coming together to create this thing, by this beautiful Black trans folx..”

Black actress and musical director photographed is Ashley Noel Jones in rehearsal for Mirrors.

Black Southern Hymns: Composing Mirrors

“This was a really cool experience with Mirrors because.. there is only one piece of music that Azure has written..  There is a moment where this song is very important to the script. In the theatre space that we were in originally at Next Door New York Theater workshop, the space is weird.

There are certain entrances and exits. Cast members would [have to] cross the entire theater down the back. 

You go through some stairs, the prop room, all the way around to center through the other side. [To] help cover that, Ludovica had had this idea to come up with these sort-of musical interludes. Early on in the process, I started talking with her about what that looks like.”

“I am from the South. I am into a lot of Roots, and BlueGrass [genres]. I was into the [music] that people don’t often associate with black folk. [And, I’m like] ‘No, we created this.’...  An incredible dramaturg, also helped create a lot of spaces for music. Between that and my own research, I was able to have a lot of tracks. Smithsonian folk [recordings] of black folk singing church music in the South. So, being able to start that research... to come up with songs [to see] where it could be placed… What’s happening [in] this moment? What is this about? And is there a song?”

Black theater in New York image of Ashley Noel Jones in Parity’s production of Mirrors.

“...You’re trying to follow what the melody is [through these old folk hymns]... It was really fun to arrange… The show isn’t a musical. It’s a play with music in it. And even with the cast, everyone could carry a tune… but there were a few people who were really strong singers.

For the film, the pandemic threw something completely different into it. Because we couldn’t be singing in the theater together. With COVID compliance we were very careful about keeping everyone safe. We know that transmission happens a lot in those spaces. Of singing, or people yelling.

We were just hitting our stride for the rest of the run.. and then having this moment where it was like, that was it… We all thought, ‘Yeah, ok, this will pass in a month or so. And then theatre will come back... and Next Door New York Theatre Workshop will give us another chance to do it in the summer.

Here we are over a year and a half later [and] theater is just now coming back.”

Accessibility in Theater: “..Tickets are expensive..”

“It's really amazing to see how artists got creative during this time…

‘How do we make live theater feel like live theater... if it has to be watched on a phone?’”

Live Theater versus Filmed Theater

“That line that you say...

You can have the same inflection... but there’s something different every time... or crazy stuff happens like, ‘Oh that person can’t get into their costume!’”

Black Actors Doing Work That Serves Them

“As an actor, you don’t always get to work on something that you like or that moves you... I’m trying to get to a place where I am confident in what I want enough... and what I want to tell the world what I want… If something doesn’t serve me, I’m ok with saying, ‘No, that’s a pass.’

I remember I had an audition tape for a short film... and I remember reading the beginning of the script and it was really lovely.

[I was like]... ‘Oh this is great'... And then it ended… of course it was about race, and then it ended with one of [Black] characters getting shot. It was a whole thing. Even the way it was written, they bleed out on the floor.”

Black actors Ashley Scott (she/her) and AnJu Hyppolite (she/her) in Mirrors.

“And I was like, ‘Nope, this [don’t] serve me. And I remember having that moment with my reps like, ‘No, I’m gunna pass on this.’

As an actor, you don’t always get those moments… When I got the audition for Alma Jean [in Mirrors] I was just blown away.

I think my only trepidation [was] imposter syndrome, like am I good enough to do this?...

I didn’t have any real fear of delving into those places. She’s going through a traumatic experience of having loss this parent... and coming from a single parent home... Where there is no other parent... She really is on her own… And to think about the way in which we all hold trauma… How it manifests within our actions. As a black woman, we are the strong ones, you gotta be strong and tough for everybody.”

Suzanne Darrell (she/her) and Ashley Scott (she/her), two Black actors in Mirrors.

“Getting a chance to play with what that looks like, with this young woman who is coming into her own. And who is coming of age. Whose dealing with this trauma. Where in these moments, it seems like it's almost not affecting her. But it's because it's affecting her so deeply.

.. Getting a chance to do it in this film capacity, you have even more of a chance to capture that.. The audience is going to get to see the way you might tuck your hair behind your ear.

There are a lot of moments where Alma Jean doesn’t speak.. During this time, all these other things have to be happening.”

Fences, But this time Osborne-Lee not Wilson

“I can't wait To see people in college, people in grad school, doing scenes from Mirrors, in their scene study class. And getting a chance to really connect to something... This is [...] the tip of the iceberg for Azure. There is so much more to the work that I'm so excited to watch to see how that unfolds. We need it. I can't wait for people to get to see it. And for us all to get to learn... What are the next steps for Black theater? What's the next steps for Queer theater? ... There is going to be a section in theater history books that's going to be about this time. Of what people did and how they challenged things... Some kid could [...] watch this, when they are doing a scene from Mirrors, twenty, thirty forty years from now... which we all do. These scenes from forever [ago], 'Oh yeah, we're going to do this O'Neal play'!... Getting to watch. I've watched ... I'm a nerd... so I spent a lot of time at NYU at the library at Lincoln Center... watching old clips of plays and  watching Viola Davis doing August Wilson. Getting to see those clips of those recordings. It's cool to think ... 'There could be a  [point in] time where some kid is prepping for their scene for this. And it's going to be their audition monologue... is going to be Alma Jean's moment, where she talks about her mom…”

Azure D. Osborne-Lee's Mirrors premieres online this Fall and has a physical premiere at the AC&C. Get ticketshere. You may also find more on Ashley on Parity’s Database.

The Changing Face of Theatre

Two white theatrical masks leaning against one another against a black background.

March 2020 served as a rebirth for theater. It has been a conquest to consider health, in a medium that thrives off of socialization. A catalyst was born out of the pandemic. An evolution of thought.

 Paul Notice directs a filmed adaptation of Mirrors by Azure D Osborne-Lee. In the black space. The negative space left within the dark gives the space its name. It's a double entendre that pays ode to Black artists, as well.

 It directs your attention “only to the characters,” a paraphrasing of Paul's words.

 The black space does much more than this, though. And any work that comes after this, is posing similar questions like 'What now in theater?'

 What can happen now is dependent on our imagination and resources?

Advantages of Filming

A Black man holds a clapperboard.

There is something very groundbreaking within this medium. Something informs our future, here. When theater is a challenge to make, what else can we do?

We make it anyway, with the resources available to us. We tread the plague by creating different ways to consume stories. Parity Productions is certainly not the only one to make this work.

The future shifts without prompting. Just as a story does. There may be triggers and heaps unknown to the outcomes. However, this is when the creative process begins again. When we are met with obstacles, with an objective that remains, even if obsolete.

And what are we creating in the process of overcoming these obstacles? Is it a recreation of a moment that we have seen in theatre audiences before?

These answers are for the artistic direction to execute. A choice of style for the production. An imperative choice to make. It will deeply depend on the artistic goals of the exact production.

Disadvantages of Filming

A Black woman holding a clapperboard.

Gaining access to the equipment can be expensive. Just as tickets to a show can be expensive. There are creative perspectives that many artists can cultivate within reasonable camera prices. But reasonability is relative.

It's something to consider. The disparity can be found within the doors creating theater, along with outside of it. Money will always be an essential part to making media.

I don't underestimate the novelty that theater makers will find... in whatever material they have. What creativity births out of the medium of film and theater, can be endless. And you’ll see this in Mirrors.

But, I digress. There are still many things to consider, in the conceptualization of film making of any kind.

There are many financial elements to consider. Listed below are a few: 

• Sound/Editing

• Video/Director of Photography

• Video Editing

• Music

• Mics on set

• Lighting

Of course this should not limit you, there are ways to get creative without. And perhaps access to resources, you did not know you had. Theater is not as stiff as a medium, as many might like to present.

New Theatrical Experiences

Do theatre productions need to make you feel as if you are actually within a theatre? Are you creating a moment unlike any moment?

This is an evolution of theater. Theater artists during this era in history, might consider film.

Those who love it. Unconditionally, regardless of form.

These are the types of works that we should encourage, and are part of accepting our new reality. There should be more access to virtual productions. If we care about the form being preserved, and if we truly care about access.

Mirrors creates moments unlike other moments. You shouldn’t go into expecting Hamilton the Musical. But instead something that feeds a novice void within art. It's a style of its own. You should go into Mirrors expecting something that feels familiar. But you won't remember seeing it before. The perspective is new, or in some ways an old stranger. Reacquainting itself.

By the way, are you in New York City? Click here for ticket information to the Mirrors set to premiere on November 10th, 2021.

The Evolution of Theater

March 2019 served as a rebirth for theater in a few ways. It was time to recreate telling stories on stage for the safety of others. A catalyst was born out of the pandemic. An evolution of thought.

Paul Notice directs a filmed adaptation of Mirrors. In the black space. The negative space left within the dark gives the space its name. It's a double entendre that pays ode to Black artists, as well.

It directs your attention “only to the characters,” a paraphrasing of Paul's words. 

It does much more than this, though. And any work that comes afterwards, is posing similar questions like 'What now in theater?'

What can happen now is dependent on our imagination and resources.

Advantages of Filming

There is something very groundbreaking within this medium. Something informs our future, here. When theater is a challenge to make, what else can we do?

We make it anyway, with the resources available to us. We trend the plague by creating different ways to consume stories. Parity is certainly not the only one to make this work. There is an importance to be self aware of in what ways the future can shift within our dealings of the present.

And what are we creating in that process? Is it a recreation of a moment?

That is for the artistic direction to execute. A choice of style for the production. An imperative choice to make. It will deeply depend on the artistic goals of the exact production.

Disadvantages of Film Making

Gaining access to the equipment can be expensive. Just as tickets to a show can be extremely expensive. There is a creative perspective that many artists can find with reasonable camera prices.

It's something to consider, though. The disparity can be found within the doors of creating theater, along with outside of it. Money will always be an essential part to making media.

I don't underestimate the novelty that theater makers will find... in whatever material they have.

There are many elements to consider. Listed below are a few:

• Sound/Editing

• Video/Director of Photography

• Video Editing

• Music

• Mics on set

• Lighting

Of course this should not limit you, there are ways to get creative on a budget. And perhaps access to resources, you did not know you had. Storytelling is not as stiff as a medium, as many might like to present.

New Theatrical Experiences

Do theatre companies need to make you feel as if you are actually within a theatre? Are you creating a moment unlike any moment?

This is potentially the evolution of theater, that should at least affect us all to some degree. Those who love it. Unconditionally, regardless of form. These are the types of works that we should encourage, and is part of accepting our new reality.

There should be more access to these types of productions.

Mirrors creates moments unlike other moments. You shouldn’t go into expecting Hamilton the Musical, but instead something that feeds the novice void within art. It's a style of its own. You should go into Mirrors expecting something that feels familiar. But you won't remember it. The perspective is new, or in some ways an old stranger. Reacquainting itself.

By the way, are you in New York City? Click here for ticket information to the Mirrors physical premiere for November 10th, 2021. 

Where were you when the pandemic started?

We had gotten into the groove of our run for Mirrors by 2018 Commission Winner Azure D. Osborne-Lee, when New York City shut down for over a year. It's safe to say that we all thought this would be a blip on the radar of New York Theater. A blip in our lives.

But it wasn't. We couldn’t run our show. We were forced to go online and enter the world of virtual theatre. And where we are now, we believe, is redefining the way we do theater.

Virtual Theatre Experience

We acknowledge the elitism that our craft has fostered within the past. Those very systematic structures are being questioned. 

Theater does not have to be a physical location. That’s not the heartbeat. 

Let theater be a place to fight for parity, even from the comfort of our homes. Let’s support the work that affirms the change we need in the world. 

How to Support Mirrors

If you’re looking for tickets for plays in NYC with Trans and Gender inclusive stories, we invite you to Mirrors. We are gearing up for our filmed production. Our physical premiere is November 10, 2021 at AC&C, and we are hoping to celebrate with you safely. 

The filmed staged production of Mirrors by 2018 Commission Winner Azure D. Osborne-Lee will premiere at Parity’s 5th Annual Awards Ceremony & Celebration on  Wednesday, November 10th, 2021 at 6 pm ET. Click here for in-person and online tickets or sign up here to know when General tickets are on sale. 

Mirrors stands true to our mission and we would love for you to share this experience with us in any way that you can. 

Thank you for your support, without you - we couldn't do this work. Be part of changing theater.

Body Diversity in Mirrors

The world teaches us to look at plus size bodies as less desirable. We look at the word fat as derogatory. We have used it that way to ourselves and each other, as a society.

But regardless of how you identify, bodies of all shapes can be earnest in their pursuits of love. And this has to be said. It can't be implicit. Our brains are not as nuanced as we would like them to be.

 Representation matters to your neurological wiring. How your mind reacts to body size, gender presentation and color are programs.

And sometimes art reflects life. In this way what we witness in Mirrors by Azure D. Osborne-Lee is a reflection of many social layerings.

Mirrors is a particularly revolutionary piece. Its protagonist is a plus size Black masculine-presenting woman. We are not prompted to captivate on any of these external markers of identity.

Our attention is instead drawn to the pursuits and failures of love, that we all relate to.

Are We Creating Love Scarcity?

When we write stories about people of sizes outside of a social standard... their wholeness is often missing. This has become a norm. But do we realize that we have people’s self love on the line? 

It's important that our media reflects practices that are inclusive of all peoples. And not as a plot line. Not actors in bodysuits. Mirrors isn’t a story about someone desirable being unexpectedly fond of someone not. 

Mirrors is, according to Azure about, "Foundational love.” The body should always be granted visibility to love and be loved.

Body Positivity is Not a Niche

Nothing is a niche, when it can be a matter of life and death. When our words and media can rewrite someone's narrative. What someone feels they could expect from life.

As if being fat could mean having something to prove to the world. As if people of different sizes, diverging from privileged norms, must earn a keep.

Racial preferences, size phobias. Both present underlying sickness within our society. It is odd to debate the worthiness of another's love. Yet the value of our love is questioned by a manufactured-worthy. Uninterested in our bodies beyond consumption.

How to Produce Body Positive Work

• For one, avoid the use of body suits - hire plus size actors.

• Avoid having actors on their knees pretending to be little people.

• Avoid using size as a comedic touchstone, get more creative.

• Don't write stories about plus size actors swooning over "the popular cis-het guy at school."

• Let plus size characters' transformation be within their thoughts, not their size. Not popularity. Avoid making stories about normalized versions of beauty.

• Focus on telling a full story of people with complexities. Not a gimmick. Not a lesson of self acceptance from a gaze outside their own.

Mirrors tackles these deep rooted issues, simply within the casting of this play. It does not soliloquy around the ideas of race, size,  gender, or colorist societal effects. It is here to tell a story.

Mirrors premieres November 10th, 2021 at 6 pm ET at Parity’s 5th Annual Awards Ceremony & Celebration. Get in-person or online tickets to Mirrors.

Rising Black Queer Playwright: Azure D. Osborne-Lee

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.

Hymn Compositions in Mirrors

Hymns are defined as a sacred song. And Ashley Noel Jones, the musical director for Mirrors, crafted music of that sound. Below is a transcription of Ashley’s thoughts as music director.

The filmed staged production of Mirrors by 2018 Commission Winner Azure D. Osborne-Lee will premiere at Parity’s 5th Annual Awards Ceremony & Celebration on  Wednesday, November 10th, 2021 at 6 pm ET. Click here for in-person and online tickets. 

Sources of Inspiration

There were a ton of [hymns pulled from]. I like a lot of  old folk music and Roots songs. Smithsonian Folk Wave was an incredible resource. It was great for music recordings, but not just music... lots of things. "Soon One Morning" "Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed."

Rivers Original By Ashley Noel Jones

Rivers was an original song written by me. It's on an EP, it's the opening track on that record. It base structure of that song was written on an acoustic guitar. I don't write whole lot of up tempo songs, or mid tempo songs... I wanted to write a piece with a switch it in. The song is one thing and it transforms into another song within the song... It has a spiritual theme to it... I wouldn't call it a hymn. But it has a spiritual meaning to it... I just happened to be singing that song, and I said, 'This works.' A lot of times when I do it live, I do this sort of humming thing that I sort of get the audience to do.. The lead part that is sung before the rest of the cast.. was sung by Natalie Jacobs, who was in the play and who is a terrific singer.. It was really cool. I've never really heard anybody in that capacity other than my friends or people when they come to my shows live.. But it was really magical to get to hear Natalie sing this song. I've heard anybody other than myself.

Incubation of Southern Hymns in Mirrors

These types of communal songs, you know, they change. Depending on the region, depending on who's singing it. Depending on... the lyrics changing...with Blues and Roots music there's like 25 versions of every song. I would just go with what I could hear in multiple people's voices... Call and response. And things that you have to guess about, because it's like, this it's a perfect piece of music. Or here's your piano playing your melody and all these things... What does this sound shape into? ... Does the tempo need to be faster... melancholy? ... It was nice to craft those moments. We were singing a cappella, so it had to be stuff that could in the moment be created. But it couldn't sound so plain and bland... Using body percussion, and stomps. 

1960's Dramaturgy

We had a great dramaturg Arminda [Thomas], who was amazing. We have great packages... giving us more insight into the time periods. The music for the show in those moments of songs that might be relevant or could be meaningful or special to Bird or another character... A lot of times, our music and a lot of things we like... are attached to the memories. It could be a song that Bird really liked because her parents liked it. If that's the case, then we're going to talk about this could be music from the 1920s, this could be music from the 1910s... Getting to see those pictures, and there were already things to reference music wise.

Hymns and Faith

Throughout my script I had tons of pictures of moments that made sense of every scene of the play. Little clips and pictures associated with the music, so that it gave me a feeling of what those scenes meant... Arminda had sent a list of things with lots of songs... I was listening to music and field recordings of children's hand games or working songs... People were still sharecroppers... Interviews of people talking about music and their faith.

Death Rituals and Thematics

A Death Ritual is a series of social practices performed by the living to commemorate the dead. 

Death rituals are cross-cultural in representation. Death, as we know, is part of life. Its ceremonial roots, presents a sense of closure. A home-going. 

It is also one the leading themes through Mirrors, which is set to premiere in New York City November 10, 2021. 

The playwright Azure D. Osborne-Lee discussed researching Death Rituals at the public library while they prepared to write this play. It posed a lot of questions.

Throughout the world, we hold different insights into ways to care for our dead, rather it is in our general preparation for death or in our honor of life after the deceased. 

Death Rituals in Mirrors 

Death Rituals in the South are explored throughout Mirrors. The focus of food, and bringing food for the bereaved can be seen in many cultures. A wake as a time to give these foods, before the funeral. The mirror of the play, this symbol embodies a connection between our world and the next.

There are many superstitions about the great after. Belle’s presence in the story is a remarkable example of our concern with a soul’s rest. 

Death rituals bring to life what is missing in someone’s absence. Perhaps it only exists to fill a void, regardless, when someone says it must be done. I believe them. 

The themes of this play are better actualized, than described. Get your in-person or online tickets to the premiere of Mirrors on November 10, 2021 at 6 pm ET. 

Below are a few cultural examples of death rituals throughout all cultures. 

Death Rituals in Different Cultures

• In Japan, we learn about various types of death rituals. In The Songs of the Dead: Poetry, Drama, and Ancient Death Rituals of Japan By Toshio Akima

It researches boats as form of death ritual within Japan and it reads as follows, "This idea of contact between this world and the nether by means of a boat... is not only found in the records of the ancient period; it also remains evident in medieval Japan... under Buddhist disguise. In medieval Japan... there was a strange religious practice call the Crossing over to Fudaraku... in which some Buddhist priests locked themselves in a coffin-like boat... and sailed to the Pure land of Kannon chanting Buddhist sutras. (Masuda 1968: 198-220)" "To bury the dead, coffins are used. Relatives and mourners dance beside the coffin. Dresses of white are worn by the closest relatives of the dead. If the dead man is noble, he is placed in a funeral house built outside, and mourned for 3 years. If he is a commoner, he is buried on the right date chosen by divination. For burial the corpse is placed on a boat and sometimes rollers are used to pull it along on land. (Wada and Ishihara 1977:73)"

• Brazil's practices are tied to the politics of the time... from Death Is a Festival: Funeral Rites and Rebellion.. of Nineteenth Century Brazil By Roderick J. Barman

In the ritualization of death the irmandades (the confraternities and third orders)... of Salvador played a key role, in part because specific irmandades acted as religious and social centers for different racial groups, such as that of Our Lady of the Rosary for African slaves... Members of an irmandade were assured of a funeral and interment with due ceremony and reverence... They could be, and often specifically requested to be interred in the irmandade's church... Such practice united the dead and the living, a union intensified by the celebration of Masses for the deceased's soul... Burial in church may promote unity but rotting corpses stink. The medical profession in the nineteenth century was increasingly convinced that eliminating "miasmas" (gases), including the stench of corpses, would reduce the death rate... Physicians advocated the construction of cemeteries isolated from residential areas.

• Early Greece in talks about grave ritual for AFAB (Assigned Female At Birth) bodied people... in Ritual Shoes in Early Greek Female Graves By Ann M.E. Haentjens

During my research on Attic Geometric child graves, I've noticed some exceptional girls' grave...that contained at least one pair of terracotta boats... A female adolescent/adult buried in the South Cemetery of Naxos.. has also terracotta shoes amongst her grave-goods