Yetunde Felix-Ukwu. Courtesy of Arena Stage
By Sheila Wickouski
On September 6, a new era will begin at Southwest’s Arena Stage. The first season programmed by new Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif will launch with the Tony-award winning comedy Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Written by celebrated Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh, the show is set in the pulsating heart of Harlem, and addresses the complexities of cultural identity, assimilation, and the pursuit of the American dream within the African immigrant community.
The show will run through October 13, and many performances will include special events for audiences. This includes discounted tickets for Southwest residents on September 10 and 21, ASL interpreted performances, Pride night, National Pan-Hellenic Council Divine Nine night, a civic dialogue around the CROWN Act and race-based hair discrimination, a marketplace for entrepreneurs and beauty enthusiasts, and the Howard University Homecoming kickoff.
The show’s dialogue is brought to life through the influence of Dialect and Voice Coach Yetunde Felix-Ukwu. An actor herself, Yetunde most recently appeared in Arena Stage’s production of Tempestuous Elements. For Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, she worked with actors on the unique sounds and inflections needed for each character’s voice.
Yetunde shared her perspective with The Southwester in an interview that has been lightly edited for clarity.
The Southwester: Your theatrical experience is on both sides of the curtain, as an actress and as part of the creative team as a dialect and vocal coach. How would you say the two work together? How have your skills as a dialect coach assisted you as an actor?
Yetunde Felix-Ukwu: The journey of how I became both a dialect coach and an actor was quite organic. As a grad student studying acting, I was in a production where we had to learn an accent. My ears were already attuned to the sound changes of that accent, and I was hearing some discrepancies in what we were being coached to do. I approached the dialect coach about the discrepancies, and he graciously asked me to take over coaching the production, while I was acting in it. Since then, I’ve fully embraced the duality of my career as Actor and Dialect Coach. There is a great deal of trust required in the Actor-Dialect Coach relationship and I’d like to believe that actors trust me because we approach the work through a shared lens. Learning a new accent is incredibly important, but I approach my work as a Coach with a keen understanding of all the components floating around in an actor’s head. When it’s my time to be onstage, I have to remember to then practice what I preach in regard to vocal technique.
SW: What about this production resonates with you the most? Is there something about it that is special (or personal) to you? What can you share about your experience in hair salons?
YFU: This production (along with everything else Jocelyn Bioh has written) resonates so deeply because as a child of African immigrants, so many of our experiences have not been represented in popular media until just recently. Hair is such a major theme in the lives of Black and African women, and the braid shop specifically, evokes such visceral feelings and memories in all of us. My aunt worked in a braid shop when she first immigrated from Nigeria. She worked alongside women from Sierra Leone, Senegal and Ivory Coast. When she would braid my hair, it often meant spending the entire day at the shop as she would squeeze me in between paying customers. What Jocelyn has written is such an authentic depiction of braid shops across the country. As a young girl I remember sitting in the chair and hearing the different languages and accents flying around the shop. To think that I get to help recreate that experience for the stage is quite humbling.
SW: Our voices and our hairstyles are both highly personal and unique attributes. How do all the elements of a production, from vocals to costumes, stage designers and actors, work together to create characters that are true to life?
YFU: The collaborative nature is the most beautiful element of live theater. What we see on the stage is the synergistic creativity of dozens of artists and artisans. Audience members get to enjoy fully developed characters because the Lighting Designer has crafted a unique lighting combination specifically for that skin tone, that hair and that costume. The Costume Designer has crafted a costume that amplifies the essence of the character, but cooperates with choreography of the Actor. The Actor has created a vision for how they see the character moving through the world and I get to help them express those choices vocally. We are not taking in these characters in a void, because the Scenic Designer has created a beautiful world for them to play and exist in. Don’t even get me started on the stage management team and the production assistants. The audience is blessed with the culmination of a collaboration that allows each discipline to shine. If we’ve done a good job, it all feels nuanced and seamless.
SW: From your variety of theatrical experience, what advice would you give to students looking to find a spot for themselves in the theater?
YFU: Bop around. I remember being in school and sitting quietly next to the Sound Designer as they entered cues during a technical rehearsal. I did the same with my Lighting Designer friends as they discussed color theory. Don’t be scared to poke around a discipline that is unfamiliar, because it may end up being interesting and informative to your area of focus. Having trouble choosing one area? Don’t! I’m a testament to the fact that you can do more than one thing!