Marie-Francoise Theodore Chronicling the African-American Woman's Experience

Marie-Françoise Theodore is an artist of unique vision. This actor/writer/director and now producer has two short films to her credit and is working on her first feature. Currently, she is a Film Independent Fellow in the Project:Involve program. Her first short, Blood\Memory is a filmed poem. Her second, Rebel in the Soul, is based on the true story of the lynching of a black pregnant woman. Rebel in the Soul is an award-winning short that has been screened at over ten film festivals. For her latest project, she is adapting the 1946 novel, The Street, by Ann Petry. The novel follows one woman, Lutie Johnson, in 1940’s Harlem who is trying to overcome poverty and racism and make a better life for herself and her eight year old son. I had an insightful discussion with Marie-Françoise and she touched on everything from the disappearing black actress to motherhood in the industry. 1. You are working on The Street based on the classic novel by Ann Petry. What did you have to go through to get the rights to this incredible but often overlooked book? It was an amazing stroke of fate that this book fell, literally fell into my hands. I was wandering at a book fair in Chicago, my home town, when I was nearly hit on the head when The Street leapt off the top shelf. I know it sounds dramatic (and it gets more so with each retelling!) but it’s also true. I reached up to stop from being clobbered and my hands cradled this book that I never knew existed. I bought it right then and there – a first edition for $12.00!!! – and read it immediately. I was totally transported and by the end of the afternoon I had fallen in love. The only story that I had read that even came close to having that kind of impact was Their Eyes Were Watching God. The Street has that same powerful punch that just draws you in and you are there. After that I just knew I had to make this film. I was unsuccessful when I initially tried to obtain the rights. I didn’t have the money and then someone else had them for a number of years. But I kept trying and after a few years, I succeeded. It has been quite a process! 2. What is it about The Street that you find so compelling? I often describe The Street as a love story. It’s a love story about a mother’s undying love for her son. It also is about a woman aspiring to find self-fulfillment in achieving the American Dream. We can all relate to her journey. Lutie Johnson is a complex imperfect human being with a gorgeous heart coming up against obstacles that we recognize and resonate with. The issues that Lutie faces in trying to get out of poverty and find a safe, nurturing place to raise her young son are still relevant today. Lutie is eventually confronted with life altering decisions about her own survival and what it means to be a good mother. I also found compelling the way the story illustrates how the interlocking forces of race, class and gender oppression, can block the most ambitious hardworking person. If you’re not aware of these very real but invisible factors, it can feel like a personal failure if you’re not able to overcome them and achieve success. The Street takes place less than 80 years after slavery ended at a time of great prosperity for the country. But not everyone was able to partake in that prosperity. There were race riots in the early forties in Harlem. This is the climate that Lutie experiences her awakening. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our modern day civil rights movement was born out of those times. 3. What was the process of adapting the novel like? I hadn’t planned to write the screenplay myself. After I obtained the rights to the novel (it’s important to do that first) I approached a couple of screenwriters. One was too busy with other projects and the other one was willing to work on it but on a sporadic basis. So, being full of energy while I waited for pages from the screenwriter, I started having a crack at it myself. My first draft was basically the novel all over again. I didn’t know what I was doing. I even wrote it by hand! I was flummoxed when a colleague read it and said, this isn’t a screenplay. That kind of got my dander up and I thought, I’m going to do this and went at it again. I read a book on screenplay format and got to work. I approached it like I would a hard role. I enjoyed grappling with it. At certain pivotal points in the writing process, I took a class to get an outside perspective. The challenge of adapting a novel is that you have to make the interior world exterior. As a reader we have the advantage of knowing the character’s thoughts, on screen you have to show it. Also, in a novel you have the advantage of time and can spend a lot longer on character development. That luxury is not available for a film. Lutie is a very interior character. She doesn’t say much. She spends a lot of time observing and thinking about her situation. Great to read, not so great to see. I had to figure out how to visually translate in an interesting way all that thinking and observing into action. The most unexpected challenge was the task of being ruthless in cutting parts of the novel that didn’t fit in the screenplay. In the beginning, I was very faithful to the book. But as I grew in confidence I began to take more risks with the writing and structure. I began to hone in on what about the novel had the most juice and resonance for me—going for the jugular. With each rewrite I asked myself, what story did I want to tell? Sometimes that involved omitting entire storylines from the novel. I also created scenes that aren’t in the novel. My goal was to stay true to the essence of the novel while creating a screenplay that would be entertaining and compelling. 4. Your script for The Street has gotten some notable attention. It placed in a handful of prominent screenplay competitions including: the Bush Foundation Fellowship, Tribeca All Access Connects, Roy W. Dean Foundation and the Sundance Filmmaker Labs. It also represents your first experience producing a feature. What has that experience been like for you? It’s been a wonderful affirmation to place in prominent competitions. It also confirms that I’m on the right track and helps gets the word out about the project. Currently, I’m a finalist for the Sundance Labs for the second time and that is a great affirmation. I feel confident that people are becoming more accustomed to viewing the world through the eyes of an African American woman who doesn’t fit certain stereotypes. You know, we’re either the sexless mammy or oversexed jezebel or some form thereof. The story I want to tell is definitely not about either. I know there is a humongous (yes, I used that word!) and diverse audience out there for The Street because it sold well over a million copies when it was published in 1946, is still in print and continues to sell well today. So many people love this story! I believe the public is hungry to see an authentic depiction of an African American woman. I feel that it’s a gift I was given that I’m giving back. It’s a matter of connecting with the right group of people – which is occurring – to make it happen. I’m on a steep learning curve with producing my first feature. Finding finance for a feature film is probably the hardest part of the process. To that end, I have two other producers on board who have a track record in developing and financing independent film. I’m building new skills that I didn’t have before. By nature I am a very shy person, but to bring this project to fruition I had to overcome that. You have to be willing to fight for what you believe in, in the nicest way possible of course! But even though it can be tough it’s also extremely rewarding. To create a film from start to finish is an amazing experience. There’s nothing else I would rather do. Luckily, I’m a life long student. My goal is to learn from every situation I’m in. 5. You’ve said that you want to do for film what August Wilson did for African-Americans in theatre by examining the real ‘day-to-day’ lives of African-Americans, particularly, in your case, African-American women. Why is it so important for you to get our experiences on film? I had the pleasure and blessing to meet August Wilson and to perform in one of his plays, Two Trains Running at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul MN where he got his start as a playwright. One of my favorite plays of his is Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. It’s set in the years right after slavery and illustrates how black people coped and lived in that time. It is very rare to have a drama about those times. Most of his plays were period pieces. What inspires me is the form of the ten play cycle he created to dramatize our experience in the last century. If you ever get the opportunity to view all ten plays you can gain an intuitive understanding of African Americans that you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. He was so specific in terms of place, time and character, that he rendered African Americans human. We can’t forget that it is only until recently that our very claim to being human was seriously challenged everyday and he spoke to that. He might even use a supposed stereotype (the drunk, the crazy person, the loose woman, etc) as a way in for the audience but once you were in there you couldn’t deny their humanity. Look at Troy in Fences – not a very likeable fellow, does some rank stuff to his own blood. But we’re drawn in and while we may not agree with Troy’s actions, we understand his life. And that’s what’s important. That’s what we go away with. We have the opportunity to develop compassion. And that’s a total gift. I mean, how often do we really get to a place where we understand someone else’s life? Not very often I suspect. We may think we don’t want to but I believe we do. And being able to tell those stories in the form of a cycle—it allows for great scope and perspective. I would like to do the same thing in film. I’m nothing if not ambitious! I love the day-to-day, moment-to-moment spaces in people’s lives. I love love love the so-called common place, the ordinary. Because at that deep level nothing is ordinary—it’s all extraordinary! It could be why I became an actor. I often have been told I should have been a reporter. I find nothing more exciting than meeting someone new and finding out who they are. I want to know, what did you do when such and such happened? How did you get through it? Needless to say, I’m not very good at idle chit chat! I’m too curious. Our experience needs to be on film because we are part of the human experience. Period. 6. Speaking of the experiences of African-American women, Rebel in the Soul was a powerful short that you directed/wrote/starred in. It’s a haunting and powerful piece of work. What prompted you to take on such a disturbing story? Contrary to the common saying, I am somebody who misses what they never had. I need to know how African American women lived their lives in the past and how it compares to how we’re living them now. I need to hear our voices, front and center. Rebel in the Soul came out of a simple desire to find a mentor, dead or alive—someone I could relate to who had done what I was trying to do. I was in grad school full-time, working full-time and a new mother. I didn’t have any role models on how to be a working artist and a mom. As usual, I was combing through an art book (do you sense a theme here?) about the Harlem Renaissance, and inspiration came in the form of a picture of the most beautiful black woman I had ever seen. I thought she was a model but it turns out she was the world renowned sculptor Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller. I tried to find out everything about her. She lived and studied in Paris (where Auguste Rodin loved her sculptures) and once back in the U.S., had children while continuing to do her art. Eureka! I discovered that she created a sculpture entitled Mary Turner: A Silent Protest Against Mob Violence. The solemn sculpture depicts a woman protectively covering herself while hands reach up grabbing her dress at the moment of being consumed by a lynch mob. Meta Fuller created the sculpture to protest and commemorate the memory of this woman in rural Georgia who had been lynched while eight months pregnant. I created the piece to honor Meta who honored Mary. It has not gone unnoticed that my name is Marie—very similar to their names. Since I couldn’t find much in terms of research on the lynching except for a description in the African American press, I had to rely on my imagination in recreating what it must have been like for Meta to create the sculpture, as well as how Meta would have had to imagine what it would have been like in those moments of death for Mary. In the film, I acknowledge how we are linked and paid homage to that. As a thread to the even more ancient past I wove in the words of an Egyptian Initiate who had lost his faith in all mankind. Within all that I had to create a compelling story that weaved Meta’s issues of marriage, motherhood and her desire to sculpt—problems that women are facing today. In real life, Meta was able to resolve some of these issues and in other ways she was unable to. I had not planned originally to play both roles; I wanted another actor to play Mary Turner. However, over time, it naturally evolved that I did. And it was perfect. I’m very proud of the film and how it has been received. It won Best Experimental Film at the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival. It has screened in art galleries, won awards and screened at film festivals all over the world. I also got nonexclusive distribution deal through a black film organization in Germany, and they’ve been renting it for screenings through their distribution company. It just showed at the Black Expo in Indiana in July. Mary Turner was an ordinary wife and mother who spoke out and demanded justice for her murdered husband and the whole town lynched her. What happened to Mary Turner was brutal, but we have to look at it. We have to consciously know about it. I sincerely believe we African American’s need to know how our past frames the present in order to move forward. Look at the South Africans, at the Jews…they know that their story of survival is so big that it must be told again and again and again. And they are not ashamed to tell it. I plan to do a feature film on it in the future. 7. The business of entertainment is notoriously difficult for women; but you’ve found it was even more difficult for you when you became a mother. The difficult part has mainly been the juggling act that most working mother’s face. However, it may be particularly acute for women who are artists because childcare is structured for a nine-to-five world. Although I am not a single mom, it took me awhile to figure out the support system I needed to establish in order to do my work. Married or single it can be overwhelming. The key is not to be isolated. I made a point of reaching out and talking to other artists who are mothers and asking them how they do it or did it. I took to heart some of their advice. Sometimes, you have to give up an aspect of your career temporarily. Theatre hours are insane. It was difficult to do theatre on a regular basis because night childcare is hard to come by – unless you can afford a nanny; then the issue is moot! Film work can require you to be away for long periods of time. Voiceovers and commercials can save the day! As my son Aaron grew, I learned how to incorporate him into my life. When he was little, if I needed to, I brought him to rehearsal. Now, he is very familiar with the backstage of a theatre. And he can sit and watch a three hour Greek tragedy, Shakespeare or August Wilson play and then have opinions about the production! He also knows his way around a film set. It’s almost like he is the perfect son for me. He’s very artistic. I also know that if it weren’t for him I wouldn’t have the insight and perspective that I have. I wouldn’t be doing the types of projects that I am doing. My art has definitely deepened. I had to be more disciplined and focused since becoming a mom. Procrastination and indecisiveness went out the window. When I have that hour of calm to write or work on a monologue or whatever, I better get to it—no beating around the bush! 8. You continue to wear many hats: director, producer, writer and actress. As an actress, you have starred in both of your short films. You also have also worked extensively in theater. I know, you, like me, have noticed the dwindling number of roles for African-American women. It seems like we aren’t even getting the wife and girlfriend roles anymore. What is your take on the phenomenon of the disappearing black actress? I think as African American women we have to be ready to do it all. Not alone, mind you. Other people will definitely be there to support you, but you have to be willing to create your own opportunities. It has always been important for me to empower myself by creating my own work. I have and continue to enjoy working on projects initiated by other people. However, I’ve never been one to sit around waiting for the telephone to ring. The initial impulse of much of my work comes from wanting to say something that hasn’t been said, wanting to contribute something that’s missing that others would benefit in knowing. No one can tell our stories like we can. Similar to Toni Morrison who remarked that she writes novels she wants to read, likewise I want to make films I want to see. So, we need to become involved in all aspects of filmmaking and support one another in getting us up on the screen on a regular basis. Also, I feel that African American women are making headway in the independent film arena. Since the marketing budget for indies are miniscule compared to studio pictures, it takes a little more work to find them, but its well worth the effort. Recently, I starred in an independent feature, Strange As Angels, directed by Steven Foley. It’s a romantic story about a woman trying to balance her love life with her independence. It had a very successful run at festivals and is available at Blockbuster, Netflix, Amazon.com, and other retail outlets. 9. As an actress, you’ve worked in both film and in theatre, what are the differences for you between the mediums? What does film work do for you that theater can’t and vice versa. I love both film and theatre, as well as TV and radio (yes, there are still radio plays). Whether I’m performing on stage at a prestigious regional theatre or in a prison or in a film, when I’m acting, I’m acting. It’s all in the moment, in the now. It’s a very practical art in that way. Theatre is considered to be more an actor’s medium because ostensibly you have more control over your performance, of what the audience sees. In film you don’t have as much control. Your performance could very well be dependent upon the editor and what does and does not end up on the cutting room floor! I definitely see myself acting in more films, in my own and other’s. However, I will always do theatre. That is where I cut my teeth and received my training. I don’t know how actors without any theatre training do it. Also, in theatre is where I have so far gotten to do the meatier parts, except for film roles I created myself and the indie feature I mentioned earlier. Right now, I’m working with City Garage Theatre, an avant-garde theatre company based in Los Angeles. In the summer as part of a trilogy of Greek tragedies they are doing, I played Clytemnestra in Agamemnon to rave reviews. This fall, I will reprise my role in Iphegenia. It’s very satisfying to play one role in a series of plays, it feels complete. In the end, I see myself doing what actors do in England. They transition from theatre to film and back to theatre easily. One isn’t considered a stepping stone to the other. It’s not seen as an “either or” proposition. 10. Despite your acting work and your writing, you told me that you really found your passion when you started directing. What is it about directing that you find so satisfying? Actually, when I really think about it I’ve always been a director. When I was a kid I would write plays and put my sisters and the kids in the neighborhood in them. We weren’t very organized—we never got past the first few rehearsals! I also watched tons of old movies where the kids just put on a show. I thought, well I can do that. I didn’t know the name of what I was doing—I didn’t consciously call myself a director. But I believe the seed was planted then. I think from all the reading I did I have a fantastic imagination. I was also raised catholic which I feel plays into my love of image. Catholic churches are amazing repositories of colorful images that impacted me greatly as a child. I think it’s about being able to zero in on an image, a vision I may have and being able to bring that vision that lives in my head out into the world. I began my professional acting career because that is what was accessible to me. Funny as it sounds now, but I didn’t have any images of women directing! It never occurred to me I could do it until much later in my professional life, but I was always doing it in my head anyway! But now, after directing a few plays and my two shorts, directing feels as natural as breathing. Now, directing while acting at the same time was truly sublime. While directing and acting in Rebel In the Soul, I felt as if I was connected to the universe. I could do everything I needed to do and remain calm at the center. Communicating with other actors, especially on such a raw subject, was great. I just knew what to do. It was one of the most joyous artistic experiences I’ve had so far. 11. So I take it that in addition to producing The Street you are also planning on directing it? Will you be starring in it as well? Yes, I am the co-director of The Street. I will also star in it. I had always planned to act in it however; I didn’t plan to direct it, just like I didn’t plan to write the screenplay. It’s been a natural evolution. When I first got the rights I hadn’t completed Rebel In the Soul, so I wasn’t as confident in my abilities as a director or screenwriter. But after successfully directing and writing more projects in film and theatre, I knew I could do it. I have a very specific vision that I want to see on screen. It was the Universe’s way of letting me know that I was the writer and director of The Street. I have also been pleasantly surprised at how my training as an actor gives me an edge as a director. As a director, there are myriad decisions to make every second. I love being in the thick of the action. Somebody’s always asking you a question. Years of developing my listening skills as an actor allows me to hone in and focus on my actors, with everything else going on, in a way I wouldn’t have been able to without that training. It’s a very service oriented role. You have to develop the skill of active patience. 10. Final question. As an artist, how do you define success and how will you know when you get there? Defining success can be tricky. And it changes for me. I definitely will feel successful once I am able to support myself and my family through my work as a director, writer and actor. I’ve been able to do that in the past as an actor, but that’s changed since I’ve been focused on being a director and writer. Being able to pay the bills and keep body and soul together is very important! That is an aspect of the business that I am learning more about from my Project:Involve mentor Neema Barnett. She has been working successfully in the business for many years and I feel it’s vital to learn from someone with that kind of staying power. When The Street is out there in the world, entertaining people will be a great moment which I’m looking forward to. But overall, it’s really about getting better as an artist. I just want to have the opportunity to continue to grow as an artist and keep working at my craft and getting better. I want to keep making films, shorts and features. I want to take risks and push my boundaries, keep challenging myself at all levels to be a better communicator, just better.

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