Kerry Washington: Scandal, Love and Hate

I have been catching up on ABC's Scandal.

Scandal is about Olivia Pope, the head of a crisis management company in Washington who happens to be having an affair with the married President of the United States.

All sorts of other stuff happens but back to the affair. Olivia is black. The President is white.
I. Can't. Stop.Watching. On Facebook a friend posted,"Black women hate adultery except for Thursdays at 9 pm."

As a married black woman who is also an actress I struggle with my investment in the doomed affair between Olivia Pope (played by"it" girl Kerry Washington) and the President (Tony Goldwyn).

Actress Kerry Washington

Shonda Rhimes Scandal's creator has broken ground by creating the first black female lead character on a network TV drama since 1974. Despite the history she has made I think she is sending a mixed message.

Olivia Pope is educated, runs her own company, is powerful, beautiful, smart, fashionable.

She is also locked in a dysfunctional disaster of an affair. 

Her white lover; the President is often mean to her, downright verbally abusive and treats her like a sex object. He is often just shy of forcing himself on her. She dissolves into tears after most of their encounters and her "man" has never so much as given her a petal of a flower or a piece of chocolate. 

The Prez summons her and she comes running, then she says, "I am not yours. I don't show up places because you want me.." Olivia, yes you do, Girl.

Their relationship makes me uncomfortable and even though I enjoy Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn's palpable chemistry it bothers me that her character is treated like crap. Sadly, I am so darn happy to see a black actress playing something other than the "sassy black woman" I am complicit.

I think if Olivia Pope were white the affair as it stands would not be tolerated on a cultural level.

When Millie (the First Lady who knows about the affair) and Olivia Pope engage in one of their many steely stare offs there is the sense that Olivia is losing. Ultimately, in their high stakes political world the odds (in part because of her skin color) are against her. 

If a white mistress and Millie had the same stare off the white mistress would seem like more of a viable threat. If the mistress is more of a viable threat maybe I as well as other viewers wouldn't be wanting the affair to continue because oh yeah, affairs suck. 

Some critics can't get over that Olivia Pope is black and the President of the United States is white. They can't believe that Olivia Pope is almost never referred to as a black woman. Although race is not referenced I think it plays an integral if not insidious role in how the relationship between Olivia and the President is perceived. The "mistreated black woman" is familiar. We have seen her before.

I know I am raining on the Scandal parade. At the same time I'm getting drenched because I am hooked. The show is fast paced, has exciting story lines and surprises.

Still, I have a nagging feeling that there is something other than the affair that is fundamentally wrong and should not be applauded. I wonder if Kerry Washington who has been cast in the role of a lifetime struggles internally with the portrayal.

Shonda Rhimes has simultaneously broken new ground while inadvertently setting Scandal on much traversed ground. I hope she allows Olivia Pope to gain some equal footing with her lover.

Or I. Will. Have to. Stop. Watching.

Lena Dunham Is Not The Problem

XFINITY offered a Watch-a-thon last week in order to lure more subscribers to the zillions of channels they offer. I grabbed the opportunity and watched the current zeitgeist offering HBO's Girls.

The cast of HBO's Girls

Starring writer-producer-director Lena Dunham, Girls is a polarizing hit about four twentysomething women surviving in New York City.

Dunham has been lambasted in the press for the lack of diversity in her cast.

I hated the show based on one blog post addressing the issue.

As a black woman who is also an actress and a writer I am wary of shows that aren't inclusive because it is a flagrant reminder of the limited opportunities for minorities in the industry. It can also be (believe it or not) quite boring to only see white faces on the screen.

After actually viewing both seasons of Girls (in a five day marathon) I have no problem with the lack of diversity.

The show is absolutely a representation of a myriad of young people who aren't exposed to anyone different than themselves. If they are exposed to people outside their ethnicity they still aren't in the forefront of their lives.

People segregate in desegregated contexts all the time. We aren't allowed to do it in the workplace or school but share a meal together ie a school cafeteria or a break room and observe the racial divide.

Dunham is a great writer with a precise story to tell. I think she is on her way to setting the audience up for something far more shocking than the graphic sex scenes.

The exploration of rootlessness, roommate hopping, drug use, self involvement, break ups and the loss of friendship is relatable regardless of the characters' skin color.

In Season Two, Dunham made an effort to satisfy critics of the lack of diversity by giving Hannah Horvath (her character) a black boyfriend. A true auteur, Dunham flipped the audience's expectations by making him a Republican.

Within two episodes, the black boyfriend is out of the picture due to their political differences and his criticism of her writing. Hannah Horvath resorts back to her all white world save a few minority extras in the background.

Was it really Lena Dunham's job to portray a black character?

The problem isn't that Lena Dunham isn't writing for people of color. The problem is that there aren't enough writer's of color in the entertainment industry.

According to the 2013 Writer's Guild TV Staff Diversity Report minority writers have doubled their share of TV Staff Employment since 1999-2000 but remain severely underrepresented by a factor or more than 2 to 1 employment.

When a minority does have the opportunity to helm a show hiring other minorities is crucial.

Noreen Malone of the New Republic suggests, "There tend to be two ways that people react to having a minority and an underdog in a situation like that. One is to give a few breaks to up-and-comers with a mind to changing the status quo and making things a bit easier for people who come afterwards. The other is to think, I earned it, why can't they if they're really good?"

The fate of minority representation on television is grim if the latter explanation is true.

As the poet Alice Walkers says,  "Each one must pull one." 

If writers of color (and women, people with disabilities, LGBT) wait around for the industry to change the status quo it could be a long time before there is proper representation in programming. 

For example, over the last decade the rate of female representation went up a mere five percent. According to Jonathan Handel of The Hollywood Reporter it is " a rate of increase so sluggish that parity to men won't be achieved for another 42 years unless faster progress is made."

In the meantime minorities must make the strides. 

Shonda Rhimes the prolific creator of Grey's Anatomy has created characters all all ethnicities in her three ABC shows (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Scandal).

She is a black woman in a position of power who integrates her experience and point of view into her storytelling. According to the Writer's Guild Staffing Brief her shows have minority writers.

I am available to write for any of Ms. Rhimes' shows.

I also have an idea for a pilot...

Giving Up Facebook For Lent

I am Catholic. I'm not very good at it.  I wish I turned to prayer more and my own solutions less. I wish the controversy that plagued the Catholic Church didn't haunt me. Better yet I wish the controversy didn't exist at all because I wish the men in power had done the right thing in the first place. I am Catholic and I am conflicted but Lent is a time when I feel the most devout.

Lent is not a time where I give up a "luxury" (like chocolate) it's a time when I eliminate something that is draining me of my energies or serving as a distraction and a thief of my time.

For Lent I have given up Facebook because besides the Kardashians the "book of face" is the biggest time suck in the nation. 

Here's why I gave it up:

1) I am too concerned with whether people respond to my status updates or comments and how many "likes" I receive.

2) Facebook is like a virtual high school cafeteria where the cool kid table shares french fries and inside jokes while I sit by myself and eat a bag lunch from home.

3) Most Facebook posts consist of other people's highlight reels and even though I know that people are posting their "best case scenarios" it's still hard not to compare my life to theirs.(And I have a great life so what the hell?)

When I get a little panicky due to Facebook withdrawal I take a deep cleansing breath.

The elimination of Facebook allows me to go into my desert the way Jesus went into the desert.

In my desert, I can hold quiet in my heart, pray, focus on my family, think, heal, be grateful and be kind to myself.

So I am on a Facebook fast and so far it feels great.

I think I'll be checking it a lot less after Lent, too.

Tina Fey and Nicole Kidman vs Jennifer Lawrence and Lena Dunham

In Hollywood actresses fall into three categories:

The "it" girls.

Jennifer Lawrence 

Lena Dunham and the cast of Girls.

Former "it" girls who are trying to stay in the category through plastic surgery.

Demi Moore

Nicole Kidman

And former, former "it" girls who have allowed themselves to age naturally in front of the camera while also experiencing a resurgence in their careers. 

Jessica Lange

Sally Field

When all these categories of actresses end up at an awards ceremony together there is bound to be tension. 

At the Screen Actor's Guild Awards Tina Fey still hadn’t recovered from twenty six old Lena Dunham’s reference in her Golden Globe speech that Ms. Fey’s (42) work (along with fellow nominees Julia Louis Dreyfuss, Amy Poehler and Zooey Deschanel ) helped get her through middle school.

On national television Tina Fey's reaction suggested she'd just been slapped in the face with the fact that she was considered old.

In Ms. Fey’s Screen Actor’s Guild acceptance speech for Best Comedy Actress she referred to knowing Amy Poehler since she was "pregnant with Lena Dunham"

Of course Tina got a huge laugh. Leave it to her to turn lemons into comedy gold.

In response to the flood of criticism over her speech, Ms. Dunham replied, "It came from the most earnest place but I'd forgotten that we're in Hollywood, where the rules are that you should not acknowledge that anybody has been around longer than you by more than three years."

When young Jennifer Lawrence won best actress for Silver Lining Playbook over middle aged Naomi Watts’s performance in The Impossible Nicole Kidman (Naomi Watts’ best friend) didn't even try to hide her irritation.

Aging is hard and in Hollywood it can be torture. Literally. By going under the knife actresses like Nicole Kidman and Demi Moore have rendered themselves unrecognizable.

I find it uncomfortable to watch these women because it looks like it is physically painful to have their face. Their faces are a constant reminder of their surgery and it’s impossible to concentrate on their characterization.

The actresses who subject themselves to surgery desire to be watched but render themselves unwatchable.

There seems to be a desperate reluctance on the part of these forty something actresses to let go of their reign as the Hollywood "it" girl.

I am excluding Tina because she has a sense of humor about it as well as her original face.

Back in the day there was a natural progression; a passing of the baton. Actresses didn’t desperately try and stay in the roles they once played. They complained about fewer roles, commiserated or produced their own damn movies. Hail, Hail Goldie Hawn who produced the 1980 hit Private Benjamin and other films in which she starred.

There is so much more pressure on women in Hollywood which of course trickles down to women everywhere.

When Sissy Spacek won the Oscar for Coal Miner's Daughter she wore a black jumpsuit cinched at the waist. Her hairstyle was in a loose bun. I think she looked great. 

Sissy Spacek and Timothy Hutton

A current actress would be eviscerated then sacrificed to the fashion Gods for attempting to wear the same kind of an ensemble to the Oscars.

I imagine I would crumble at the pressure put on celebrities. I am an actress and ending up on a hit show could happen someday. I could end up at an awards ceremony. I could be on the receiving end of some backhanded compliment. I could.

Currently I still have my natural hair color; black. But a few gray hairs have emerged. I shudder when I take a cold hard look at the strand before I yank it out. It is a stark reminder that I am not going to live forever.

Eventually, I'll be need to decide whether or not to dye my hair. When I was in my twenties I use to think I'd let myself go gray. Now I'm not so sure.

I wonder if Kidman and Moore and countless other actresses and women felt the same before age started to change their vision of themselves.

I wonder if these actresses regret their choice to have cosmetic surgery. I wonder if they think they look good or whether they continue to get surgery in order to try and fix the damage done.

I wonder what Tina Fey would say to Lena Dunham if left alone in a room with her.

Now that would be interesting. 

Hello Goodbye Hello

I am also an actress in addition to being a writer. This Holiday Season I have had the pleasure of appearing as Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol at The Goodman Theatre. 

On several occasions I’ve thought how much my mother would have loved to see me in it. Before I met my husband, my mother was my biggest fan. 

When I refer to the mother who would've loved to see the show, I mean the mother who raised me and was always there for me in my young adult life. The mother I knew up until 2008.

That mother saw me every night when I had the lead in my high school production of Mame. The box office people knew her by name and when they were sold out let her stand in the back and watch. 

Mom always said, "Tania, you have such presence on stage.” Whether performing on Broadway or a storefront theater mother was in attendance and always sang my praises. 

Sadly, I am describing my mother before Alzheimer's. 

In 2008 she started slipping away, calling me less and less, repeating herself more and more, forgetting birthdays and asking strange questions like, "What day is Thanksgiving, Tania?" From then on a different mother emerged. 

She was still loving but unable to be there for me because her memory was fading. For instance, she couldn't remember that I was pregnant with my second child and wasn't at the delivery like she was with my oldest. She saw no reason to visit my new baby girl since she scarcely remembered she existed.

She had no idea what was happening in the world. She never asked about my children or husband.  She didn't know where I lived. She had no idea I was a professional actress. 

But the essence of my mother; sweet, good, funny, kind and loving, remained. There was no pretense. 

Mom was a doctor who never left the house without looking her best. She always wore dresses, went to the hairdresser every week for a “wash and set” and was private to a fault. 

In the nursing home she wore pants, let the caregivers braid her hair in cornrows and shared a room with two other patients. 

I suspect that she’d be mortified by the woman she had become. I had to make peace with that. It was difficult especially because I didn’t love her any less when she lived in the nursing home. She was her purest self.

It stings that she isn’t here to see me play Mrs. Cratchit and it pains me that even if she were here she couldn’t have attended because she wouldn’t have been comfortable leaving the nursing home, getting in a car or sitting in a dark theatre surrounded by people. I don't think she would have even understood it was me on the stage. 

Alzheimer’s splits a person in two; their life divides into who they were before and who they are afterwards.   

I grieve my Mom twice, mourning two spirits but feel lucky for having known both.

Me and my mother at the nursing home wearing the same dress.

Seasons Greetings!

So thrilled to be playing Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre.

I had the great pleasure of being interviewed by 

Rick Kogan

on 

WBEZ's Afternoon Shift

http://storify.com/WBEZ/afternoon-shift-196-black-friday/elements/50b3afbc44c8c29704a06801

Have Happy Holidays

and

A Happy New Year!

Tania Richard

www.taniarichard.com

Keeping Up With The Cratchits

So you may or may not have noticed that I haven't posted anything lately. I'd like to take a moment and pretend it's because you wait with bated breath for every one of my posts. A girl can dream, right?

Anyway, I haven't posted because I have been hella busy rehearsing A Christmas Carol at The Goodman Theatre. I am playing Mrs. Cratchit and I'm loving every minute of playing a character who represents goodness and light.

Photo by Liz Lauren 

I have seen countless actors in interviews talk about how much more fun it is to play the villain than the good guy. I understand the appeal in trying to justify evil motives or bringing humor to not so funny behavior a la the wonderful actor Larry Yando who plays our Scrooge. Actors of his caliber certainly make memorable meanies.

Yet in playing Mrs. Cratchit I revel in the joy of playing a character who serves as a beacon of goodness, love, kindness and hope.

The Cratchits are poor but they are rich in spirit. Their son is crippled but they are inclusive. Their house is small but their hearts are huge.

On stage as Mrs. Cratchit I feel the audience's affection for this iconic family. I sense that the Cratchits inspire people to be as loving and as content with the gifts in their own lives. They remind people that there is a difference between wants and needs.

Mrs. Cratchit reminds me that when in peril I must choose love, joy, humility, thanks. For me, She has illuminated the meaning of abundance.

As a kid, I wanted my family to be like the Brady Bunch because they seemed so perfect and very little ever went wrong.

Now, the Cratchits have set the bar.

God bless us everyone.

And Happy Thanksgiving.