Playwright Juliette Fairley on ‘Making a Mulatto’

By admin
Jan 20, 2010
3:13 pm

ctress and Playwright Juliette Fairley introduces her one woman show “The Making of a Mulatto.” The play offers an intense look into the life of a biracial woman growing up with a French mother and African American father.

How was life grouping up in a biracial household?

I grew up in the 70’s in Texas, it was very tumultuous then, I think that the segregation had just started to settle in and it was not going away. There weren’t many people that look like me, so it was definitely challenging. Christian Johnson

How long have you been acting and writing plays?

Nearly ten years, I started out just doing plays and being in other peoples plays. I really started to taking acting seriously after I hosted a T.V show for the discovery channel. I got into a really good class with Wynn Hammond. He’s a specialist in one man, one woman shows. That support helped me to put it all together and throw it out there to the public.

What are some inspirations that help you to continue writing and acting in plays?

Well I guess people like Denzel, Halle Berry, and Spike Lee and Angela Bassett these people that were sort of on the frontier, they were the first ones that really had the faith and the confidence to pursue Hollywood.

What does the play mean to you?

This play is therapy for me because I really never made sense of it [racism], so the play for me is a way to exercise it, get it out of my system, and throw it out there to other people and let them help me deal with it.

Actress and playwright Juliette Fairley recently introduced her one-woman show The Making of a Mulatto at the Roy Arias Theatre Center in New York City. The play provides an in-depth look at the life and trials of a biracial woman growing up during segregation. Fairley plays eight characters. –christian johnson

How was life growing up in a biracial household?
I grew up in the ’70s in Texas, and it was very tumultuous then. I think segregation had just started to settle in and it was not going away. There weren’t many people that looked like me, so it was definitely challenging.
How long have you been acting and writing plays?
Nearly 10 years. I started out just doing plays and being in other people’s plays. I really started taking acting seriously after I hosted a TV show for the Discovery Channel. I got into a really good class with Wynn Hammond, he’s a specialist in one-man, one-woman shows. That support helped me to put it all together and throw it out there to the public.
Who inspired you to act?
Well, I guess people like Denzel [Washington], Halle Berry, Spike Lee and Angela Bassett. These are people that were sort of on the frontier. They were the first ones that really had the faith and the confidence to pursue Hollywood.
What does the play mean to you?
This play is therapy for me because I really never made sense of [racism]. The play for me is a way to exorcise it, get it out of my system and throw it out there to other people and let them help me deal with it.