For Colored Girls...

To this day, the most memorable and life changing performance I've ever had the chance to be a part of was, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. This beautiful piece of art was created by Ntozake Shange in 1975. It's been done by those brave enough to conquer it. There's magic in this piece. Although the material hits you hard, it's so comforting and uplifting at the same time. It speaks to your spirit, and leaves you feeling light and reborn. That is why, it's still one of the most talked about pieces of literature in this country.

After Tabia, the theatre ensemble I was a part of, performed this piece, the cast begged the artistic director to bring it back. "Just one more run...please...it was so good!" But she wouldn't. She was firm and I couldn't understand why. Didn't she think it was magical, that it touched so many people? Weren't people requesting us to do it again? Yes, she felt it, and yes they were. But she knew something that we hadn't stopped to think about. We would never be able to create that type of magic again, and we'd be disappointed and haunted by what we once accomplished. So she wanted to keep the joy of the memory, she wanted us to always remember that feeling, that rush, that power. She wanted us to remember that we took wings, we flew, if only for a little while, on the magic of Ntozake's words.