NaturallyCurly: How do you think having curly hair has impacted your life?
Stephanie: Hair has a big hold over us as women. Not feeling cute is a big deal. So finding the right way to take care of this hair is something I have to always think about it, and I work it into my schedule even, what with kids, family, work. So now with The Curly Monologues, hearing other women’s funny stories or painful struggles and seeing the creative ways we all have of living with and glorifying in our curly hair has been so impactful. It makes me wonder if folks with textured haired actually have an extra creative gene or something!
Suzanne: Well, as a woman of both African and European descent, my curly hair is an expression of who I am, literally. It is a symbol of that mix and it often helps create connections with people, strangers who start conversations (sometimes in other languages besides English”> with me or ask me about myself. I guess you could say my curly locks have helped me bridge cultures and communities because this type of hair is globally prevalent. And since I have a deep love of people of all types and stripes, it literally helps me travel between worlds, communities. Also, curly hair is fun, sassy, never boring—a way I HOPE I come across!
NaturallyCurly: What is your goal for the Curly Monologues?
Stephanie: Bring women together across the globe by sharing something we all have in common. Curly /textured hair is present in so many cultures, from Africa to Asia, Mediterranean, Middle East as well as here in the West. The Curly Monologues shows have had a cross-section of participants and audience, presenters of Italian, Puerto Rican, French, and Jewish descent, biracial, African-American and Afro-Caribbean women. The amazing thing is hearing women say “wow, I never knew she had the same issues that I had about my hair. I thought it was only my people that felt that way”, and so on. The Curly Monologues is really a way of connecting women to each other, discovering things in common, and then creating a space for everyone to feel great about being who you are. We want to celebrate each other through a highly creative and entertaining experience.
Suzanne: We have presented two shows so far in New York and they have both been hits, the second one building on the first. We would like to keep expanding it here in New York but also across the country and the globe. We want to create a live event template that invites ALL types of people to hear and share stories and art around the concept of curly, especially as a metaphor for a free way of thinking and being: to naturally express who one is as an individual, curly, straight or whatever.
Jonathan: To expand it both here in NYC and to other geographical locations, to grow it in terms of finding the best manifestation of what is possible (in the style of the storytelling, the format for the productions, etc.”>, so that we can reach the most people and create commercially viable opportunities, as part of the overall Project Curly.
