1. The Women’s March D.C.
I walked alongside my dope af (white) gf’s+sis. I was filled with pride and love. #intersectionalfeminism only plz + discovered flaming Cheetos during road trip
2. I prayed with Julia Walsh, Miles G Jackson, Mark Ruffalo + others in a small tent in front of Trump tower on the Eve of 45’s inauguration. We sang #ThisLandIsYourLand alongside thousands incl. Michael Moore, Reverend Al Sharpton, Cher, Shailene Woodly, Rosie Perez, and Alec Baldwin.
3. I traveled abroad despite total heartbreak ‘n actin like I had dollars to spend. Idk what I was thinking, but it changed my life. Berlin. Prague. Vienna. ️ Details to be released in memoir*.
*I’ve started to write my memoir
4. I asked for help. Not an easy thing to do when your friends are badass womyn who work so hard (and are killing it, btw) to make their own dreams a reality, let alone make time to help ME survive. But they did. No questions asked.
5. I wrote. A few summers ago while workshopping a play at the Kenyon College Playwrights conference, a young cis white man told me in a feedback sesh that he didn’t feel “my use of CAPITALIZATION and italics were necessary and to “give the reader the benefit of a doubt” that “they’re smart enough to figure out my intention”. I felt total shame in that room, inadequate. An all-too-familiar experience during my time at Kenyon as one of the very few WOC in the ‘haven’ that is The Hill.
It helped that I got to work on a play by the brilliant Michaela Coel who fed my spirit ten-fold when she performed tons of different vibrant characters as a part of her solo show, Chewing Gum Dreams in the same black box I had spent hours in as a student crafting my stories.
And NOW I have a play in TFTT fest. and I’m so proud of myself for that-and terrified. And now when people ask me what I do, I say I’m an actor and a writer. That feels good. (Keep 🤞🏽 for me on the lifetime of applications to residencies andfellowships!)
So boy bye. imma use ALL the CAPS I WANT
(I STILL LOVE YOU KENYON BUT THAT WAS ROUGH LET'S BE REAL)
6. I said yes
To new friends
and dancing
and dates and
(sometimes) gluten.
#teamwitch mirirai caitlin lena
7. I persevered. At one point (like yesterday ) I was working five different jobs, standing at the turnstile asking for swipes, eating a bagel a day, and when my internet went out and I couldn’t use google docs before a writing deadline (#millenial), I put pen to paper ‘cause that’s what dad would do, DUH.
8. I wrote, produced, and acted in a teaser for Claire and I's series Dear Sister with the help of Robin Cloud and Keith Randolph Smith. That shit is hard, no joke. And it’s just the beginning. It’s full of heart and funny as hell. (Like us on on fb @FortSistersFilm + insta @fortsisters + twitter @fortsistersfilm for updates in the new year.
9. I spent QT with the master of words, my dad (who is healthy). A man so full of heart, it gives me profound faith in humanity. Follow him on insta @brownzorro and FB @CharlesFortPoet
10. I shared space. The LGBTQ POC in my life are GD heroes.
i.e.
* Hye Yun appeared like a sexy fairy shaman godmother, and I never wanna leave her isle of love.
* I felt more safe wearing lingerie in Times Square while laying on the ground with Diana Oh for installation 3/10 of #mylingerieplay than I do walking around in 13 degree weather in my sleeping bag I call a coat. “I def won’t get catcalled cuz I look like a mushroom”, but city streets have a way of surprising you...“damn, you a fine a** piece of Portobello!”