Drama Queens, a five-star arts journal focusing on female artists

Carolyn M. Brown Interview Part II by Jen Bush

Storme DeLarverie is a pivotal figure in LGBTQ+ history.  She was a singer, bouncer, MC and bodyguard who graced the stages of The Apollo and Radio City Music Hall.  As a big band singer, she went under the name of Stormy Dale.  Her Stormy Dale persona was a male impersonator of Harlem’s famed Jewel Box Revue which was America’s first racially integrated and gay-owned drag show.  She is known as the “Rose Parks of the Gay Rights Movement”.  In June of 1969, police raided a gay club in Greenwich Village, NYC called The Stonewall Inn.  Storme’s scuffle with the police during that raid was said to have ignited the Stonewall uprising.  Hers is a fascinating and important story to tell, and her legacy was honored by Carolyn M. Brown.

We had the wonderful opportunity to have an in- depth and insightful discussion with playwright and director Carolyn M. Brown who was incredibly generous with her information and time.  In Part II of our interview, we get a more personal glimpse into the passionate and talented artist herself as well as her vision for the show.

About Carolyn M. Brown

Carolyn M. Brown (she/her) is an award-winning journalist, magazine editor, non-fiction author, playwright, producer, and principal of True Colors Project LLC, a social enterprise that produces works by underrepresented artists. Brown’s career spans decades developing content via a portfolio of media platforms—print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Publication credits include Forbes, Inc., Essence, Diversity Woman, The Source, and Black Enterprise. She received the 2012 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Magazine Article, “Black & Gay In Corporate America” (BLACK ENTERPRISE) and is a 2013 GLAAD Media Award Nominee for Outstanding Magazine Article, “Why Gay & Lesbian Couples Pay More” (BLACK ENTERPRISE). She was one of the youngest playwrights to have a staged reading at the Schomburg Center in New York with her play Accessories. She was a Co-Founder of All In Black And White Productions LLC, a theatrical company with Equity Showcases and Off-Off Broadway productions performed from 2006-2011, including her marriage equality play The Engagement which enjoyed a six-week run. Brown alsoco-founded My True Colors Festival: Fighting For Social Justice and Cultural Diversity Through The Arts. She currently serves as vice president of All Out Arts/Fresh Fruit Festival, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting homophobia and prejudice through the arts. Brown is the co-author of CLIMB: Taking Every Step With Conviction, Courage And Calculated Risk To Achieve A Thriving Career And A Successful Life. She has penned two other books: The Millionaire’s Club and Nobody’s Business But Your Own. She also served as an ambassador for the “Many Faces One Dream” LGBT+ economic empowerment tour hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the National Black Justice Coalition, and the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Being a female gay black artist working in the arts comes with its own unique challenges.  Ms. Brown has done her research.  The empirical data favors white male playwrights.  As a result, Ms. Brown needed to be proactive in her approach to succeeding in the arts.  She doesn’t sit around and wait for things to happen.  This visionary makes things happen on her own terms.

“As someone living at the intersection of race, sexual orientation, and gender, I have had to create safe spaces where I can express my authentic self. Facing the odds as a Black, Female and Queer artist, I became a self-producing playwright in order to give myself opportunities to grow as a writer and to give life to my work on stage. Studies show that BIPOC women playwrights are not afforded the same opportunities as white men and their white female counterparts. The AAPAC’s “Visibility Report” revealed 80.5% of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows’ writers are white and just 19.5% are BIPOC. The Dramatist Guild of America Count 2.0 report revealed that over 55% of white men see their work make it to production across the U.S. compared to 21% for white women, 8% for men of color, and 6% for women of color. And those who identified as American Trans or Non-Binary were a mere 0.3%. The Count studies whose plays get produced on American stages, whose get revived, whose get a shot at entering the canon—and whose don’t. The Count looks at gender, race, and nationality of the creators of plays and musicals. Although, the American theater has continued to add to the diversity of its playwrights, neither gender nor racial parity has yet been achieved in terms of production, according to the latest Count 3.0 report. Anecdotally, it appears that women over the age of 50, especially BIPOC women, who led the push for the diversity the U.S. now enjoys, do not appear to have directly benefitted.”

“I am committed to changing the narrative around why so few works by BIPOC playwrights make it from script to stage. Part of the challenge is combatting the generalization from producers and investors that Black content is not commercial, more specifically plays, and that they don’t make money or recoup. BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people want to see shows that reflect their interests or cultures. But it all depends on how they’re being engaged and marketed to which plays a key role.”

“Compounding matters for me as a Queer artist is that LGBTQ+ people have a target on their back from the conversative right and religious leaders who use selective outrage when it comes to morality and treating LGBTQ+ people as sacrificial lambs for the sins of the world. The moral outrage around books with LGBTQ+ content has been construed as pornographic, even when that content is not sexual whatsoever. While news reports reveal that schools have been at the epicenter of the current surge in book bans, public libraries and public broadcasting stations are increasingly in the crosshairs. Local governments are being empowered to dictate what books and programs all citizens can freely access”. 

“This requires that I must remain vigilant against hypocrisy and injustice. It requires that I be brave and fearless in my willingness to tell stories about the lives of LGBTQ+ people of color. In giving voice to marginalized communities, I face the threat of being silenced professionally as a writer in America.”

STORME is a powerful piece of theater steeped in history.  People will be entertained, moved, touched, outraged, encouraged and will experience a myriad of other emotions and reactions.  Perhaps this will spark some much-needed conversations that will eventually enact positive change.

“Artists have the power to express the emotions, experiences, and struggles of a community in a way that is often more powerful than words alone. By capturing the political landscape through their art, artists can create a sense of empathy and understanding, helping to bridge divides and bring people together. In addition, artists have the ability to inspire and mobilize audiences, using their work to call attention to injustices and spark action towards positive change. That is my hope with STORMÉ.” 

“STORMÉ is a poignant and timely exploration of queer history, resistance, and the power of storytelling to inspire change. By sharing herstory, I want to honor the struggles and sacrifices of those who came before us and inspire a new generation to continue the “good fight.”

“The harsh reality is that gender-nonconforming and transgender women of color continue to face staggeringly high levels of fatal violence. The rising murders of TGNC people is a stark reminder that while the queer rights movement has made significant progress, there is still much work to be done to ensure that TGNC people, especially those who are BIPOC, can live safely and with dignity.”

“By supporting this musical play about Stormé DeLarverie, patrons are not just supporting the arts, they are supporting the preservation of our stories and the affirmation of our collective humanity. Together, we can ensure that these stories are never erased again. When we preserve our stories, we preserve ourselves.”

STORME is about to rain down on the New York theater community!  “Negotiations are underway for another stage reading or special presentation in New York, possibly at WOW Café Theater, a collective of women and TGNC artists, or the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, which is a home for LGBTQIA+ artists, scholars, activities, and allies. These special showings of STORMÉ are meant to set the stage for a major New York limited run at a local theater (Off-Off Broadway or Off-Broadway at a nonprofit theater like Playwrights Horizons) next year in conjunction with the 55th anniversary of Stonewall.” 

This concludes our two-part interview with this amazing artist who aims to uncover historical truths, spark positive conversations, advocate for underrepresented populations and introduce the world to a unique, talented and brave individual who stood up for herself and others solidifying her place in history.  Carolyn M. Brown is a fearlessly powerful artist who is blazing her own trail to success.  Given her openness and generosity, this interview process was smooth as silk.  Speaking of silk, we leave you with a fun fact about Carolyn M. Brown.

 I was born and raised in Paterson, NJ—native land of the Leni Lenape indigenous people—which Founding Father Alexander Hamilton established as a major American industrial city that was nicknamed the “Silk City,” for its silk production.

You won’t be needing an umbrella for this STORME!

Staged Reading of STORME

5/19/23 @ 7pm

34 Marin Blvd.

Jersey City, NJ 07302

Ticket includes 1 free drink.  Post show cocktail hour.