HORROR FILMS.
I’m weird. I like them but I don’t like the anxiety they put me through. The anticipation of the scary moment is more torturous than the scary moment itself. The “Halloween” music frightened me as a child. The fact that people always split up frustrated me. Every time I would wonder to myself, “Why Sway!?!?” In real life whenever I am in less than ideal situations I always cling to people. If I am with strangers we become fast friends right away. Why couldn’t they do the same?

One of the stipulations that I have when watching horror films by myself is that it has to be during the daytime with all the lights in the room on. I don’t want to set the mood. That’s the only way I was able to watch “The Ring.” (That little girl was not going to get me).

I have a special place in my heart for comedic horror films like The Leprechaun series. That little man tickles my funny bone. Particularly  “Leprechaun in the Hood” I would have to say that movie is sheer genius. Another that I loved growing up was Stephen Kings “IT.” As a child I had to get out of the bathtub before all the water drained. The movie messed with my mind a tad bit. A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of filming a trailer with the director of “IT” Tommy Lee Wallace. I never imagined myself in a horror film, but it was a super fun experience to play in that world. The story is about the ghost of a racist sheriff who haunts a University through a rediscovered mask. Ooohh and I may or may not get my head chopped off. Below is the trailer.

LIGHT OF THE WORLD
A truly beautiful memoir by Elizabeth Alexander. The book details not only the death of her husband but the Love and the life the two shared and created. I turned the pages smiling and crying simultaneously. And not just a teardrop or two, it was a full on ugly cry while saying to myself “This is so beautiful.” The book is so rich and full that it touches the soul. As a poetess Alexander was able to speak to the artist sensibilities as well. One of the many takeaways from the book is the following: “Yet I feed on memory, need it to make poems, the art is made of the stuff I have: my life and the world around me.”

As an actor art is made of our experiences either real or imagined. In the passage Alexander was referring to her holding onto the memory of her husband Ficre while continuing to live her life.

In the context of art this quote speaks to me as an actor. My art is made of my experiences either real or imagined. My art “is made of the stuff I have.” I pour myself into my art. The work that is birthed is a piece, a representation of me. Through my art I am able to speak human experiences. Really good art requires a person to dig into themselves and discover the world around them. Great art, in my opinion, is not superficial. To the contrary it speaks to the soul.

And with “The Light of the World” Alexander used her art to speak to the human spirit.

So much goodness in this book. The beauty of love. The richness of life. I am grateful to Alexander for so vulnerable and open to share her human experience to create a beautiful piece of art that honors the legacy of her late husband.