Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cris Blak. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Cris, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
I think the first step is realizing that just because you’re the only one in the room doesn’t mean you’re the least worthy in the room. In fact, it means the opposite. It means you have more value, it means your voice and perspective has more power because guess what? Nobody in that room has seen the world through the eyes you own, no one else in the room knows the culture, experiences, and viewpoints that live in your soul. That’s a big deal. Sure, it may often feel like your voice is undervalued and that you’re not looked at on the same level but that’s when it becomes up to you to turn that table and show that not only are you supposed to be there, but show that the more like you that are in that room, the stronger that room will be. You know? I tend to be successful and effective in those spaces by learning to own who I am fully and unapologetically. At the end of the day, people are gonna look at you funny and judge you anyway. So why not walk into the room with all your spirit showing? It’s better than putting on a mask and having to pretend to be comfortable with it.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am mostly a playwright, which means that not a lot of people know what it is I do. My job is sitting down with my laptop and writing stage plays, allowing characters to raise their hands and tell their stories. Most of my work, if not all of it, focuses on some kind of social issue or topic that I feel like doesn’t get talked about enough, or at least doesn’t get talked about enough in an authentic manner. Just because you have Black people on stage doesn’t mean the story is reflecting reality and honest experiences. I try to undo that and right the wrongs in my projects. I also like to focus on those who don’t get their story told, those who are truly underrepresented and overlooked. And this goes beyond race. Sure, that’s a part of it, but you’ve gotta look deeper too. It’s not just race, it’s gender, sexuality, religion. It’s focusing on those struggling with addiction, those trying to pay the rent and the bills, those trying to make it despite all the obstacles in their way, those trying to find redemption, those trying to fight to be seen for more than what they are. Those are the stories that excite me – – the ones about people living “on the margins,” because those are the people I was raised around, those were my examples of the American Dream, those are the voices that I think are important. So those are the voices and stories I prioritize.
And that’s what’s most exciting. I have the ability to tell these stories and bring them to an audience who might otherwise reject them because it isn’t flashy or fancy or what they may be used to seeing in theatre, especially the American theatre, so I kind of get to bust down those doors and control my own narratives. For me, it’s a dream job, because I get to fall in love on a daily, every time I sit down and start writing a new show.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Consistency is at the top of that list. You get nowhere sitting and waiting, at least not if you’ve lived the kind of life I have. I didn’t have any connections coming into this business. No one to lend me a hand. No agent, no manager, no industry friends, no producers in my back pocket. I wasn’t a theatre kid. I’ve never taken a playwriting class. I didn’t major in it. The only theatre class I took in college was a beginner’s acting class my senior year, and that was just for an easy credit. So when I sat down and started writing, I had to hold myself accountable and keep at it, because no. one was going to notice me otherwise. This is why i said I wrote my way out, because I sat down and with the strength of my drive and passion alone, got to places that still surprise me. I guess the other two qualities would be determination and relentlessness, because those are necessary to have in your back pocket. Again, I don’t come from the theatre, so the people I look up to are athletes and musicians, who really had to fight and push and hustle and practice and prove people wrong to get where they are. Those are the arts of the underdogs, and that’s how I see myself. So I guess my advice to people just started is to expect nothing, but chase everything; stay true to yourself and remember that what you have to say and who you are is important and worthy.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
There’s a book by the film director Robert Rodriguez called “Rebel Without a Crew.” I first read it in high school and I’ve read it at least three times since, including earlier this year. The whole book is just the journal he kept when making his first movie that only cost $7,000, money he made working and selling his body to science. He made it on this shoestring budget hoping to simply sell it to the Spanish home video market, but then Hollywood caught wind of it and next thing you know he’s signing major deals, making hundreds of thousands of dollars, being flown out and wined and dined. His life changes at the snap of a finger. I think the most valuable nugget from that is that nothing is forever – – the situation you’re in now is not the situation you’ll be in tomorrow. Everything can get so much better, or so much worse, and you have to be able to tackle both with the same kind of resilience and push through. And expect the unexpected. You can’t think something is gonna be a success, because it may be a flop. And you may set out to do something small and, in your mind, unimportant, and it may make you a million dollars. You never know. So keep at it and don’t give up or give in, because you never know when it’s gonna happen for you. That’s how I have to think, or else it would be much easier to throw everything away when the calls stop coming.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://criseliblak.wixsite.com/my-site
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criseliblak/
