Meet Lily Abha Cratsley | Playwright & Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lily Abha Cratsley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lily Abha, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Back when I was deciding whether to transfer colleges or not, I asked a mentor a very similar question: How do you decide between fight or flight? I could stay at my school and fight to try to build a better experience for myself and my peers or I could leave in pursuit of something better at a different institution. What he said, and I’ll always remember this, is “the only option is fight and sometimes leaving is the harder fight.” So I suppose my answer to your question is that there is a difference between giving up out of a sense of defeat and giving up as a means to keep going. And so, in my opinion, the only option is to keep going – but sometimes that means giving up. My apologies if this answer is a bit convoluted, but let me clarify how I’ve applied this tenant in my work…

We are often taught in the arts that we should be grateful for and accept any and every opportunity that comes our way. Now I recognize that this can be a necessary means of survival for folks relying on artistic income to make ends meet, so I’d like to clarify I am speaking from the hypothetical where that dilemma isn’t present. In that position of security, rejecting a role or a script commission that doesn’t sit right in my soul (giving up) has been so liberating and productive. It is harder, yes, to seek out other projects more aligned with my values or produce my own work independently, but it is undoubtedly more fulfilling.

My proudest artistic accomplishment yet, my play ABCD, emerged out of this kind of fight. The opportunity to focus my time and attention on that story, from its initial conception in college, was thanks in part to saying no to other possibilities. ABCD was the first play I wrote, and, because of that simple fact, I was told over and over again by mentors to just “write the next thing.” I was told to not be discouraged by the lack of traction it was getting and pursue other opportunities – which was all very well intentioned advice to keep working and improving my craft – but it never sat right with me. I felt deeply that this story was important; that there must be people out there who needed to hear this script in the same way that I had needed to write it. So I kept working on it and submitting it and dedicating my time to ABCD instead. And it paid off. Majorly. ABCD was the first play I wrote, and it was also my first play to have a fully staged workshop production – this past November at the Greenway Court Theatre in Los Angeles, which I executive produced.

I can’t even begin to describe the impact that production had on me as a person and artist, but I can say for certain that it was the right decision to keep going with ABCD. And if that meant “giving up” on other opportunities throughout its development, then I suppose I’m a proud quitter.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When asked to introduce myself, I usually tell people I am a playwright and performer to try to capture the full scope of my creative endeavors. Recently however, even that dual identity has felt too narrow. Ever since ABCD went up at Greenway, my artistic community has been rapidly expanding. I’ve found myself invited into new territories like late night comedy or screenwriting and been quite intrigued by their possibilities. The through line of all the varying new types of work I’m doing, however, remains storytelling broadly. So I suppose I’m best described now as a storyteller.

Storytelling has always been important to me. Perhaps this is because I come from a rich Indian culture with an extensive oral tradition. Or maybe it’s just a natural desire for human connection. What better way to connect person to person than through a story, right? But I also truly believe in the power of storytelling to change lives. I know we often throw that concept around in satire as being lofty and unserious, but I do think social movements need narrative work, and I want to do that work for oppressed communities.

Most of my creative work thus far has been mission-oriented around uplifting my own community–that is, South Asian American women. My two plays ABCD and The Fairy Who Cried Gems both center our experiences navigating intersectional issues of racism, sexism, xenophobia, and more. When people ask me about my writing process, I usually tell them that I don’t start a story until it is begging to come out of me. And with both of these stories, I felt a great scream from memories deep inside me. I stand by the belief that if you write something true to your individual experience it is bound to also speak to the truths of other people. So I hope that by telling my stories and my community’s stories, I can be a part of a greater movement of narrative work fighting all forms of prejudice.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love to put people on to all of the free art around Los Angeles! My top recommendation is definitely the FreePlay program at the Centre Theatre Group where folks under 25 years old can get free tickets to the first few performances of every production (plus $10 in processing fees and $10 in parking if you drive there). LACMA also holds free outdoor jazz concerts every Friday evening from April to November, which is always a good time. General admission is free every day to see contemporary art at The Broad, and every first Thursday of the month is free at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens if you can snag tickets the Thursday before at 9am. I also frequent the Hollywood Bowl for their paid concerts during the summertime, but I just learned you can sometimes catch the LA Philharmonic rehearsing there for free!

And finally, I have to give a shoutout to some of my favorite low-cost performances by Desi creatives in Los Angeles! No Nazar regularly offers a lineup of incredible DJs at local clubs, and South Asian AF!, The Get Brown, and God Save The Queen’s comedy shows will all make your stomach hurt from laughing. Also – stay tuned for upcoming sketch shows featuring How I Met Your Masi, an Indian female comedy duo I may or may not be one half of… and my solo show The Fairy Who Cried Gems at the Madnani Theater for the Hollywood Fringe this June.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
In all the silly versions of an awards acceptance speech I’ve daydreamed, I will never be able to extend enough gratitude to all the people who deserve it. For this shoutout, I’ll try to do justice to the teachers who kept me engaged in the arts throughout my schooling. To do this right, I have to start all the way back in elementary school where Larry Zuaro saw my enthusiasm in the school’s chorus and let me belt out solos. In middle school, my choir teacher Brenda Anne-LeMay poured so much love and dedication into our classes in her very first years of teaching, and Kate Sheridan & Robert Landry challenged me to perform boldly in our all city musicals. Then, I arrived in high school where my relationship to the theater took a drastic shift thanks to Laurie Sales. She pushed me to step beyond my identity as an overeager musical theater kid and learn about acting, lighting design, directing, and devising. And finally, my college theater professors were the ones who got me to take a career in the arts seriously. At Georgetown University, Prof. Derek Goldman insisted that we all had powerful stories inside us that the world needed to hear. At Occidental College, Prof. Will Power showed me how young creatives can build their own careers on their own terms. Without this succession of supportive arts educators in my youth, I likely would not have continued to practice my craft. I don’t think I ever believed I was talented enough or that it was feasible enough to pursue theater outside of school. But whenever those doubts came in my mind, one of these teachers seemed to pick me up and push me forward. I thank them endlessly for keeping me trekking on this path I now know was the right one for me.

Website: https://www.lilyabha.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/labhac

Other:
The Fairy Who Cried Gems at the Hollywood Fringe Festival: www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10449
ABCD on Instagram: www.instagram.com/abcdtheplay
How I Met Your Masi: www.instagram.com/howimetyourmasi

Image Credits
Noah Pavlov, Nick Graves, Rickshaw Film Foundation, Marc Campos, courtesy of Lily Abha Cratsley, Rowan Niles