Meet Sarahjeen François | Performer & Playwright

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarahjeen François and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarahjeen, how does your business help the community?
I was just watching JR (the French street artist) do a Ted Talk from 2011, and as he was describing the scope of his artistic practice, he posed this question: “Could art change the world?” It is serendipitous, really, to have revisited his remarks prior to seeing this question. My first encounter with JR’s talk (titled: Use Art To Turn The World Inside Out) was in 2018– I was in my second year of graduate school at CalArts and was TA-ing a class called Survey of World Theater: Arts & Activism– the talk was in the curriculum, and I could see why. Honestly, the notion of arts and activism had never occurred to me. I knew you could be an artist, I knew you could be an activist, I even knew you could be both. But, I had no concept of what wonders could emerge when the worlds of artistry and activism collided. Needless to say, I learned a lot from that class and had found a new purpose for my practice– Artivism. I create from a place of clear intention to lift the voices of marginalized and disenfranchised peoples, especially women of color. With that being said, my mission is to give back to these communities doubly. First, by collaborating with them on putting their stories out on a public platform– making sure that they know they have agency over both how their stories are being told and how they are being depicted in said stories. Second, by taking an active approach in helping these communities find resources and support through raising awareness, advocacy, fund raising, and making donations to charitable and nonprofit organizations that provide solutions that directly benefit the communities I work with.
I have an ongoing project that I have been working on called Casualties of War, which is a play I wrote that places the stories of survivors (of sexual assault) in a fantastically feminine world of divine beings– I made them goddesses. Casualties of War premiered as a participant in the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival, where it, and, I began our “Artivist” experience. To begin the process, I invited a group of women from varying backgrounds, ethnicities, and walks of life to collaborate on workshopping the play to discuss what themes we felt were important to share with our audiences and how we would present those in production. Next came the grant writing– finding funding to put the show up and secure the proverbial “platform” for which these stories would be told. Here is where I was able to reach out to philanthropic organizations and apply my advocacy and fundraising methods. Finally, the production– the production is an integral piece of this process, as you can imagine, because here is where the worlds of art and activism collide. Here is where these community-based collaborators have the opportunity to tell their stories in a safe and expressive manner with abandon. Here is where the audience can learn and be moved. Here is where the proceeds from my box office get collected and donated to charitable and nonprofit organizations such as the “me too.” Movement. Here is where I saw– and my collaborators saw– that art could, in fact, changed the world. It is my wish to continue making these kinds of changes.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a performer and playwright. My work is an exploration of the Afro-mythic– stories of divine beings (of African descent) who disrupt the liminal spaces born out of European colonization– and seeks to participate in the rich, cultural story-telling practices derived from traditional and contemporary West African ideologies. In addition to the Afro-mythic, my work explores themes of female identity and the way women– especially women of color– have occupied space through history as they’ve faced marginalization, the patriarchy, and constant racial/gender-based attacks. Getting to this place in my practice has been… a journey. One complete with highs and lows, small victories, big failures, moments of great pride, as well as sentiments of inadequacy– but mostly this journey has been composed of revelations. It hasn’t always been easy, but one of the greatests lessons I’ve learned along the way is the importance of adaptability. The world around us is ever-changing therefore we as human beings are ever-changing; our priorities, interests, perspectives, etc… With that being said, the more I have learned… the more I’ve lifted the veil that goes by the pseudonym, “social construct”, the more my work has grown and evolved– adapted– the more I have found purpose in the worlds I create.
Something I want the world to know about me and my practice is that I am here to switch up the narrative surrounding black culture. That I am here to tell the stories hidden from us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m still feeling new to LA, so I don’t know that I could plan an entire week of fun, but I’ll try my best to lay out a fantastic weekend. Alright, so– the best weekend ever. Here’s where I’d start: Friday you arrive in LA, the first thing you’ll want to do, of course, is go to the beach– but not before you eat– so the best thing to do is head over to Paradise Cove Beach Cafe in Malibu, catch a late lunch/early dinner (I recommend the Old Fashioned Fish & Chips), and after you’ve eaten entirely too much, you can slide your shoes off right at the table and go for a long majestic walk on the beach, or chill for hours in their beachside lounge area while sipping on a Boba rum drink.
Saturday mornings are perfect for an early hike at O’Melveny Park in Granada Hills. This hike is a BEAST! About three miles to the top and another three back down, it is extremely steep, and it’s the perfect challenge to test your strength and stamina. After your hike, go home, shower, take a quick nap, wake up, get cute, and head out to Il Capriccio on N. Vermont Ave and enjoy delicious Italian cuisine in a quaint little restaurant with good wine and even better friends.
Alright, we’re in the final stretch and I have definitely saved the best for last. Sunday morning? Sleep in. Rest, because Saturday will leave you feeling bone-tired. But come Sunday night it’s time to put on your sweetest cocktail attire and make the trip to Vibrato Grill and Jazz for a night of ambience, perfectly plated meals, and live music sure to sweep you into another world– you have to have the crabcakes.
There you have it. My perfect LA weekend.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve had a lot of mentors along my artistic journey, all whom have had a hand in my growth, so I’d like to start off by giving a huge shoutout to all of my theater and dance families at New York Film Academy, Clayton State University, GDA, Horizon Theatre Co., Broadway Performing Arts Center, CalArts, and Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum– you are the GIANTS whose shoulders I stand upon. Thank you, from the entirety of my heart. When it comes to the intricate details of my practice, there are two mentors in particular who I want to give special shoutouts to. First, I would like to thank Marissa Chibás for unveiling my mythic imagination– it is because of my time with you that I have been able to breathe uniquely divine life into my work. She played (and continues to play,) an intrinsic role in demystifying the conventional notions and practices of theatre and showed me how to invite the mythic through Duende. My time with her is when I really had the opportunity to explore how the dichotomies between shadow and light, magical and mundane, all have a way of manifesting themselves boldly and with abandon.
Learning from Marissa has transformed my ability to create worlds and myths across the spectrum of my artistic practices — She is my Mythic Mother.
Second I would like to thank Sulley Imoro– for helping me find the bridge that connects my Haitian culture back to the Mother Continent and for your unwavering generosity in sharing your traditions, wisdoms, and histories with me. I am honored to have shared the dance floor with you and to have learned from you. Sulley is the director and founder of the Mbangba Cultural Troupe of Ashemie, the Degara Bewaa Culture group of Tamale, and was the visiting African Dance and Drumming instructor at CalArts. I consider Sulley to be a griot of sorts because of the way he expands the concepts of the traditional dances he teaches through storytelling practices and songs that resonate with the spirit on a level I’ve never experienced. It is during my time learning with Sulley that I found the griot within myself who would continue the tradition of passing along my cultural knowledge to future generations to come.
This probably goes without saying but it would be extremely remiss of me if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity so… BIG SHOUTOUT to MY FAMILY! Wow, your unqualified support has carried me through my journey and I don’t know who I’d be without your love. I hope to make you proud and I continue to work toward that in every breath I take.

Website: www.SarahjeenFrancois.com

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

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjeen-françois-4b41541aa