Micia Mosely’s hilarious “Where My Girls At?” may be coming to a state near you. Mosely is taking this one-woman act on the road and will be touring the East Coast before setting her sights on the international realm. Luckily, CURVE had a chance to chat with the sexy Sybil-type actor before she packed her bags.


What inspired “Where My Girls At?”
The show originated as part of the Jon Sims Center for Performing Arts, artists in residence program…. The theater has since closed and, as a result, the program doesn’t exist anymore….We brought it back to that space and had some extended shows because people really enjoyed it.

Has the reception changed based on the location of the performance?
The reception’s been so great, so overwhelming, that the Jon Sims’ shows all sold out and, you know, we just wanted to not have to turn people away so we went to a bigger theater where we knew more people could fit.

Are you originally from the Bay Area?
No, I’m originally from Brooklyn, New York. And I moved to the Bay in ’95…. I think moving to the Bay from someplace else is actually what helped me really be able to identify the characters because, you know, when you move, you can really see things that people who are native to the particular place aren’t able to see because it feels normal to them. And for me, I’m kind of like, you don’t find this strange? [Laughs].

Would you describe yourself as an out lesbian comedian?
Oh, absolutely. My mother sometimes teases me and says that I don’t call enough so she has to Google me to find out what I’m doing. So, you know… she’s like, you know, ‘you can never go back in the closet.’ [Laughs].… For me, I came out my Senior year of high school and I was fortunate enough to go to college and really have my young adulthood in the ‘90s, which some people dubbed the gay ‘90s. You know there was the Melissa Etheridge time period of her coming out…the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell stuff, and gays in the military. So there’s so many ways that I’ve been able to engage with what it means to be out prior to my career in comedy really bubbling up. It helped me be prepared and kind of like, This is who I am. Period.


Can you talk about the concept behind the show.
The premise is that there are auditions being held for Black Beauty: America’s Next Top Negress, which is a reality television show where ten black women will live in a house together for 30 days. And the show features four finalists who are vying for one spot in the house. And then there’s a fifth character who’s kind of the host…. I knew I wanted to do something where I would be able to share four or five characters that I’ve just come to know, living in the Bay Area. And when I was trying to figure out what was the best way for them to be linked…and there was just so many reality television shows on and, I have to admit, I watched Survivor. So I’m just going to come out of the closet about that…And, you know, the gay guy won but then he didn’t pay taxes and it was all bad. You know, I think that I just got tired of people not being creative and acting. As an actress, I’m looking and I’m thinking to myself, how are actors eating when every Joe Schmo is taking up an hour’s worth of television time pretending to live their life?

Did you purposefully make your characters extreme in nature?
I’ve gone back and forth…. Are these what I consider are supposed to be stereotypes, or what? And I think the best way to describe it was kind of [a] archetype. They are definitely extreme and they’re extreme to be able to really get at their uniqueness. Each of them, I try to tell you a little bit about their story and make them a little bit more complex so, as much as Ziggy is kind of like the well-read revolutionary nerdy type of character who may …kind of be connected to a more middle class white culture,…she’s still like, ‘Don’t make me get street on you’…. And part of it with that is recognizing, even though we may walk through the world performing these particular aspects of our personality, there’s always something else underneath there. So, with Sistah, it’s this earth mothery…kind of stuff, but all Sistah’s really talking about is sex…. If you listen to what she’s really talking about, it’s channeling this sexual energy to be able to do stuff. So for me, they’re definitely extreme and…everyone says that they recognize almost if not all of the characters…and what I want them to get is that their friend, who reminds them of Ziggy, or their friend who reminds them of Sistah, also has something else that they may not always show. There’s another part of their story that does exist.

All of the characters sort of win the audience over but Playa won.
Playa won and I have to admit, so far, Playa’s won every time. We’re actually really trying to work on that. We’re in a place where — what can we do? The audience is gonna vote for who they’re gonna vote for…. Part of the reason why we’re trying to always get feedback on the show is so we can figure out why. Why is Playa always winning?...We knew that this time there was a good chance that Playa was going to win because the show was in Oakland.…But Playa’s the only one of the characters whose from the Bay Area. As we get out of the Bay Area -- we’re really, you know, putting plans together to take the show on tour -- once we’re able to do that, I think we’ll actually be able to see a little bit more. And the feedback that we’ve gotten so far, people have really enjoyed Playa…. So some people in Detroit or Chicago or New York, they’ll recognize Playa because they have a Playa of their own. They won’t probably be as attached to her being from the Bay.

Are the characters all facets of your personality or did you pick them up from people that you’ve met and associate with?
Absolutely 100% both. They are all facets of my personality and, for some characters, they’re more rooted in other people. For example, Lady D is my mother. My mother is a Diva, she’s a proud Diva. The sooner that everyone recognizes how fabulous she is, everything will be fine. Now, unfortunately I spent several years not recognizing that [laughs]…. As I got older I said, “Oh you’re just a diva, oh okay I got it now.” I was Ziggy when I first moved here in ’95…People are always like, Which one do you like the most or feel more connected to? And I was like, I used to be Ziggy, so that one is pretty easy for me.…Then Playa…. When I go to the club… Playa was everywhere…. I tell people, I don’t have to make this up. All I have to do is pay attention and capture it in my mind.

Were you one of those youngsters who always made people laugh?
Absolutely. If you go back to my high school year book, I was World Class Comedian and…you gotta laugh sometimes so you don’t cry.… Growing up in Brooklyn in the 80s…for me, a lot of it was a way to try and fit in. I was bussed to predominately white schools and put into situations that I had to figure out how to get through. And a lot of times I depended on making people laugh and cracking jokes to make it comfortable for everyone. And then over time, it’s just part of my personality….When I went to college, I joined an improv comedy troupe, False Advertising. That’s where I would say I got my first kind of formal training in terms of going from being funny in life to what does it mean to actually be able to make people laugh from the stage.


Have you done other stand up and touring?
I’ve done stand up over the years and most of my performance has been out here in different particular theaters. So I started out, when I came out here, it was Luna Sea, and it was a women’s theater in Mission in San Francisco that of course has since closed….I’ve seen way too many theaters closed. For me, the performance opportunities that I’ve had both to do stand up and improv and full length plays, and skits and things like that, has really come more from local theater, smaller local theater where you’re talking anywhere from 80 to maybe 200 seats. The Black Box in Oakland is another example of a theater that is now gone. That’s most of what I’ve been doing in the past like 10 years or so…. I took excerpts of the show on the road to Detroit, Chicago, and New York. And, you know, of course it was all really well-received there, which is great.

Are you interested in pursuing acting in a more commercial field?
I definitely am. I think for me, part of the advantage and disadvantage that I have is, the advantage is that I’m really open and I feel really excited about all of the opportunities that are unfolding right now, particularly with the success of the show. And I’ve seen a lot, I know people who are in the business, I’ve seen my share of all the movies and TV shows about the pitfalls of the business… But part of the flip side of that (and I don’t know if I’d call it a disadvantage) but the flip side is that, you know, I’m not 17 with all of my hopes and dreams riding on whether or not I get that commercial. I want to definitely move into more commercial acting but there’s a certain way that’s important for me to do it. I’m not going to sell stuff that I don’t believe in or find myself in some crazy movie just because somebody says it’s a great opportunity, and then I’m ashamed. You know, I’m proud that my family’s seen everything that I’m in. For most of the time I’ve been out here, I’m a teacher, I’ve been working in schools, and working with teachers and so my students come to the shows and they’re like grown up now.… When I was their history teacher, I was talking to them about the evils of Capitalism, and don’t sell your soul. I can’t have them, you know, see me on TV or in a movie doing something that’s the complete opposite of what I spent years teaching them. So as much as I want to get into more commercial acting, you know, it’s gonna be…there are certain things I’m not willing to compromise and I know that, you know, that may cost me some things but I’m not really worried, I just have to believe that it’s possible, that there are people who live their entire lives in the closet so that I can be an out actress and comedian. And I owe it to them to do it right.

Has anyone told you how important your show was to them, how it was great to have their issues brought to the stage?
Yes. I’ve been very fortunate. I think one of the great things about doing the show in the Bay Area is that, One, I’ve lived here for like 12 years so I know…as much as this is a major international city, speaking of San Francisco, as an area and as a community, it’s pretty small. There are people who have been here for a while so I have folks who I’ve seen over the years who are so excited about the show and really are excited to see themselves on the stage and see themselves in a way that’s honoring. Even with comedy, I want people to get that comedy can make you think. Even in comedy you can have self respect. As much as I’m joking around with these characters,…my goal is never to disrespect them. Because these are actual people and so I get a lot of that feedback that people are really excited because they see themselves and it validates who they are. So I’ve gotten a bunch of emails, particularly these last couple of days and more so, with this particular run, from a lot of people who I don’t know. I’m like, how’d you get my email [laughs]. Just to get a lot of positive feedback, particularly in terms of really documenting our history or really feeling like this is important for folks to know that we exist and so people really feeling touched in that way.

Did you gear the show towards a particular audience?
Not really. I kind of was hoping some black brethren would come, check it out, make sure I got it right. But really, and maybe it’s from being bussed to all white schools and constantly choosing to, when I was younger, explain who I am…I’m used to being able to be me in spaces where people aren’t used to me or people like me. To the extent that I’ve thought about audiences, it was always like the biggest issue was how much Oakland slang to put in knowing that we wanted to go on the road, would the jokes translate if I’m saying, ‘you feel me, hella, hyphy,’ you know. So I’m like, I can’t believe I’m depending on the Hyphy Movement to go National [laughs]…. I had a friend bring her mom and her step dad who are in their sixties and live in a small town in Michigan and they came to, I want to say one of the May shows last year, and they loved it….And then I saw them at her wedding in December and they came up to me and they’re like, ‘We saw your show a few months ago and it was great and you gotta come to Michigan,’ and I’m thinking, here’s a straight white couple in there sixties.... And so that’s when I was kind of like, we might be on to something here. And that’s what I want, I want them to be able to see this piece and recognize that it doesn’t have to be about them to appreciate the story.
What are your future plans for the show?
We want to take the show internationally…. Mexico, Canada and Toronto, we want to go there.... It’s another country for real so now we need to get a passport. I think Canada and Mexico, sometimes people think, that’s just Mexico and Canada and I’m like, Okay, clearly you’ve never been stopped at the border. So we want to go there. Toronto and Canada particularly because their politics are just so interesting, you know, and pretty left of center certainly in comparison to the United States. And Black people in Canada are like a whole different kind of Black people. So I’m very curious, like it’s not, Caribbean black folks or South American black folks or European. Canadian black folks, it’s real interesting so I’m particularly curious to see to the extent that folks would engage with it there and what that would be like. And in terms of queer issues, Canada’s just like, they’ve got their domestic partner stuff, like they’re some things that they’re like, why is this an issue?... I think you should be able to go to different places where gay and lesbian issues operate differently in the culture. I’m curious about that. And we were talking about South Africa because of the…marriage law, because — I remember when apartheid was ended...that’s happened within my lifetime and so I’m curious to see what a show about black lesbians would be like in a place like that.…We were talking about London. Right now, I don’t speak any other languages besides English so we’re really like, ‘Hey, where are places around the world where….’ Again, really trying to get people — because we feel like a lot of these characters, while they are rooted in the Bay, these are pretty typical characters of black lesbians in the United States and I think, um, right now we’re trying to get the national tour kicked off so that we can see how people are relating. And part of the beauty of the show is the question and answer period. For me it’s my favorite part.

The Question and Answer period of the show is real?
A lot of people think that they are [planted] and I’m like, I have to take it as a compliment to think that I memorized whatever response I came up with. And I’m also like, I want people to get — you get to ask questions. Sometimes it’s a little slow-going, right? And people are a little bit nervous, but one of the things I thought was, that’s when you get to see how different the audiences are and I think, as we’re able to bring more of the show outside of the Bay Area, I’m curious as to what are some of the questions people are going to ask. We really want to go to Atlanta because we think that would be a great place for the show and, you know people are closeted in the South. I mean there is a thriving black lesbian community but I don’t know that they would, like, talk to each other, at least during the day. And that was my experience, you know, when I was there in the early 2000s but, you know, just really wanting to see more people come to the show who weren’t black lesbians. And both shows this past weekend, we certainly had our fair amount of black lesbians and we certainly had a lot of people who didn’t fit into either of those categories.

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