I Sell Windows will be performed at 4pm in Assembly George Square Studios (Studio Four) from 1st – 25th August (Not 7th, or 13th)
Booking link: https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/540-i-sell-windows
Step into the world of Kacie Rogers; a dynamic force in contemporary theatre, as she details the journey to her new Edinburgh Fringe theatre show ‘I Sell Windows’. From her early days memorising lines as a toddler to discovering her true calling amidst various career daydreams, Kacie’s passion for performance has always been undeniable. Here, she shares the inspiration behind I Sell Windows, the challenges and triumphs of performing solo and the significance of trying to sell windows at a farmers’ market.
Captivating storytelling and a dedication to representing Black femme experience, Kacie tells us about her personal narrative that shapes her artistry, her inspirations and why she’s a badass…
What first drew you to the world of theatre and performance?
I actually performed in my first play before my first memory. I played the role of Hannah Bell-Hanks in an original play entitled Hannah Bell-Hanks when I was about 5 years old. According to my parents, I was the only kid in my preschool class who was able to memorise the lines so I got the lead on the power of that fact alone — but when they saw me actually perform, I lit up. From that point on, acting was always a part of my life. I went through several phases of thinking I wanted to be something else “when I grew up” and acting was just…a part of me. Like my left arm. It’s there and you need it and life would look very different without it — but it’s not what you dedicate your life to. But after cycling through daydreams of careers that were very quickly deemed unfitting (I thought I wanted to be a chemist who made perfumes for a while…then I took my first chemistry class…it’s SO much math!!!), I started to look at acting again and asking myself if this thing that has always been a part of my life could have always been a part of my life…because it’s meant to always be a part of my life. I started allowing myself to dream that it could be a viable career and that I wouldn’t have to try and force myself into some other lane that sounded more “serious”. Ultimately, by the 8th grade, the decision had been made. I was going to be a professional actor.
Performing a solo show can be both terrifying and empowering. What made you decide to write I Sell Windows as a one woman show?
In 2015 I saw a production of Charlayne Woodard’s In Real Life that was one of the best performances I have ever seen in my life to date. The play is a part of a trilogy of one woman shows that Ms. Woodard has written and I’d never seen anything like it — one woman on stage, who looked like me (this was the first time Ms. Woodard had allowed anyone other than herself to perform the play and the inimitable Ebony Marshall-Oliver starred in this production), creating an entire world for an audience with nothing more than a stool. The rest of the world she painted through her instrument with incredible space work, dialect work, song, and dance. I was entranced. I walked out of there saying, ‘someday, when I can do that, I’ll know I’m a real badass.’ – and I put the goal of writing a one woman show on my bucket list. However, as your question astutely points out, writing and performing a solo show is as terrifying as it is empowering which makes it a goal that is easy to push off and continuously say ‘one day’ it’ll happen without any real urgency. Thankfully, I had the blessing of my ‘one day’ coming to me rather than me discovering it. In 2021 I was anonymously nominated for the Shay Fellowship through Free the Arts; a program aimed at cultivating the next generation of theatre professionals by providing the highest standard of training through immersion in the art. I was terrified, but I knew if I didn’t at least apply for the opportunity, I would never forgive myself. I figured, if my ‘one day’ has come, God will make sure I am selected, if not, I won’t get it and that’s okay too.
Well, I got it. So, it was time to step up to the plate and become a badass.
What is the significance of Kacie’s job selling windows at a farmers’ market?
Well — I really did sell windows at a farmers’ market when I initially moved to Los Angeles, haha. So it wasn’t just a convention that was created for the show as much as it was an oddity in my life that I felt HAD to have a larger artistic purpose. My brilliant director, Jaquita Ta’le, worked with me closely through every step of developing I Sell Windows and we spoke a lot about my earlier drafts needing a container. I had collected a lot of powerful stories and revelations draft after draft, but they lacked a common focus, and she kept encouraging me to look for a container that would focus everything. Well, one night I went to bed, and all I can say is that I woke up and said, “WINDOWS!”. Selling windows at a farmers’ market was a seemingly impossible feat…almost as impossible as processing your own feelings of guilt, shame, what lives at the core of who you are as a person when you’re in the midst of grieving a huge loss. But if the character could use one impossible circumstance, the one she’s obligated to tend to because it is her actual job, to process the impossible circumstances of her existential crisis…maybe she can end up speaking life into herself without even actively realizing it – as I feel so many of us often do in life.
What does a typical day of rehearsal and preparation look like for you?
My first bit of preparation starts in the morning with coffee and prayer to get my spirit ready for the day. Then, I ask my body (whose name is Piper, Pipes for short) what she needs, which generally leads to some free flow yoga, stretching, and the occasional solo twerk party — whatever the lady needs! I’ll also often say parts of the show to myself aloud while I stretch… parts that I’m working through or want to hear differently or just remind myself of. Once I’m in the room with my I Sell Windows fam, we always start with a check in where we share what we’re coming into the room with, then there’s a physical warm up where I get into my body (yes, again. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting into my body. This *also* often turns into a solo dance party. What can I say? Pipes loves a good dance.), then I follow the lead of my wonderful director, Jaquita Ta’le!
What impact do you hope I Sell Windows has on the representation of Black femme experiences in theatre?
I think that the onus placed upon Black artists — Black femme artists especially — to have an impact on an entire culture of people is a form of pressure that I actively try to keep out of my work. By fortune or misfortune, because of the politicalisation of the Black Femme body and experience, whatever I create will become political without my having to aim for it. What I hope is that I Sell Windows will be a significant pop of colour in what will become a kaleidoscope of Black Femme stories which are varied and valid and full and provide insight into an array of human experiences. I pray that my story is a small part of several stories that lead to Black Femme artists being recognized as people who are representing people; empathetic, flawed, unique, and absolutely stunning.
What are your aspirations for the future? Personally, and for your company?
The ultimate goal for me is to be a conscious creator with a well-loved circle of influence. I aim to create art that speaks to the time and the people who need it while simultaneously offering those who experience it a chance to feel less alone. I love several mediums of art, so I’d love to see that work span anywhere from graphic novels to a book of poetry to a Broadway stage to the silver screen. Bottle Tree Theatre Company, which I co-founded with Chelsea Boyd and Jaquita Ta’le, is a huge part of that dream as we come together with the common goal of creating work that is rooted in cultural connectivity, eternal history, and reflections of Black joy. More specifically, we’d love to see I Sell Windows developed for television, we will be workshopping a full length play that we are co-writing, remounting a solo work by Jaquita Ta’le that we can’t wait to share with the world, and producing my full length play Oladele or The Forgotten Song. There’s also a book by Toni Morrison that I’m dying to adapt into a play…perhaps you’ll see that soon as well.
Overall, I plan to keep running full speed toward what excites me and trusting that it will catch me when I leap into its arms.
I Sell Windows will be performed at 4pm in Assembly George Square Studios (Studio Four) from 1st – 25th August (Not 7th, or 13th)
Booking link: https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/540-i-sell-windows