In this week's episode of Let Perfect Burn, I sit down with Cloteal L. Horne— an actor, a director and an educator who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. Cloteal's most recent work was in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye at The Huntington Theatre. This production was adapted for stage by Lydia R. Diamond and directed by Awoye Timpo.

Cloteal speaks to her deep-rooted belief that every time she walks into a room, whether it be as an artist or educator, that she has her ancestors, both known and unknown, at her back. She talks about the weight and the wonder of being able to be in a room creating art because of the blood, sweat, tears, joy and liberation strategies of Africans and African Americans. She tells me, “My life is a luxury. It isn’t perfect, but I certainly recognize I would not be where I am without that level of struggle and love. That there were so many acts of love that made me.”

Born the 7th out of 10 children, Cloteal was raised by her grandmother, whom she shares a name. From her grandmother, Cloteal learned there is a power in femininity, that there is sway by standing in her womanliness, that there is power in yielding and strength in a tender ferocity.

Cloteal asks us if her story matters. Cloteal asks us if she can find the spaces where she can sing the song of her mother or the secrets that were whispered in her ears as child. She tells us, “It’s not neutral, my lived experience, and how it shows up in a room.”

Cloteal paints multiple pictures of being a black woman in white spaces, including in the idea of "perfect". “As a black woman, perfect has been a white standard in some ways, as opposed to being who I really am— who I am with my grandmother, my cousins, my siblings, my friends. Feeling like I have to be this performative version of myself to be validated. So, for me, that is the perfect I want to burn.”

Some highlights in this Episode from Cloteal:

" It did make it harder in those rehearsal rooms with predominantly white casts. I had to keep saying, 'Can we examine this production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that is set in the 20's? I am a black woman and what does it mean to uproot this production and put it elsewhere?' So, you know, I fight those battles in a room. It's like, you can't just erase my black body. It's a black body."

" Power is not always maleness. It's, I am going to listen, I am going to attune, I am going to pause, I am going to pray, I am going to wait, I am going to gather."

" Where I'm at is where the party is at. And if it's not where THE party's at, it's where I'm at, and that's gotta be enough."

Don't Miss a Beat.
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Website for Cloteal L. Horne:
https://www.cloteallhorne.com/

Original Music for Let Perfect Burn by Eleri Ward
https://www.instagram.com/eleriward/