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Ursuline Kairson interprets Poet Maya Angelou, poet nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, in the play Maya, a voice, or Maya, a voice. The life of the American icon is still relatively unknown in France, which Kairson would like to see changed.
"I was very nervous and anxious to do justice to the role," Ursuline Kairson said of Maya Angelou.
"She is an icon, however, I have been honored," said the American singer and actress based in Paris for over 20 years.
Kairson directs a female cast in the room Maya, a voice or Maya, a voice directed by the South African director Eric Bouvron.
The project was born after a series of workshops and determination from Kairson. "I did it all, I sang a song, read a poem, talked and talked and talked about it, because I wanted to be caught. "
Her consistency paid off and she finally attracted the attention of Eric Bouvron, joining four other women from different cultural backgrounds.
"It's a woman's story," says Kairson, and the women tell it entirely. "It's Eric Bouvron who decided," she adds, noting that some audience members were surprised to see women playing the role of men.
Seeing the gender misses the point. The story is full of themes on the resilience and empowerment of women, in a play that embraces the activism that Maya Angelou so dearly loved.
Always up to date
"We can be mentors in our own way, and empower and support other women in their quest for identity," said Kairson, referring to a chance encounter between Maya Angelou and a woman who introduced her to the world. of literature and poetry.
It is thanks to this "fortuitous" encounter that Angelou regained his voice after losing it due to the trauma suffered by the rape.
"She lost her voice for 5 years because of a lawsuit and this man was finally released from prison and he was killed.And she thought that the fact that she was talking about it was kill, "says Kairson.
Angelou channeled his tragic experience into art to produce iconic texts such as I know why a caged bird sings, or I'm still studying.
His message of resilience is still topical, Kairson believes, though regretting that it remains unknown in France.
"She deserves to be known here because she's an extraordinary woman." From where she started, it was not written that she would become what she had become . "
Not only was she a writer, poet, playwright, but Angelou also played in shows and produced her first album. Calypso in 1957, which then inspired the film Calyspo heat wave. Angelou also worked as an activist alongside Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
Digging deeply
In 2010, Angelou received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former US President Barack Obama for his role in the civil rights movement and his literary works.
"Self-esteem is very important," says Kairson. "She did not let this tragic event determine who she would become."
It's a lesson that others can follow, says the actress.
"We all have small gold mines in us, we do not have one thing, we have a lot of things … (…) Explore, find out who's there and what's in there "she said.
The game Maya, a voice or Maya, a voice ends Saturday, July 27 at 9:30 pm at the Essaion theater in Paris
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