Community News
Actress from the play Impressionism talks about love, life, and family
BY SALINA McCALLUM
The Broadway play, Impressionism, closes out Alumnae Theatre’s Impressive “The Art of Living” 101st season, which looked at shows grappling with the intersection of art’s ideal and life’s realities.
Sistah Lois plays the role of two male characters in the play, which premiered in Toronto on April 12th and closed its curtains for the final time on April 27th.
The play is directed by Nicole Arends who has been directing plays for more than 25 years. It was produced by Mary Barnes Amoroso, Arlene Stanley, and Kristine Greenaway.
Impressionism was written by award-winning writer, Michael Jacob. The story follows colleagues Katharine, gallery owner, and Thomas, photojournalist, as they revisit painful memories. As they tease each other and argue, they come to realize that if they can step away from the current canvas of their lives, they may have a brighter future.
After 16 years of being off stage, Sistah Lois plays an African fisherman, Chiambuane and a Swedish man named Mr.Linder. She says that both characters are full of love.
“Playing both of those roles, they may be male, but they had very matriarchal energy simply in that they were all about omni-loving energy,” said Sistah.
In order to prepare for her part as Chiambunae and Mr.Linder, she asked a drag queen to train her. She says preparing for the part made her have compassion for members of the transgender community.
“It hurt. It hurts to bind my body and to put on extra weight on my shoulders to be a man. It hurts to lead with your hip if that’s not who you are. It made me have respect for the people who transform their body for art, and so much humility and love for all the young women I knew who became men, or the young men I knew who became women,” said Sistah Lois. “It made me have so much respect and sympathy.”
The experience of playing the role of two men has made the actress appreciate her womanhood.
“It helped me grow as a woman. Being a man has made me more of a girl!” Said Sistah Lois.
Sistah Lois started acting at the age of 2 in her home country of Trinidad.
“I’m having fun. People will come to me and say you seem to have so much joy on your face when you’re doing this Sistah,” said Sistah Lois.
Machinist and heavy-duty diesel equipment mechanic by day, but singer and songwriter by night, Sistah Lois says she took her pain and turned it into art.
“Many times in my life, mannerism has been necessary to protect me from violent situations. It’s interesting and actually brings a lot of pleasure to be able to take something that I learned and developed in fear and pain to avoid violence to use now as a storytelling mechanism to share the joy and to share pleasure,” said Sistah Lois. “Every song I sing is about taking the pain and turning it around.”
The Alumnae Theatre Company is run by an all-female board of directors and is dedicated to the production of adventurous, high-quality theatre not readily seen elsewhere. They also work towards the promotion and skill development of women in theatre.
“We’re all in a group where everybody’s here because we all really want to tell a good story, and we’re having fun doing that,” said Sistah Lois.
Sistah Lois has worked with Adam Sandler and Whoopie Goldberg, but she did not study acting at a theatre school. Instead, she credits her family for her talents.
“When they asked me where I trained, I said at my mother’s and grandmother’s sides because living in poverty and feeding large families, I went to market with them and I learned as a child how to go from adamant to effervescent in a blink of an eye,” said Sistah Lois.
The actress says something the audience can take away from this love story is that it is never too late.
“Life and love, it’s never too late for those things, if you open yourself up for change. It is never too late to live a life with love and affection,” said Sistah Lois.