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Speaker 1: Welcome to Monita, a deep dive into the Latin X

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Speaker 1: experience with more Anita, we want to create a community

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Speaker 1: and a shared space with you while sharing knowledge and inspiration.

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Speaker 1: This show is about celebrating our culture with guests who

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Speaker 1: exemplify the best of us. I'm Darrylene Gastillo Ethane Vito.

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Speaker 1: On today's show, we have a very special guest. Her

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Speaker 1: name is Ashley Dela Rossa. Ashley was born in Washington Heights,

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Speaker 1: New York. She is a strong advocate for mindfulness, transformative justice,

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Speaker 1: and cross community building. As a member of the Global Majority,

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Speaker 1: she wholeheartedly believes in addressing and eliminating the harm done

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Speaker 1: by white supremacy within the theater industry and the world beyond.

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Speaker 1: Her past credits include Rent, Beautiful, The Carol King Musical,

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Speaker 1: Mean Girls, and Broadway, and she is currently playing Peggy

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Speaker 1: Maria in the and Peggy Company of Hambleton's. Ashley is

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Speaker 1: also an ambassador for Broadway for Racial Justice, a member

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Speaker 1: of the Sunrise movement, Claim Our Space Now, and serves

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Speaker 1: on the Artist Liaison Board of New City Music Theater. Today,

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Speaker 1: Ashley and I are going to be talking about her background,

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Speaker 1: representation and a very interesting conversation about hair. Hello Ashley, Hi,

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Speaker 1: how are you, Darylyn. I'm good, good morning on my

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Speaker 1: ends for today. Yes, over here too. I'm in San

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Speaker 1: Francisco right now. What's going on out there? So I

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Speaker 1: am happy to say I'm back at work. I'm back

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Speaker 1: playing Peggy Skyler and Mariah Reynolds. I don't know if

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Speaker 1: you're familiar with those roles, okay for for people listening,

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Speaker 1: I was actually Darylyn's replacement coming into this company when

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Speaker 1: she spread her wings and moved over to a different company.

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Speaker 1: So that's how we met. And um, I'm back. We

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Speaker 1: shut down here UM over a year and a half ago,

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Speaker 1: UM on March eleven or marcht and we are the

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Speaker 1: first Hamilton's tour um to open again. So it's been

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Speaker 1: really great being the first. And it's also been, um,

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Speaker 1: you know, scary, and we're still in the middle of

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Speaker 1: the pandemic and there are still a lot of things

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Speaker 1: that we have to figure out for our safety and

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Speaker 1: for the safety of others and just what it's like

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Speaker 1: to be back doing a show. So it's kind of

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Speaker 1: just a big like learn as you go type of thing. UM.

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Speaker 1: But I am really happy to be back out here

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Speaker 1: and have a job again for as long as as

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Speaker 1: this pandemic all as me too, I'm curious for some

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Speaker 1: of our listeners, what is your journey to the stage.

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Speaker 1: How did you become a part of the entertainment industry?

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Speaker 1: How did you get to Hamilton's For people that don't

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Speaker 1: know your journey. I was born in Washington Heights, and

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Speaker 1: I grew up just loving to sing and dance, and

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Speaker 1: my parents encouraged that, and I did a couple of little,

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Speaker 1: you know, commercial things as a kid. And then I

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Speaker 1: moved to Florida with my parents and grew up there,

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Speaker 1: and um, I got really involved in school and sports

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Speaker 1: and that was pretty much my life, um until my

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Speaker 1: what would be considered my junior year of college. So

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Speaker 1: I went to a school called Wellesley College in Massachusetts,

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Speaker 1: and I went to study chemistry and I really wanted to. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I was semistournity you know, chemistry, and they also they

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Speaker 1: had a theater program, but I was just not interested.

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Speaker 1: But I did join an acapella group, which is so

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Speaker 1: cringe e but I loved that group and I met

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Speaker 1: my best friend there. Um, but listen, acapella is not

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Speaker 1: a game. I mean, you gotta have an ear for that.

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Speaker 1: You have to have like a different kind of mindset

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Speaker 1: in our world of music. It was so fun, but

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Speaker 1: it was definitely like at Wellesley my only connection to

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Speaker 1: performing UM, and it was It's interesting, like I either

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Speaker 1: auditioned for it or heard about it, probably like the

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Speaker 1: second day that I was on campus, because auditions were

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Speaker 1: very early. I think auditions were the first week I was.

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Speaker 1: There was still something in me that was like I

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Speaker 1: want to perform. I want to do something, and I

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Speaker 1: don't think I had realized it yet. So I did

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Speaker 1: two years at Wellesley, but it didn't work out, so

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Speaker 1: I ended up dropping out of school and moving back

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Speaker 1: to New York. UM I was teaching kids. I was

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Speaker 1: teaching science at the summer program. I met my godmother,

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Speaker 1: his favorite bartender. It was like I went to this

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Speaker 1: school called and Uh, And I was like, no, no, no no,

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Speaker 1: I'm not trying to go to four years of school.

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Speaker 1: I'm in debt, like I'm working at a restaurant right now,

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Speaker 1: to like I can't go back to school and the

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Speaker 1: American dream yeah, still still being off those loans. UM.

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Speaker 1: But he was like, oh, it's a two year program. Girl,

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Speaker 1: Like get yourself, right, So I went and it still

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Speaker 1: was so expensive, Like it was so expensive, Um, but

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Speaker 1: it was only two years and it was in New York,

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Speaker 1: so I was able to like form connections and relationships

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Speaker 1: like professionally that um sort of we're able to set

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Speaker 1: me up in a way that I had my first

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Speaker 1: job before I graduated, so I actually received a degree,

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Speaker 1: like while I was on the road, which was cool.

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Speaker 1: I made my debut in Mean Girls on Broadway, which

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Speaker 1: was cool. And then I went back to be super casual,

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Speaker 1: super casual, Like, yeah, that was kind of cool, Like

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Speaker 1: that was who did and who did you play? In

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Speaker 1: Mean Girls? I I covered Regina George and Gretchen Wiener,

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Speaker 1: so it's the first um, and I think still maybe

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Speaker 1: only uh black Virgina George. So yeah, you are I

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Speaker 1: mean epic, thank you. Yeah, And then you know, found

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Speaker 1: my way to Hamilton's. All through that time I was

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Speaker 1: auditioning for Hamilton's. Auditioned for three and a half years,

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Speaker 1: three years, and um, finally got it. We all have

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Speaker 1: our different roles, um, And I think something that is

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Speaker 1: really amazing is and I love watching you play your role,

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Speaker 1: you know, an activism and how you've become such a

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Speaker 1: pioneer in our community. Where was that switch for you?

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Speaker 1: Where did that fire come from? And what was that

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Speaker 1: feeling like for you? And where is that leading you with?

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Speaker 1: Now that's a really good question, um, because I think

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Speaker 1: it comes from a stigma of like creatives and athletes

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Speaker 1: being able. It's like, we have these talents and a

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Speaker 1: lot of people will see them as things that like

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Speaker 1: you're born with or it's an extraordinary talent being able

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Speaker 1: to sing or being able to play basketball, and you forget,

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Speaker 1: like how many hours of work you put in to

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Speaker 1: get to where you are. I started taking voice lessons

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Speaker 1: when I was seven, and I have tapes, like tapes

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Speaker 1: of what my teacher would always record, and I was like, okay, yeah,

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Speaker 1: Like I wasn't like Joe Joe, Like I wasn't like

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Speaker 1: doing riffs and runs or even staying on pitch like

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Speaker 1: I was just like if I didn't have a teacher,

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Speaker 1: I probably wouldn't have been singing because I was taught

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Speaker 1: how to sing, um, And just like I was taught

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Speaker 1: how to dance and taught how to act, and we

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Speaker 1: have so many other capabilities as human beings, not just

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Speaker 1: like oh yeah, I want to do something else. It's like, no,

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Speaker 1: I can do something else, And I chose to do

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Speaker 1: theater because this is where my passion eyes right now.

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Speaker 1: But it doesn't mean that I can't do anything else.

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Speaker 1: And I think that a lot of people in the

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Speaker 1: mainstream world that work more you know, quote unquote traditional jobs,

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Speaker 1: they kind of look at us in a in a

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Speaker 1: separate world of like, oh, well, this is all that

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Speaker 1: they can do, so therefore their opinions on real world

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Speaker 1: things don't matter. And that's kind of where you get there,

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Speaker 1: you know, just shut up and dribble. I don't pay

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Speaker 1: you to have an opinion type of thing. I guess

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Speaker 1: there was never really a switch for me um coming

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Speaker 1: into like activism and advocating for people, because that was

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Speaker 1: something that I always grew up wanting. UM. I went

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Speaker 1: into chemistry with the hopes of turning it into a

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Speaker 1: public health degree, which is another reason why I dropped

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Speaker 1: out so my school I didn't know I wanted to

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Speaker 1: do public health. I wanted to do international policy. I

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Speaker 1: wanted to work for the U N and be a

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Speaker 1: political peace officer. Ever since I was in the eighth grade,

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Speaker 1: and then I took some policy, some international relations classes,

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Speaker 1: and I was like, oh, okay, I don't know if

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Speaker 1: you like this as much. What is this theory? Like theory, theory, theory,

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Speaker 1: everything's theory, Like what about problem solving? And mind you,

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Speaker 1: I was taking freshman courses because I was a freshman,

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Speaker 1: so of course you have to learn theory in the basics.

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Speaker 1: But I was seventeen eighteen years old, and I was like, okay,

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Speaker 1: let's go with a problem solving, like as if I

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Speaker 1: even we share that. Yeah, because I'm in like these

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Speaker 1: master classes and I'm like they were like talking about

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Speaker 1: theories and theories and I'm like, there's issues going on now,

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Speaker 1: like let's figure out what's popping now, and like I

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Speaker 1: get so frustrated, but yeah, you're so right, like you

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Speaker 1: learn the basis that, yes, and I just did not.

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Speaker 1: That did not compute with me, and UM, so then

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Speaker 1: I was like, okay, let me go into science because

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Speaker 1: I love math. I love chemistry, so I went to that.

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Speaker 1: I was like, this is practical because you solved the

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Speaker 1: problem and then you have the answer and that's it.

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Speaker 1: But I want to still relate it to the outside

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Speaker 1: world in like um helping others. And they didn't have

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Speaker 1: a public health degree at Wellesley. So I left for

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Speaker 1: for many reasons, but that was one of the big ones.

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Speaker 1: I always kind of had that part of me, like

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Speaker 1: I want to go back to school. I want to

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Speaker 1: get my bachelor so that I can go into a

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Speaker 1: master's program. And the pandemic happened. It was a really

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Speaker 1: challenging time because there were people who were going back

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Speaker 1: to school and then and I was one of those

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Speaker 1: people who was not at that time in a position

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Speaker 1: to go back to school because I already have you know,

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Speaker 1: loans from previous programs, even though right we finally had

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Speaker 1: the time. So it was just such a struggle because

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Speaker 1: I was like, damn, this is I really want to

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Speaker 1: do this, but I just and I also like didn't

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Speaker 1: have a stable home like I was. I moved back

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Speaker 1: in with my parents. I was waiting to get back

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Speaker 1: into my place in New York. I was like all

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Speaker 1: over the place, back and forth for and and forth.

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Speaker 1: Then when I finally got back to New York. Um,

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Speaker 1: I was working with a couple of people for the

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Speaker 1: March on Broadway, and I was working with Broadway Racial

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Speaker 1: Justice and I've done some stuff in Florida with another

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Speaker 1: organization Shout Out to claim our space, um, which they're amazing,

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Speaker 1: and I the March on Broadway asked me to speak

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Speaker 1: and I was like, no, Um, I speak at the

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Speaker 1: March because I'm very much like you know, I love

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Speaker 1: performing and I love theater and stuff, but like the

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Speaker 1: one thing I don't like about it, which is so

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Speaker 1: counterintuitive and sounds I mean if it sounds this ingenuous,

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Speaker 1: like whatever, but I don't like being watched and it's

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Speaker 1: I think it's really it's tough when actors, you know,

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Speaker 1: like when it's like you feel like the eyes on you.

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Speaker 1: And that was a big thing always in my life

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Speaker 1: holding me back. I was very I'm very self conscious.

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Speaker 1: I don't like That's why I like ensemble pieces and

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Speaker 1: things that we can all move at the same time

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Speaker 1: and be together. And there's something very exposing about being watched.

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Speaker 1: And I was able to sort of get over that

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Speaker 1: in theater because you're saying someone else's words. But when

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Speaker 1: you write something and you speak to a group of

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Speaker 1: people and you're speaking on your experience and on your beliefs,

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Speaker 1: that's extremely exposing. I felt like it resonated with a

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Speaker 1: lot of people. That sort of is what started my

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Speaker 1: like outward or like visible presence of like activism and

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Speaker 1: advocacy in the theater industry because I was usually kind

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Speaker 1: of behind the scenes being where we come from, you know,

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Speaker 1: being how we look, Like what was that journey for you?

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Speaker 1: I saw a future for myself not as not playing

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Speaker 1: roles that are Afro Latina because even now people are

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Speaker 1: creating roles and releasing breakdowns that are specific to the

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Speaker 1: Afro Latinos community. And before it was just like okay,

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Speaker 1: Hispanic Spanish like all this stuff, and you it was

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Speaker 1: always you know, Selena Gomez. It was always you know,

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Speaker 1: the light lighter skin, dark dark hair type, Vanessa Hudgens type,

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Speaker 1: and it was kind of the catch all for every

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Speaker 1: Latin role. Um. The things that I did go in

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Speaker 1: for when I was younger, um, you know, doing film

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Speaker 1: and TV stuff in l A or auditioning for stuff,

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Speaker 1: it was always like the like pregnant teenager or the

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Speaker 1: and also more like um, black roles like African American rules,

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Speaker 1: and which is fine, like because I am black, but

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Speaker 1: it's different. I grew up with a different upbringing and

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Speaker 1: there are things that I relate to differently. There was

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Speaker 1: no nuance in that, you know, um, because there's culture,

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Speaker 1: their cultural differences, and not that I don't have a problem,

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Speaker 1: you know, going in for these types of roles or

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Speaker 1: having you know, other people go in for like types

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Speaker 1: of roles that I would go into. It's just when

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Speaker 1: there are no choices, there's no variety, and so we're

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Speaker 1: all going in for this one, you know, and ethnically

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Speaker 1: ambiguous roles. That's one. And that was that was really frustrating.

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Speaker 1: And so I'm so glad now that the pool has

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Speaker 1: really widened because there is more than just one. There's

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Speaker 1: still so much room. There's so much more to go.

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Speaker 1: I would be a fool not to notice the progress

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Speaker 1: and not to just speak it out loud, because people

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Speaker 1: are working at this and they are trying to change it,

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Speaker 1: and they are actively making that change. And um, I

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Speaker 1: think when we get caught up in the you know,

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Speaker 1: we need more, we need it right now, it's sort

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Speaker 1: of you know, you forget about all of the progress

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Speaker 1: that we made my time in the industry so far

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Speaker 1: that have been disappointing, and it's happening for you and

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Speaker 1: fewer like along the way as people start learning more

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Speaker 1: and just become a little bit less ignorant knowing that

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Speaker 1: things Actually what seems harmless to someone, you know, something

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Speaker 1: like touching someone's hair, it's not. It's not harmless, it's

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Speaker 1: where does that impulse come from? Why? You know? It's

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Speaker 1: one thing to be like, oh wow, your hair, your

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Speaker 1: curly hair is so beautiful, but to immediately reach for it,

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Speaker 1: It's like, what does that say about your how much

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Speaker 1: you respect that other person, your boundaries, like how you

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Speaker 1: view that other person go grabbing and touching things. People

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Speaker 1: don't even really do that in the store, and that's

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Speaker 1: the only time we do that. Right when you're picking

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Speaker 1: up objects, you're assessing their value and you're deciding whether

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Speaker 1: you want it or not. And that's trying to get

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Speaker 1: people to understand that. That's how it feels when you

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Speaker 1: just touch someone's hair like that and you reach for

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Speaker 1: them without asking or without even just not doing it,

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Speaker 1: like you can see with your eyes, so little things

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Speaker 1: like that. It's not just about like hair or an accent.

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Speaker 1: It's about how you treat that other person because they

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Speaker 1: look different from you or they sound different from you,

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Speaker 1: and whether or not you're making them feel like a

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Speaker 1: person or like something in a zoo, you know, because

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Speaker 1: you're like, I'm a human being with feeling thank you

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Speaker 1: very much exactly. Um, I think that's not I'm seeing

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Speaker 1: it too, you know. I'm seeing a little bit of

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Speaker 1: like to think before you speak moment and people eyes,

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Speaker 1: especially like zooming auditions or their language now of like

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Speaker 1: descriptions for certain roles. I remember going in for something

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Speaker 1: and being like, oh wow, they have like there's three

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Speaker 1: roles available for Afro Latinas in this one show. What

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Speaker 1: they want three not just one. So little things like

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Speaker 1: that I've thought about is like, I hope this isn't

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Speaker 1: a trend, you know, if I hope this is something

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Speaker 1: that truly begins to stick in our entertainment industry but

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Speaker 1: also in our Latino community. It's okay for me to

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Speaker 1: be an American Dominican and like maybe not speak the

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Speaker 1: best Spanish and have to work on something you know,

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Speaker 1: that's still a part of me. So yeah, I hear

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Speaker 1: you and like those changes, and I think people are

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Speaker 1: opening their eyes a little bit and realizing that we

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Speaker 1: are not all the same. Ashley. So you are a

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Speaker 1: part of an incredible show called Hamilton's right now, and

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Speaker 1: we both understand the immense diversity in that show and

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Speaker 1: what it means to be telling this story of the

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Speaker 1: American Revolution and playing these iconic roles. Um, how are

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Speaker 1: you seeing diversity on stage now? Um? Yeah, I think

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Speaker 1: it's it's it's tricky because there are not a lot

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Speaker 1: of shows that are open right now, and I think

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Speaker 1: that Hamilton's was one of the first, um like contemporary

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Speaker 1: shows and to do this, and they're cold. They're like

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Speaker 1: a leader right now in my eyes diversity and in

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Speaker 1: equity and inclusion. I know that there are shows like

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Speaker 1: Passover that are coming and just opened on Broadway. People

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Speaker 1: are really taking this last you know, year and a

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Speaker 1: half in stride and running with it. And there are

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Speaker 1: still people who are very resistant. But for the first time,

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Speaker 1: we're not going against the current by saying, Okay, let's

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Speaker 1: be more inclusive, let's cast diversely. It's actually going with

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Speaker 1: the current. So the people who are set their ways,

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Speaker 1: it's like more more noticeable, and you know, you look

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Speaker 1: at it and you're like given out, Like it's like

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Speaker 1: the shame, like just like oh, like this is so

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Speaker 1: embarrassing for you because the resources are here now, and

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Speaker 1: no one can blame a lack of resource. No one

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Speaker 1: can blame um ignorance, or oh I just didn't know. UM,

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Speaker 1: once we can get more shows out there, UM really

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Speaker 1: be able to see a mark of progress. And UM,

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Speaker 1: it's also not just what's going on on stage, but backstage.

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Speaker 1: We have incredible people working behind the scenes and UM

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Speaker 1: consulting us and consulting higher level management in the creative

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Speaker 1: teams and going through anti racism training and making it

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Speaker 1: a part of our sort of like curriculum in a way.

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Speaker 1: Like going back to work and what it means to

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Speaker 1: create a safe workplace. Everyone was talking about like a

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Speaker 1: safe return to work, and they were all focusing on COVID, COVID, COVID,

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Speaker 1: like our union equity was only focused on COVID and

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Speaker 1: he and one of the meetings was like, we need

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Speaker 1: to reframe what we mean when we say a safe

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Speaker 1: return to work, because a safe return for some people

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Speaker 1: is not going to be a safe return for other people.

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Speaker 1: We need to talk about what is going on on

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Speaker 1: stage backstage with management, among actors and really make sure

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Speaker 1: that people of color feel safe entering the workplace and

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Speaker 1: feel safe to say even just something that sounds as

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Speaker 1: simple as but you and I know from experience, UM,

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Speaker 1: because it's our life and and there's so much that

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00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,119
Speaker 1: goes into into it, but even something is can be

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Speaker 1: seen small as saying, I don't feel comfortable with the

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Speaker 1: way that this wig looks on my head. I do

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Speaker 1: not feel beautiful. I'm wearing a textured wig, and the

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00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:11,320
Speaker 1: people that have the straight hair wigs, it always looks laid,

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00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,840
Speaker 1: it always looks beautiful, and you're putting products in this

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00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,320
Speaker 1: wig that is not for the hair, and then you're

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Speaker 1: also sending me out on stage and I'm looking like

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Speaker 1: don King, like I'm looking crazy, i look like a pokemon.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, something like that, something that you know with

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Speaker 1: other people, with white people that are like, what's the

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00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,960
Speaker 1: big deal, Like it's just a wig. It's like, but

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Speaker 1: the hair, especially when you're on stage, like you know,

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Speaker 1: one wants to put a wig on and have it

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Speaker 1: be a downgrade, right, And when all the textured wigs,

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Speaker 1: all the curly wigs, all the wigs that are worn

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Speaker 1: put on the black brown people at the end of

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Speaker 1: the day, when you when those pictures where it's like

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Speaker 1: my cousins, like I said, my daughter to school and

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Speaker 1: like her hair is always like beautiful, and it comes

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Speaker 1: when they come back home, like that's what we looked

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Speaker 1: like out on stage and we have to play these

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00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:06,399
Speaker 1: peta and it's just unacceptable. And now being able to

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00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:12,040
Speaker 1: have someone a consultant come in whose job it is

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00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:16,199
Speaker 1: in a professional and they're black too, and to say so,

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00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:17,959
Speaker 1: this is what we talk about when we talk when

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00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,080
Speaker 1: we mean black hair, and this is what a microroggression is,

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00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:23,879
Speaker 1: and this is why it matters. And we are going

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00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,080
Speaker 1: to teach you because it's not on the actor to

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00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,280
Speaker 1: teach you. It's not on the people who are marginalized

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Speaker 1: and who are receiving the harm, whether it's intentional or not.

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Speaker 1: It's not on us to teach you, even though we

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Speaker 1: do because it's for our benefit. We're hoping that you'll

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Speaker 1: learn for our benefit. But I think that the stuff

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Speaker 1: happening behind the scenes is going to um, it's going

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Speaker 1: to be reflected on stage. I remember the fear that

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Speaker 1: some of the actors of color had to even voice

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Speaker 1: their opinion about that. And this was probably my last

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Speaker 1: week of Ann Peggy. But uh, and I don't think

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Speaker 1: i've told anybody this um. Only the people who were

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Speaker 1: in the room probably know. I was so fed up

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Speaker 1: with people just talking behind like kind of whispering about

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Speaker 1: it or just talking about the hair, like behind behind

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Speaker 1: the supervisors back. And I said something the last week

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Speaker 1: where someone just asked me in the room if I

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Speaker 1: liked my hair or like if something, and I just

382
00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:31,719
Speaker 1: was like, well, it's just it hasn't really been the same,

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Speaker 1: you know, every time I come in it's a little

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Speaker 1: bit different or something along those lines. And I remember, um,

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Speaker 1: this like feeling of like fear that I had, like

386
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Speaker 1: for me my throat titans, and I get like and

387
00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:46,240
Speaker 1: I'm about to cry for no reason, but I just

388
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,719
Speaker 1: felt this fear of like I can't even say that

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00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,359
Speaker 1: I'm not comfortable with the wig right now, um, because

390
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,520
Speaker 1: maybe I'm going to come off too difficult, right or

391
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,159
Speaker 1: I'm going to come off as a problem, or I'm

392
00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,480
Speaker 1: going to come off as a diva. You asked me

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Speaker 1: a question, and I'm going to answer you honestly about

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00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:05,159
Speaker 1: how I feel. And and maybe also because I was

395
00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,800
Speaker 1: leaving at the end of that week, some of that

396
00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:09,840
Speaker 1: like balls nous, I was like, you know what, I can,

397
00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:12,040
Speaker 1: I can stand up for this and say how I feel.

398
00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:17,159
Speaker 1: I remember it not being like receptive. I remember somebody

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00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,359
Speaker 1: asking me, oh, well, like show me pictures, like what

400
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,320
Speaker 1: do you mean it hasn't been the same. And in

401
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:24,720
Speaker 1: my mind, I'm like, why are you trying to challenge

402
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:29,359
Speaker 1: me on something where I'm just answering honestly and like

403
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,400
Speaker 1: saying how I feel and what I wear. The wig

404
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:34,399
Speaker 1: eight times a week, so I have to look at

405
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:36,520
Speaker 1: myself in the mirror. I have to feel, as you said,

406
00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:38,399
Speaker 1: like beautiful. I have to feel like I can go

407
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,320
Speaker 1: out there and do my job to the full extent

408
00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,480
Speaker 1: of not worrying if I look like a loca like

409
00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,359
Speaker 1: this hair coming out. Listen, I had the receipts, you know.

410
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,600
Speaker 1: I was like, listen, like, it just hasn't It just

411
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,640
Speaker 1: hasn't been some peticts, you know, the hair was falling out,

412
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:59,639
Speaker 1: hasn't been consistent. And I just remember feeling really good

413
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Speaker 1: that I was being honest and I said my piece.

414
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Speaker 1: But also like the person unfollowed me on Instagram, I

415
00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,080
Speaker 1: was like, okay, Sleetie, like you weren't ready for the

416
00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:11,480
Speaker 1: truth or the conversation, but you shouldn't have asked me bee.

417
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Speaker 1: And that's like a moment that I literally had to

418
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Speaker 1: myself that I was like, I'm if somebody asks me something,

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to run to the skylar sister's room

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00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:21,159
Speaker 1: and talk about it when the doors closed, Like if

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00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,280
Speaker 1: they're genuinely asking me a question and I genuinely feel

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00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:27,600
Speaker 1: some something about it and honestly about it, why can't

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00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:30,439
Speaker 1: we feel comfortable to say something. As you said, our

424
00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:35,760
Speaker 1: opinion of hair is so especially in our community. You know,

425
00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:38,679
Speaker 1: like hair is important, you know, like hair is a

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00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,680
Speaker 1: big it's our crown. When I moved over to the

427
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:47,720
Speaker 1: Philip company, I remember our incredible UM hair supervisor for Philip.

428
00:25:48,359 --> 00:25:54,800
Speaker 1: I recommended a UM resource. I recommended usually this yeah

429
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,240
Speaker 1: using their products, and he was like, oh my god, yeah,

430
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:00,840
Speaker 1: we like loved it, loved it, loved it, started sending

431
00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:04,159
Speaker 1: it over to other companies. There was no combat. It

432
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,200
Speaker 1: was like, oh my god, thank you for teaching me

433
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:11,400
Speaker 1: about this amazing product. Shout out to Risels, Love you guys. UM.

434
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:15,240
Speaker 1: It was just the moment of oh you you hear me.

435
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:20,000
Speaker 1: And I think that that's a moment that is very rare,

436
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,360
Speaker 1: especially pre pandemic. And Hamilton's has done a great job,

437
00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,160
Speaker 1: you know, with your incredible group UM hand for progress

438
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:28,639
Speaker 1: and like I know that you guys are doing the

439
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:33,880
Speaker 1: work behind closed doors and making things happen so hair

440
00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:36,520
Speaker 1: is so important. It's funny because and then we can

441
00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:41,000
Speaker 1: stop talking about hair. But knowing that like why it's

442
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:45,520
Speaker 1: important is sometimes really hard for people, especially people who

443
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:50,920
Speaker 1: are white, because this feeling and this tension and the

444
00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:56,719
Speaker 1: everything that surrounds textured hair is all because it's based

445
00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:01,000
Speaker 1: and rooted in colonialism and a proximity to whiteness. The

446
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:05,120
Speaker 1: reason why there is such a stigma around textured hair

447
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,879
Speaker 1: is because in over forty states it is still legal

448
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,520
Speaker 1: to not hire someone based off their hair. You know,

449
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,920
Speaker 1: like I can't go into an interview with my hair

450
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,719
Speaker 1: and braids or my hair natural in you know, New

451
00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:23,320
Speaker 1: York and as an actor it's different. But for traditional workspaces,

452
00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,200
Speaker 1: you know, you see women taking their braids out, going

453
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,320
Speaker 1: to get a silk press, going to do it because

454
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:31,920
Speaker 1: it's all on the in the like need to conform.

455
00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:35,120
Speaker 1: So that's where it comes from. It's not just us saying, oh,

456
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,679
Speaker 1: don't touch my hair. Oh you know, treat me the

457
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,359
Speaker 1: way that you're treating these other people. Treat me better,

458
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,760
Speaker 1: that's what people here, treat me better. No, my hair

459
00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,960
Speaker 1: takes a little bit more work, and I'm trying to

460
00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,760
Speaker 1: put the work in because if if I don't like,

461
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:55,600
Speaker 1: then you won't either, and exactly, and the reason why

462
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:58,240
Speaker 1: people don't know about these products and they don't put

463
00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:02,280
Speaker 1: the time and the attention in because you know, straight hair,

464
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,480
Speaker 1: white hair, Asian hair, that's the default, because that's the

465
00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,800
Speaker 1: closest to what to white European. But then you see

466
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,520
Speaker 1: these people curling their hair and doing all these things

467
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 1: and getting braids, and then it's cool and it's nice

468
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:19,720
Speaker 1: and it's trendy, and for us, it's never cool or

469
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,439
Speaker 1: nice or trendy. Like it's always seen as a problem.

470
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,479
Speaker 1: It's seen as unprofessional. That resistance. A lot of it

471
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:28,920
Speaker 1: was coming from what's the big deal? I'm not a racist,

472
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:31,720
Speaker 1: I just didn't know, like, what's the big deal? And

473
00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:36,119
Speaker 1: it's like it's rooted in white supremacy. It's rooted in

474
00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,800
Speaker 1: racist practices, whether or not you're choosing to participate in

475
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:44,680
Speaker 1: them or not. Your abhorrence of it. To learn that

476
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:49,200
Speaker 1: is continuing to perpetuate racism and white supremacy. Which is

477
00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,360
Speaker 1: why I'm coming here to come check you and let

478
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,200
Speaker 1: you know, because I know your heart, I know you're

479
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,960
Speaker 1: you know, so I'm trying to help you. I'm trying

480
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:02,800
Speaker 1: to help you like exactly. I don't think they realize either,

481
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:05,479
Speaker 1: And it's exactly what you said. The work that we

482
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,760
Speaker 1: have to put in on it. Not only the work

483
00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:12,480
Speaker 1: but the thought, Like every time I do an audition,

484
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:14,560
Speaker 1: like I have to think about my hair. There was

485
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,160
Speaker 1: this description I got this past week and it was

486
00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:22,360
Speaker 1: for doctor thing. I had a whole PTSD moment. It said,

487
00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:28,680
Speaker 1: please make sure your hair is neat and something about

488
00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:31,720
Speaker 1: it like landed, I kid you not. Actually I was

489
00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:34,360
Speaker 1: doing my hair for forty five minutes, an hour and

490
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,280
Speaker 1: a half, trying to figure out what is meat they mean,

491
00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:40,200
Speaker 1: slicked back in a bun they meet, slicked back in

492
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:43,160
Speaker 1: a bun, don't show us that you got any curls

493
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:45,280
Speaker 1: or something. And you know what I did. I got

494
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:50,320
Speaker 1: so frustrated. I just was like, whatever, I'm gonna wear

495
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,640
Speaker 1: my hair curly. This is neat to me. If this

496
00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:55,520
Speaker 1: is not your version of what you want, that I'm

497
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,080
Speaker 1: not the person that you want for this job. And

498
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,800
Speaker 1: I'm trying to like recondition brain this version of what

499
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,240
Speaker 1: they want to see us as and being like, actually, no,

500
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:06,880
Speaker 1: like this is who I am. Either you could take

501
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:29,320
Speaker 1: that or you could It's all good. So Ashley I'm

502
00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,240
Speaker 1: curious to the young performers out there, to the people

503
00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:39,000
Speaker 1: who are watching your journey, watching you, you know, kill

504
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,400
Speaker 1: it in the activism game, kill it on the stage game,

505
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,480
Speaker 1: kill it on soon to b TV film, and all

506
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:48,720
Speaker 1: the other amazing talents that you have chemistry, Um, what

507
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:53,320
Speaker 1: would you say to the young people who want to

508
00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,600
Speaker 1: do what you do? You know the impact that you

509
00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,480
Speaker 1: have and that you are continuing to have. What would

510
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,560
Speaker 1: you say to them, um, if they want to go

511
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:06,600
Speaker 1: down the same path? Um, I would say, once you

512
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:10,920
Speaker 1: realize and know that your path is your own, that's

513
00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:14,680
Speaker 1: when you can allow yourself to take up space. Because

514
00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:20,360
Speaker 1: I remember in college one of my professors said to me, Um,

515
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,280
Speaker 1: we just did this Romo not Romo Juliette, the Shakespeare scene,

516
00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,959
Speaker 1: and Um, I was playing one of the men. And

517
00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:31,080
Speaker 1: it was the first time that I really allowed myself

518
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:36,160
Speaker 1: to be watched and by other people and not watch myself.

519
00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:38,320
Speaker 1: It was the first time where I felt like where

520
00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:41,320
Speaker 1: I didn't notice that I was being watched. Um. And

521
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:44,400
Speaker 1: I was still getting over that stage fright thing, and

522
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:46,920
Speaker 1: so I was I had the freedom to finally make

523
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:51,480
Speaker 1: choices and not just moving like Okay, what's the right choice.

524
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,200
Speaker 1: What should I do here, like in this scene, you know.

525
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:58,960
Speaker 1: And afterwards he like, we had like a meeting, student

526
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,680
Speaker 1: teacher meeting, and he told me, he's like, you need

527
00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:04,560
Speaker 1: to and he's like, I don't say this to everyone,

528
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,800
Speaker 1: but you need to take up more space. You need

529
00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:12,760
Speaker 1: to do what you did today every single day. And

530
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:17,320
Speaker 1: I think and that made me cry because I'm so

531
00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:22,600
Speaker 1: used to making myself fit in other spaces. So that

532
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,240
Speaker 1: kind of going back to what you said to make

533
00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:27,720
Speaker 1: us more agreeable, so that we're not obscene as a

534
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:31,360
Speaker 1: problem or as a diva. The reason why people like

535
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,440
Speaker 1: us shrink is because there are other people who grow

536
00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:37,640
Speaker 1: and make themselves bigger and take up too much space

537
00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:42,640
Speaker 1: in other lanes. Right, So find your lane, stay in

538
00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:46,160
Speaker 1: your path, and then you're able to really really bloom

539
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:51,760
Speaker 1: and blossom in that um without having to sort of

540
00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:55,200
Speaker 1: crush someone else, right, because there is space for everyone.

541
00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:58,480
Speaker 1: There's enough room for all of us. And that's something

542
00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:02,080
Speaker 1: I really learned um this last year and a half.

543
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:06,400
Speaker 1: There is room for everybody here, and it's a little

544
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:10,400
Speaker 1: the growing pains are uncomfortable and they're difficult, and they're uncomfortable,

545
00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:13,360
Speaker 1: not just for white people. You know, they're uncomfortable for

546
00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:18,720
Speaker 1: us to UM, and it's about finding that balance between

547
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,440
Speaker 1: advocating for yourself and sticking up for yourself and not

548
00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:28,000
Speaker 1: letting these feelings of past trauma and hurt turn into vengeance,

549
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:31,600
Speaker 1: you know, leading with that love and that care and

550
00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:35,520
Speaker 1: saying I know that you may have messed up and

551
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:39,440
Speaker 1: you've done me wrong, but we can either work through

552
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:41,920
Speaker 1: this or we can part and be our separate ways.

553
00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:44,320
Speaker 1: But I'm not going to try and make you feel

554
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:46,920
Speaker 1: how you made me feel. We're not trying to flip

555
00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,800
Speaker 1: the script and be the oppressors. We have the space,

556
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:56,120
Speaker 1: we have the facilities, we have the resources to really, UM,

557
00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,840
Speaker 1: take ownership of this moment and of our faults within this,

558
00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:02,320
Speaker 1: within this moment and this movement because it's going to

559
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 1: keep moving. So that would be my advice. You know,

560
00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,719
Speaker 1: find your path, take up space in your path, take

561
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:13,080
Speaker 1: that space, all of it. UM. Ashley, how can we

562
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:17,839
Speaker 1: continue following you, following your journey? UM? How do how

563
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,560
Speaker 1: do we keep up with you? Yeah? I'm on the socials, UM.

564
00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:26,000
Speaker 1: You can find me on Instagram ash Della Rosa, UM.

565
00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:30,760
Speaker 1: I have a website www. Dot Ashley Della rosa Um

566
00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 1: check out Broadway for Racial Justice and claim our space

567
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,120
Speaker 1: now well, I'm always keeping an eye on you. I'm

568
00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:40,640
Speaker 1: always keeping an eye on what you're doing. Every time

569
00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:44,040
Speaker 1: I'm on the social there's something else popping up with Ashley.

570
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:48,040
Speaker 1: Her incredible talents are on there as well. Highly recommend

571
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:51,680
Speaker 1: to follow Ashley Rossa. Thank you so much for taking

572
00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:54,799
Speaker 1: the time with us today. It's so good to hear

573
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,719
Speaker 1: your voice. It's been so long and I can't wait

574
00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:00,239
Speaker 1: to catch up with you again. Yes, thank you, thank

575
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:06,040
Speaker 1: you so much. I truly loved having this conversation with

576
00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:10,360
Speaker 1: Ashley about taking your space, claiming your space, removing the

577
00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:13,520
Speaker 1: fear of speaking up for yourself and finding your voice.

578
00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:16,399
Speaker 1: How are you going to keep moving forward in your

579
00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:19,279
Speaker 1: lives and moving in this kind of way. I think

580
00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:23,480
Speaker 1: it's so important and so inspirational to hear how Ashley

581
00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:27,520
Speaker 1: has been able to navigate herself in the entertainment industry

582
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:31,720
Speaker 1: and through her life. This is Dayling Gastillo, your host

583
00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,240
Speaker 1: on more Anita. Thank you guys so much for hanging

584
00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:42,520
Speaker 1: out with me, for listening and the rail mon Anita

585
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,239
Speaker 1: is a production of Sonato and partnership with I Heart

586
00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:49,640
Speaker 1: Radio's Michael podcast Network. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

587
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,200
Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever

588
00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:54,760
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.