Interview: Playwright francisca da Silveira Can Touch A Lot of People By Making a Mean Cookie

Up next for the Rogue Machine, NNPN's rolling premiere of francisca da Silveira's can i touch it? opening May 6, 2023 at the Matrix. Gregg T. Daniels directs the cast of Safiya Fredericks, Suzen Baraka, Iesha Daniels and Scott Victor Nelson. francisca massaged some non-rehearsal time availability to answer a few of my queries on her touch and her process.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, francisca!

Was there a particular incident that sparked the creation of can i touch it?

In 2019, a campaign was launched to change Dudley Square in Boston, named after a colonial magistrate, to Nubian Square. It was part of a larger conversation about resisting gentrification specifically in the neighborhood of Roxbury but in many of Boston's historically Black and Brown neighborhoods too. Reading about this discourse on the social media sparked the creation but telling a story that interrogates Boston's gentrification problem was something that had been percolating in me for years - every time I'd go home to Boston to visit family, more and more of the places I grew up in looked unfamiliar. I always knew I'd want to write something about it.

How long has the gestation period of can i touch it? been up to its rolling world premiere?

I've been working on this play on and off for about 4 years. I conceived of and wrote the first draft while in Scotland doing a master's program in playwriting. I wrote the first half there and then completed a first full draft in January 2020, which was then performed during the Fire This Time Festival in New York. It's had a few in-depth workshops between then and the premieres.

What cosmic forces brought you and Gregg T. Daniels together for this project?

John Flynn, Rogue Machine's producing artistic director, connected Gregg and I. I believe both of them saw a virtual reading of the play during the National New Play Network's Showcase of New Plays in 2020 and deeply connected with it. Both of them have been such strong supporters of the play and its message since the beginning.

What would your three-line pitch for can i touch it? be?

Rogue Machine's show synopsis sums it up really great!

Shay Solomon is many things - but there's one thing she's definitely not: a pawn in the bank's efforts to buy up foreclosed real estate. can i touch it? examines Black hair politics, the racial inequities faced by Black-owned businesses and the fantastical place women of color have to recede into when they get asked stupid ass questions.

Is there one of the four characters that is most similar to you?

I'd say Ruth is the closest to me. From a young age, she's been very studious, independent, and focused on her future.

What hairstyles did you grow up with? (Afro, cornrows, braids?)

I grew up with my hair either in chunky 'doo doo' braids with the bobbles or getting my hair permed and straightened.

If you were to submit your main character Shay Solomon on a dating website, what qualities of hers would you list?

Entrepreneur, resilient, caretaker, mother, HBIC (Head Bitch in Charge).

What character flaws would you definitely omit?

Stubborn, impulsive.

Besides this production at The Matrix, your National New Play Network's Rolling World Premiere will have productions at Company One Theatre (Boston) and Cleveland Public Theatre (Cleveland). What do you remember of the moment you were told of your three rolling premieres?

Relief! Especially since it was during the pandemic. Commitment to producing any plays, especially new work, was very difficult to come by. But each theatre company was just as committed to me as an artist as they were to the play, so it always felt like a matter of when, not if.

When did your words become set in stone for these rolling premieres? After an initial reading? After first dress rehearsal?

The draft that's being used in all three premieres is from the end of the first production's rehearsal process. But it's not set in stone - part of the function and gift of a rolling world premiere process is the opportunity after all three to reevaluate each one and go back to the script based on those experiences.

Your website describes you as "Playwright. Dramaturg. Baker." What did you want to be growing up?

Surprisingly, a doctor.

For those not in the know, what exactly does a dramaturg do?

I see a dramaturg as being a playwright and a play's biggest advocate and friend. My job is to help the playwright figure out what they want to do and how best to do it. Mostly I ask a lot of questions!

How did you get into "dramaturging"?

While at Tisch NYU, I expressed to my Dramatic Writing program director a desire to double major in history since it was always my favorite subject growing up. They said sure and then asked if I'd ever heard of dramaturgy - dramaturgy often has a reputation of being research. I fell in love with the aspect of dramaturgy that's more connected to the artists than it is to academics.

What is the significance of using all lower-case in your play titles, as well as your name?

I am from Cape Verde, a group of 10 islands off the west coast of Africa, a former Portuguese colony. My last name, Da Silveira, means "of the Silveira family." Everyone in my family spells it differently - some capitalize the d, some the s, some use the space, some don't. My use of lowercase is in an attempt to neutralize the power of the colonial connotation it holds.

Would you tell us your baking specialty?

I make a mean chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.

What's in the near future for francisca da silveira?

I'm currently working on a trilogy of plays called The Volcano Series, which is an exploration of my lineage and relationship to home.

Thank you again, francisa! I look forward to seeing your touch.

For tickets to the live performances of can i touch it? through June 11, 2023; click on the button below:

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