Salons are like second homes for black women. They're group therapy sessions where secrets are shared. Stylists are moonlighting as strippers to earn money for school; elderly hairdressers struggle to help younger employees make sound decisions. Meanwhile, competition between salons is fierce.
Dorothea Sharon and Dwane Davis, co-writers of Drama in the Shop, first discussed the possibility of a play highlighting urban salon culture with Carlton "Cool C" Mosley a few years ago. Mosley is the Diddy of Detroit hairstylists, an industry celebrity with a hair magazine and radio show to his credit. He'd already produced a DVD docu-drama on the subject, featuring testimonies and re-enactments of typical scenarios. Mosley and his co-executive producer Tanya Davis (no relation to Dwane Davis) decided they wanted to offer a realistic stage experience about hair culture in the lives of its patrons and proprietors.
The partners hired writers Sharon and Davis, whose joint and individual works include If These Hips Could Talk, Strong Women Keep Coming and Soulfood: The Last Supper. TJ Hemphill, whose earlier projects include the urban theatrical legend Perilous Times, came on board as director. Guest stars include video vixen Buffie the Body, Deelishis (the Detroit native and winner of the last season of VH1 show Flava of Love) and comedian AJ Johnson.
"It's comedy. It's spoken word. It's the hair battle," Sharon says. The play includes a competition similar to fabled hair shows that have been an urban staple for years, and a performance by Hot Lava recording artist Stretch Money. "And it's urban, something for literary folks, and something for Hollyhood."
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