The Scene March 27th, 2012 - 2:04 pm | Posted by Zaria Poem

Nobody’s Diva: Amanda ‘Diva’ Seales Debuts Play in NYC!!!

AMANDA SEALES is a woman of many hats, who never tires of lengthening her resume.

She is a musician, DJ and a painter. She’s been a VJ host on MTV, done social commentary and has also performed on “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry.”

Most recently, she has added playwright to her ever-evolving list of skills– all in the name of shedding the very brand she built herself upon.

The idea for Death of the Diva, her newly released one-woman musical narrative, was conceived during what she states was her transition into “bonafide adulthood.”

For more than 10 years SEALES had gone by, and been widely recognized as, “Amanda Diva.”

On her 30th birthday last July she dropped “Diva” and reclaimed her surname, SEALES.

The artist contributes the current portrayals of women in the media and on reality TV to her making this decision. “When we hear the word ‘diva’ today, we think of ‘bitch,’ says SEALES during the show’s opening night at NYC’s Helen Mills Theater. “It wasn’t always defined this way. With everything going on today, it was just time for a change.”

Through Death of the Diva, SEALES questions the perpetuation of misogyny in the media while poking fun of the countless, vapid roles women have assumed in all arenas of entertainment.

Between breaks of playing characters like “MC Checkahoe,” a gritty rapper who’s at a crossroad with the birth of his daughter, SEALES performs a few musical selections and speaks candidly to the audience about what we view as a society and its impact on us.

She introduces other noteworthy characters like “Sh’aandreikah Jones,” an impressionable teen who wants to be a “Reality star with Red Bottoms,” and “Taylor Great” a clueless, white female exec who’s part responsible for creating such images on television.

Above all, SEALES character of “Nettie,” her Grenadian mother, draws a full circle to how the artist has been able to stand her ground in such an unsettling industry. Through a thick, West Indian accent equipped with hilarious mannerisms, it becomes clear to the audience just how the girl who found herself did so through the help of unconditional support and being “raised right.”

And even without that four letter word, SEALES still proves to be the female version of a hustler.

Death of the Diva is playing at Helen Mills Theater on March 30th-31st and on April 1st. Click here to purchase tickets. For more info on SEALES visit AmandaSeales.com

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