From Oprah to Wakanda, CU Ā鶹¹ŁĶų alum Aba Arthur has charted a career in which the most impressive thing isnāt necessarily the glow of Hollywood, but the joy of finding her voice in a new world that hasnāt been universally welcoming
From a fairly young age, Aba Arthur watched movies and TV with a critical eye. If something happened in a show that she didnāt agree with, well, she just marched right upstairs and rewrote the scene.
That early confidence in her storytelling, in her writing, in her ability to breathe life into a character who previously only existed on a page in her journal has supported her through a career whose highlights include major Hollywood films, books and one-woman shows.
Arthur, who currently plays the character Samara in the show Bad Monkey on Hulu, also appeared in Black Panther: Wakanda ForeverĢżand the 2023 film adaptation of The Color Purple musical.
Despite her successāthe kind that justifies a certain confidenceāshe still sometimes finds herself in her car, staring out the window and breathing deep. Itās when she reminds herself āwho I am, where Iām going. My words are valuable. I have something to say that matters, and Iām going to kill it.ā
Arthur, a 2005 Ā鶹¹ŁĶų graduate in theater and dance,ĢżĢż³ó“Ē²õ³ŁĢżErika Randall, associate dean for student success in the College of Arts and Sciences, onĢżĢżthe college podcast. Randallāwho also is a dancer, professor, mother, filmmaker and writerājoins guests in exploring stories about āANDingā as a āfull sensory verbā that describes experience and possibility.
Their discussion roamed from the red carpet to the couch with a bag of CheetoĢżPuffs, with stops in between for mentorship, nostalgia, the joy of making art and what it was like stepping off the flight from Ghana to Colorado.
Arthur: I have such a vivid memory of getting off the plane. I'm coming from Ghana and I'm coming to Colorado Springs, Colorado. So, I had only seen on TV or in pictures these guys, and they wear jeans, and they have these big hats. But I didn't know anything about them, so they felt like fictional characters. And I remember so well getting off the plane at the airport and I saw these guys, which I later learned the term was "cowboy."
Randall: In their Wranglers.
Arthur: Yeah:
Randall: In the hats.
Arthur: And the boots. And I remember getting off the plane and just being like, something just happened. Because these people are not where I just came from, and now there are a lot of them. And I've been watching them. So, this is so cool. I've stepped into something new. I think that is the first big memory that I have, period.
Randall: Changed your life. That's incredible. You arrive in the Springs, all the things happen. Next moment, where's the next postcard to yourself that says, ah, Aba, here we go?
Arthur: Oof. Oof. Itās a tough one. My first experience with racism. A young boy in my school told me that my skin was dirty. Yeah. I went back to class, and I was crying. My teacher asked me what happened, and I told her, and then she disciplined me. I had to sit in the corner, and I had to face the wall, because she said I was being a distraction. My crying was distracting the class. Yes, this is a true story.
So, I had to sit in a corner of the room and face the wall. And I remember so vividly at some point they were just continuing with class. And I was like, what? I donāt know how old I am. Letās pick an age.
Randall: Say, 8 or 9?
Arthur: I donāt know, 8? (Laughs)
Randall: All on the Wikipedia page Iām building for you. Age 8.
Arthur: This is still elementary school, thoughātoo young.
Randall: Too young to hear that, to feel that, to be put in a corner.
Arthur: And Iām listening to the class continue. Sheās teaching, and Iām in the corner of the room. And so, at some point I turned around and Iām watching them, and theyāre just having class. Everybodyās just continuing on like everything is normal. And that was a strong memory.
Randall: Is that memory as yet in a film? Because Iām watching that movie.
Arthur: Itās just going to take a second. Probably. Thatās a tough one for me. Itās going to take me a second to work through that. Because I have to watch that scene, if theyāre going to do it.
Randall: And hearing that story, sharing that story, is a critical action of undoing racism. And the work that you choose, you are writing critical stories about undoing racism. You are ANDing with political science the way that youāre in theater and political science. But your body politic is your body showing up as representation. Does that feel true for you?
Arthur: Yes, I love ampersands. And multihyphenate is a term that it took me a while to sink into. So, for me, it was always ā&.ā This & this & this. And Iām equally all of them.
Randall: And with that is engaging those identities to then bring forth new character into worlds. Iām listening to you and Iām watching your reel, and I donāt think you need confidence. Do you need confidence?
Arthur: No.
Randall: No.
Arthur: I have a lot of it. (laughs)
Randall: Where did this come from, and can we bottle it?
Arthur: I wish. It comes from so many things. It comes from being the fourth-born child of a very high-achieving family. It comes from being the new kid a lot. You have to know who you are when youāre the new kid.
Randall: And in Hollywood, youāre the new kid in every room for a minute.
Arthur: Yes.
Randall: Are you not the new kid yet?
Arthur: Iām always the new kid, yeah. Iām the new kid a lot. And so, I didnāt realize at the timeāanother one of those life-changing things you donāt understandāas we were moving, I didnāt realize the effect that would have on my life in the future. The positive effect it would have on my life in the future. Because when youāre a kid, itās hard. That stuff is difficult. And I didnāt want to be the new kid and I didnāt want to have to find that confidence. But I always felt like if I come in the room and I am as wonderful and as great as I am, the people that are supposed to be in my life will come to me.
Randall: You are a galaxy. Yeah.
Arthur: I really appreciate that. And Iām going to walk with that, because I feel like you have to protect your own peace and your own space. And coming into new environments over and over and over again, if you donāt know who you are, then youāll get lost. And youāll go with the trends and youāll do what other people say, because it feels better to be a part than to be an outsider.
Randall: So be the new kid.
Arthur: I excel at being the new kid now. I excel because Iām coming in as who I am. So, rock with me or not.
Randall: Thatās right. Thatās right. Were you a journaler?
I excel at being the new kid now. I excel because Iām coming in as who I am. So, rock with me or not.ā
Arthur: Uh-huh. Oh, my gosh.
Randall: Are you going to burn those or publish them?
Arthur: I have them all, yeah. You know why I have them?
Randall: I want to know.
Arthur: So, I would watch television and the audacity of myself as a child. I think about it now, Iām like, wow!
Randall: I love it.
Arthur: I would watch television, and I would be like, hmm, I donāt like the way that ended. And then I would go upstairs and I would rewrite it.
Randall: You would actually script it?
Arthur: Yes, I would rewrite it. I would write it like, hmm, āSo, Chad walked in, and he saw Sarah, and then he walked over and kissed her.ā But in the show, maybe he didnāt walk over and kiss her first. Maybe they just talked for a while. So, I just would rewrite it the way I wanted to see it. And I would do that a lot. I would write myself into the shows.
Click the button below to hear the entire episode.
Top image: Photos courtesy Aba Arthur
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