Anika Larsen: “SHAFRIKA, THE WHITE GIRL reflects Jaradoa´s commitment to diversity”

Jaradoa Theater is a company of professional theatre artists, who are equally devoted to productions and to performance-based outreach. They do theater that promotes mercy, beauty and truth in an environment where artists thrive, and use storytelling to address brokenness in their community.

Since last June 12th, Jaradoa Theatre presents at the Off-Broadway Vineyard Theatre SHAFRIKA, THE WHITE GIRL, a musical written and starred by Anika Larsen, co-conceived and directed by April Nickell (both of them are co-founders of Jaradoa) with original music composed by Tim Acito, Joshua Henry and Janice Lowe.

Anika Larsen explains with SHAFRIKA her own story of growing up in Cambridge, MA with nine brothers and sisters who are Black, White, Asian, Latino, and Native American. The 17-member cast portrays the many people in her world who help to shape Anika´s identity while being raised in such a unique rainbow family. Along the way, she´s forced to grapple with the truth in this unique and quirky exploration of race, identity and family    

Larsen, who was most recently seen in the national tour of AVENUE Q, played Euterpe in Broadway´s XANADU and has also been seen on Broadway in ALL SHOOK UP and RENT and Off-Broadway in ZANNA, DON´T!; MIRACLE BROTHERS; AND HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AND FIND TRUE LOVE IN 90 MINUTES. She will join the cast of Broadway´s AVENUE Q July 6th.

Anika Larsen tells us more details about this musical that will run in the Vineyard Theatre until next June 28th.

HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA OF CREATING ‘SHAFRIKA, THE WHITE GIRL’?
After I finished doing RENT, my first Broadway show, in 2000, I thought, "Alright, I´ve been on Broadway. I´ve made it. Now what?" But I didn´t work again for two years. I couldn´t even get an agent. During that time, I went rollerblading around Central Park, and as I started the loop I thought, "Alright, what am I doing now? How am I gonna find work?" It occurred to me that people say, "If you can´t find work, create your own." I thought, "Alright, what does that mean for me? I´m not a writer, but I was always a good essay writer in school. I´m not a playwright, so I can´t write a play, but maybe I can write my own show, like a one-woman show." Then I thought, "Well, they say if you´re a first-time writer, write what you know." I knew that the stories of my multi-racial, adoptive family made me different and gave me a unique perspective, and I´ve gotten really good at telling them over the years. So I thought, "At the very least, people won´t be bored. The stories of my brothers and sisters are inherently interesting, so they won´t demand their money back." I was terrified that what I wrote might be self-indulgent. Being one of ten kids, it´s very hard for me to ask people to pay attention to just me for a couple hours. But by the end of the loop in Central Park I decided, "Okay, I´m gonna go home, and I´m gonna write down every story that I can think of from my childhood."

HOW WAS THE CREATION PROCESS?
Shortly after I started writing, I met April Nickell, who is a director. We did a workshop together, and she was fantastic and smart and one of the best directors that I´d ever worked with, so we became immediate friends and collaborators. April started to help me shape SHAFRIKA, THE WHITE GIRL and make it not just an evening of stories but an actual piece of theater. It has developed and improved and grown over the years until last year it suddenly somehow became a big, 14-person musical. We finally realized that the reason why it never quite worked as a solo show was because we needed a stage full of people to tell the story of this giant family.

SHAFRIKA IS BASED ON YOUR OWN LIFE. ARE THERE MANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MAIN CHARACTER OF THE SHOW AND YOU? WHICH ARE THE MAIN DIFFICULTIES OF PERFORMING A CHARACTER BASED ON YOUR OWN?
There are no differences between Anika in real life and "Anika" in the show except for the quotation marks! I think the only difficulty with being playing myself is the constant challenge of trying make these words that I wrote for myself about my life sound spontaneous and honest every night.

Anika Larsen in SHAFRIKA, THE WHITE GIRL

HOW HAS BEEN THE REACTION OF THE AUDIENCE IN THE FIRST PERFORMANCES AT THE VINEYARD THEATRE?
The response of the audiences has far exceeded my expectations, and it´s truly humbling. They laugh and they cry and the really get invested in the story of my family! The greatest thing I´ve learned in terms of writing, is that the more specific I get with my story, the more universal it becomes. People come up to me after the show and say, "I know exactly what you mean!" And their lives are nothing like mine! But in some way we all grapple with issues of family, identity, race and assumptions people make about us because of the way we look.

HAS IT RESULTED VERY DIFFICULT TO YOU TO GET YOUR SHOW OPENED IN NEW YORK?
SHAFRIKA, THE WHITE GIRL is being produced by the theater company that I am a co-founder of, Jaradoa Theater, so it wasn´t difficult to get it mounted. Our mission as a company is to promote mercy, beauty and truth through performance and service, and SHAFRIKA truly does that, so it was a perfect fit. The show also reflects Jaradoa´s commitment to diversity, which is important to me because of my childhood and my family.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH SHAFRIKA AFTER THE JUNE 28TH?
Probably nothing. That´s theater! It´s here and then it´s gone!

ON JULY 6TH YOU WILL JOIN BROADWAY COMPANY OF AVENUE Q. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
I am just thrilled to be returning to AVENUE Q! I just spent 9 months out on tour with the show, and I miss it. My co-star from tour, Rob McClure, will be joining me on Broadway in July, and that will make returning even more of a delight!

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST OF PERFORMING KATE MONSTER / LUCY THE SLUT?
I absolutely loved learning puppetry! I grew up watching "Sesame Street" and "The Muppet Show", and I had no idea how hard puppetry is, because they make it look so easy. I´m so proud of my new skill!

LAST JUNE 9TH OPENED IN LONDON A NEW PRODUCTION OF ‘ZANNA, DON’T!’. YOU STARRED THIS MUSICAL IN OFF-BROADWAY IN 2003. WHAT COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT IT?
ZANNA, DON´T! is one of my favorite shows ever. It´s a clever, gorgeous musical about a high school in a world where everyone is gay and a straight couple falls in love, causing havoc and hilarity. It was a magical little show, and a magical experience. Two of my fellow cast members from ZANNA, DON´T! are in SHAFRIKA, THE WHITE GIRL with me now!

YOU HAVE ALSO WORKED ON OTHER BROADWAY MUSICALS: ‘XANADU’ AND ‘RENT’. WHAT WOULD YOU HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THESE TWO SHOWS?
In XANADU, I learned how to dance in rollerskates--what´s cooler than that! And RENT was my first professional job, so it taught me all about the business of theater. Both of those shows were wonderful experiences that left me with many lifelong friends.

ARE YOU WORKING IN OTHER PROJECTS AS A WRITER?
I´m not writing words for any other shows. I´m pretty busy with my acting and being Associate Artistic Director of Jaradoa Theater. But who knows, maybe someday! I would need to take a playwrighting course first, though. I managed to fake it this time around, but it would be audacious to try again without some training.

A scene of SHAFRIKA, THE WHITE GIRL