Interview: Kira Troilo on Sharing her Own Story and her New Blog

Broadway World
Kira Troilo was balancing motherhood, working full-time, and moonlighting in the theatre before the pandemic; now she is taking time to share her perspectives with others

By: Andrew Child
Feb. 08, 2021

“2020 really broke us down to our barest parts, and now we have to figure out how to build ourselves back up.” Kira Troilo speaks generally, but for someone who was just finding the perfect balance in being a new mom, working full-time, and freelancing as an actor and choreographer before the pandemic, her commentary seems unambiguous. For the past 10 years, Troilo has worked professionally as a writer and editor during the day and has focused her creative efforts on telling other peoples’ stories by night. But amidst the ataxia of the past year, and prompted by what she found to be a collective racial reckoning, she has felt compelled, empowered, and called to more actively and more extensively share her own story with the world.

“It took me a while to realize this but, I have a unique voice. If I can put into words what others feel but can’t express, then that’s my role.” In a recent post to her blog titled The Complex Art of Being a Biracial Actor, Troilo opened up about the complexities facing actors who may not be simply Black or white, tracing her own experiences as a young performer and pondering the future of her young son.

“What happens if (okay, let’s be real, when) my son gets into theater? He is Black, White (sic) and Jewish. What roles will he be able to play? He is Jewish, but is he ‘Jewish enough’ for Fiddler on the Roof? He is Black, but is he ‘Black enough’ for The Color Purple? He is a beautiful mix of ethnicities, and I can’t wait to share and explore his various identities with him. But what does his multiracial identity mean for him in this current theater environment?

He may look like he belongs as a character in many stories. But is it ‘authentic’ for him to be playing roles that don’t line up with his own racial identity? He may look like a Bernardo in West Side Story, but he’s not Latino, so that wouldn’t be authentic. But should he be discouraged from playing roles that do line up with his racial identity because he doesn’t quite look the part? His skin is lighter than mine, so unlike me, his portrayal of a Black character might raise more eyebrows.”