Local 706 - The Artisan

28 • THE ARTISAN FALL 2021 Each decade was accompanied by its own set of challenges, the right shape, length and color of the nails, the lipstick color and texture, plus the shape of the mouth. e placement of blush. e eyebrow shape, the right color and texture of eye shadows. And then numerous tattoos to cover. e shape of the beards, sideburns and moustaches were also quite critical. Many of the musicians had stylized beards and/or moustaches. Our wigmaker, Gretchen Evans, did a spectacular overnight job creating the necessary sideburns, beards and moustaches. Jerry Wexler, played by David Cross, had three custom-made sideburns. Courtney B. Vance had two custom-made moustaches. Since TI was a last-minute hire, his moustache was laid on every time he worked. Malcolm Barrett, Aretha's rst husband, also had custom moustaches and beards. When everything else failed, we resorted to oating the facial hair. e adhesives took turns giving us the blues. Extreme temperatures were not our friends. is was probably one of our more challenging tasks, along with the numerous tattoos and the square bejeweled nails. Aer shooting for ve months, like all other shows, we too broke for COVID and prayed that everyone stayed safe and healthy. Six months later, we were one of the rst to start up in Atlanta. is required so many new and inventive protocols because we were all scared and petried dealing with this new unknown variable. Regardless of how cautious we were, we did have several outbreaks of COVID, which caused production to reboot a few times. I ew home on anksgiving Day 2020. is was my rst time seeing Hartseld-Jackson Atlanta International Airport almost empty and a Delta ight that you could eat from the bathrooms. It was probably the cleanest ever. ese little things suddenly become your entire existence when you are working on a period piece. You simply cannot accomplish these looks by yourself. Grateful to all the additional make-up art- ists who worked with us to bring this to fruition, especially during COVID. It was also a pleasure to work with Cynthia Erivo's make-up and hair team of Terrell Mullin (make-up) and Coree Moreno (hair); our hair team lead by Emmy Award winner Louisa Anthony, key hair stylist Tracey Moss and barber extraordinaire Victor Paz, and our fearless costume designer Jennifer Bryan and her splendid wardrobe team. I worked nonstop most years, nishing one lm and starting another swily. Sometimes two simultaneously. is was not with- out trials and tribulations. Being the only Black person on the crew or being told that production must let the actress know I was Black before nalizing my deal, wasn't always easy to navigate. With God's strength, I prevailed. Once my kid was born, my priorities shied; my family became my primary focus. Moving to South Florida gave me a chance to spend the critical years of shaping my child's path, as well as meaningful time with both my parents and my in-laws. Was it worth it? Hell, yeah! Even though my in-laws and my father are no longer with us, I get to rear my mum, as part of the "sandwich generation," trapped between raising your children and taking care of aging parents. So, when asked how many kids I have—my response is an almost 27 year old and an almost 93 year old. She gets to enjoy the fruits of her labor as she watches her grandson evolve into an amazing human being. Remember that American dream I mentioned, well, that's her grandson. He is a product of immigrant mentality and the American dream. All the sacrices… I would do it all over. My son Grégoire matriculated in College Academy at Broward College at the tender age of 14 and graduated in 2011, at age 16 with his high school diploma and associates degree. He then entered Florida State University and graduated in 2013 at age 18 as the youngest ever in the 170-year history of the school. en at 19, onto the University of Miami where he completed his master's in 2014. I didn't do any key part of my life by myself. ere were so many along the way who helped. Robin and I followed the same career path for quite a while. rough her, I met Valli O'Reilly and Anne 'Medusah' Aulenta, Lizbeth Williamson, and several others who took the chance and hired me. e day Robin and I took our union L-R: Carter-Narcisse on stage in Japan; with Cindy Crawford on the set of Fair Game.

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