Reclaiming Narrative: Marginalized Voices Asserting Identity and Agency

Key Quotes

"There was a lot going on in that show and in my exploration of where I fit into the world of trying to find not only a romantic partner but just being able to be fully in my body with somebody else. What it means to want to feel, watching a black man sing about that and knowing, and I'm going to cry now, about all of the divorcing yourself from feeling because you can't look to be afraid or weak at all. But that means you don't get to be a person."

Desiree Burch explains that the song "What Would I Do If I Could Feel?" from The Wiz resonated deeply with her. Burch connects the Tin Man's desire to feel with the broader experience of Black individuals in a society that often necessitates suppressing emotions to avoid appearing weak. She suggests that this suppression, while a survival mechanism, ultimately prevents one from fully experiencing life as a person.

"I need this to work. I have a visa here to work as a comic, and I also didn't have the distraction of having two jobs before I went to go do the gig. You know, when your back's to the wall, then you fight like hell."

Desiree Burch describes the critical juncture in her career when she moved to the UK. Burch highlights that securing her visa was contingent on her success as a comedian, and the absence of a second job allowed her to focus entirely on her comedy career. This situation, she explains, created a high-stakes environment where she felt compelled to fight intensely for her success.

"I became a theater kid. What I was was a middle kid. So at some point, you got to find something to identify yourself. I don't know if you can relate and which order you are, but I was a middle kid, so I just needed anyone to look at me at all ever because I was becoming convinced I did not exist."

Desiree Burch reflects on her childhood and the origins of her involvement in theater. Burch explains that as a middle child, she felt overlooked and sought validation through performance. She found in theater a place where she could be seen and identify herself, which was crucial for her sense of existence.

"It is. Like, I mean, you know, it's maybe a slightly different if you go to Northern California, but the thing is like life is easier there. It is. I mean, it's gorgeous, but also it's super isolated. So, it's, you know, it's not just the reading books, it's like the having conversations that have any kind of cultural import or heft to them at all, because most people are not having conversations."

Desiree Burch contrasts her experience of living on the East Coast of America with the West Coast. Burch states that while Northern California is beautiful, life there is more isolated. She found that the East Coast offered more opportunities for meaningful conversations and cultural engagement, which she felt were lacking on the West Coast.

"I mean, if you're on the road, if you're a road comic, like a lot of the, the sort of standard comics that you think about who are like doing, who maybe will wind up doing a comedy roast and stuff like that on TV that'll eventually bubble to the surface that you're like, oh, where did they come from? But then you see them pop up all, you know, it's a hard life, you know, like it is like being on the road in the UK, you can come home that night, you know, or you can come home the next day. Like you can't do that if you're just driving around America doing, you know, like whatever, the Improv or the Cellar or the way, you know, you can do stuff in New York, but New York doesn't pay you."

Desiree Burch discusses the economic realities of being a comedian in New York versus the UK. Burch explains that in New York, comedians often receive very little pay, sometimes only drink tickets, and the lifestyle of a "road comic" in America involves extensive travel without the possibility of returning home nightly. She contrasts this with the UK, where a comedian can more easily balance touring with living at home.

"And so to have a version of that same sort of very canon American thing that is very much rooted in African American culture, not only like I didn't grow up in New York, but anybody black in America understands what growing up in a city is going to be like because you are in or near one, you know, like you can't just be like la la la skipping through Harlem because you're going to come up on some crackheads really quick, you know, like you're going to like, I mean, you know, like when they're in a field of poppies, it's sex workers and drugs, you know, because that's what's actually going to happen if you're skipping around the streets."

Desiree Burch elaborates on the cultural significance of The Wiz as a Black-centric interpretation of The Wizard of Oz. Burch argues that The Wiz grounds the familiar story in African American culture and urban realities, making it more relatable to Black audiences. She contrasts the film's depiction of city life with the idealized version in the original story, noting that real urban environments involve more challenging encounters.

"And I love that that this, this is a process of her remembering because, you know, literally at some point Aubrey's like, you know, Death is like, do you really not know who I am? And like, literally everything we've been through. And by the time you get to the show, you're like, oh, they've really been through quite a bit actually. And it's just, it brings, I don't know, it's just, it brings the sort of reality of witchiness being about sisterhood, being about connection to the material plane, you know, like, and, and there's a lot of like, you know, uh, I more recently have seen things like The Witcher, which has a lot of like witchcraft in it and furthering the world of like what it means to alchemize the material world and do things with it."

Desiree Burch discusses the themes in Agatha All Along and its portrayal of witchcraft. Burch highlights that the show emphasizes sisterhood and connection to the material world, moving beyond traditional male-centric narratives like the hero's journey. She appreciates how the series explores the complexities of witchiness and its connection to themes of death and alchemy.

"And so you have to, you're most of your life is an apology in some way, shape or form in the way you speak and what you talk about and the way that you're constantly being helpful to people and the jobs you get. Like all of that. So to see a book in which someone is actively breaking those parts and undoing them and the rage and the rage that exists inside of a fat body for sure in