Meet Roderick Woodruff of A Boy’s Room in Playa Vista

Today we’d like to introduce you to Roderick Woodruff.

Roderick, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today.
I was born and raised in the 6 miles/Davidson area in Detroit, MI. As the second oldest of five children and the oldest son you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t the favorite (although, I am sure all of my siblings would disagree. HA). My mother had us very young, so for a good portion of my life, I lived with my grandparents. In that house lived my grandparents, my mother, my aunt and all my siblings and on the weekends, the rest of my female-dominated family would come over. It was a crazy house. Everyone was loud and had strong opinions. The men– my grandad, infant brother and me– were outnumbered. I was the outspoken child. I said how I felt and often received backlash for it. What do you expect from a child raised in a house of strong Black women? They raised me to live unapologetically free and fierce as they had lived. To them, I was a star. I’d put on shows, win all the dance battles or singing competitions and I was mostly kind. HA. However, at school (and to the rest of the world…) it was a little different.

I have always been flamboyant as hell–“Soft” as the Detroit hood niggas would say–making it extremely difficult to be “normal” in comparison. The boys in elementary and middle school weren’t having it. They teased me–called me every name in the book except my own–making me I wish I was normal. I wanted to be like them. I wanted to be normal. So, I conformed. I changed nearly everything about me so that I could fit in.

By the time I got to high school, I had fully come to terms with being gay. Though, I was still trying try to be as masculine as possible, I was openly gay. Was it liberating for me? Eh. I pretty much knew I was gay all along even if I never truly owned up to knowing it prior. Nonetheless, I raised my pride flag high. I had convinced myself I no longer cared what the world thought (or so I tried). Deep down the micro aggressions still hurt: “Stiffen your wrist” “I need MEN on my stage” “You’re walking like a girl” “Most college acting programs won’t take Ricky because he’s too gay”. I convinced myself that as long as I kept confirming, I’d be fine. A boy had big dreams: sold-out stadiums, Cover of People’s magazine, performing at Beyoncé’s tribute one day and if conforming could get me there, then so be it.

I then went to Southern Methodist University (SMU) to study Acting with a minor in Musical theatre. I hated SMU for several reasons: 1) there were like ten black students in total and maybe two of us were gay 2) Being at a racist institution during the Trump administration scared me 3) I was so far from home. However, I do not regret my time there. I made some of the best friends of my life, I was able to study abroad–which was huge for the poor Black gay boy from Detroit–and was able to finally articulate many of things I had been feeling my entire life. At SMU, I was finally validated by my peers and Professors. I began to finally understand that I was enough and did not have to be anything other than myself.

As part of my senior thesis, I wrote ‘A Boy’s Room”. A Boy’s Room is a multimedia memory play based on my life. The story follows little Ricky in his bedroom attempting to put on a one-of-a-kind performance in the style of Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour. During his flamboyant pop performance, he is steadily interrupted by his inner demons, who constantly beg him to conform. At its core, A Boy’s Room is meant to disrupt, deconstruct, and ultimately dismantle toxic-masculinity that is generationally imposed on black boys. This piece will be composed of a short film, creative storytelling, original music and choreography.

A Boy’s Room is my call to action, it is my truth. It came out of my need to feel whole, both as an artist and a human. At its core, the play poses two questions 1) How do we dismantle early and effective toxic masculinity? And 2)What would happen if the character allowed himself to embrace everything that he was in his bedroom and was able to bring that into his everyday life?

The play was surprisingly well received in Dallas at SMU and I was done with it. I had closed that chapter in my life; I was ready to move on to the next time. However, I soon realized the show wasn’t done with me. Many of my professors told me that the world needs to see this story, So, I teamed up with NYC theatre producer Kaylyn Buckley and we hit the ground running. A Boy’s Room was set to debut in NYC in June and had been selected for a month-long residency with the Underbelly Theatre a part of their 2020 Edinburgh Fringe Festival programs in Scotland which would have taken place in August. Both the NYC and Scotland debuts have been postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we are still working hard to create the best show possible.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been an easy road. Examples:

There was, of course, the bullying…

And growing up poor, even if I didn’t realize it at times. I am sure if I didn’t have a village: my grandparents, aunts, cousins, friends and mentors it would’ve been even more difficult. My mother did the best that she could, but how much can you do with governmental assistance. My grandparents, who lived comfortably, did the best they could do off their pension from Ford’s motor company. I didn’t have private lessons or go to arts summer camps or test prepping for college like many of my peers. Who had money for that? Ha.

Throughout HS and college work at all sorts of jobs to keep money in my pocket. I hated working. I still hate working. I am sure everyone feels how taxing it is to do work you do not love.

Aside from financial hardships, my father, Big Roderick, died when I was ten years old and before then I barely knew him. When he was alive, he too thought I was “soft”. My granddad was the only father I knew and quite frankly the only one I needed.

It is also just extremely hard to get out of Detroit. Many people in the city can’t get out. They dream and dream and dream and still find themselves stuck. I knew there was more to the world that I needed to see.

There is living in the age of social media and constantly comparing your journey to others. It’s hard to believe that you are enough when the world is telling you that you are “too [this]” or “too [that]”. And as much as they say protect your mental health, it is hard.

In college, someone wrote “FAG” on the dorms and that was one of the most terrifying things to experience. Not because I thought they were going to do something, but because it just reassured me that no matter how well you think you’re doing in your life, you will always be reminded of the thing that makes you different.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am an actor/singer/writer and performance artist who specializes in the intersectionality of poor black, queer art. It is my mission to disrupt, dissect and dismantle toxic masculinity so that little black boys and girls behind me can live in a world where they feel seen and validated. It is my mission to normalize those who do not feel normal. A Boy’s Room does that. A Boy’s Room encourages expression. It begs you to release your inner bad bitch. It dares you to take all the greatness and comfortability you may find in your solitude and wear it with pride in spaces you may not feel comfortable.

I am proud that black men in particular are responding well to A Boy’s Room and are excited for both its international and NYC debuts. It makes me happy to know that my story is touching people.

I am proud that this piece is self made (written, composed and produced by me), uniquely mine and is going far. This is only the beginning. Who knows what’s next?

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My Sagittarius nature is never satisfied and finds it very difficult to celebrate successes. I am constantly chasing the next thing or betterment. I am critical and tactical. I will only go out on a limb if I know I have a pretty good chance of getting it. I also may be an optimist. I trust God will give me all that I need. I trust it’ll all work out. I also think I am kind and personable. I think treating others with respect and humanity has constantly opened many doors for me. All in all, I am a fighter. I will go after what’s mine without hesitation and won’t stop until I have it (again the Sagittarius in me).

Contact Info:

• Website: aboysroom.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: (SHOW) instagram.com/aboysroomxrw/ (Personal) instagram.com/xrwoodruff/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aboysroomxrw/

Image Credit:
Jeune Frere

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