Meet Sola of Still Brave Productions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sola.

Sola, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As an actress, writer, performance artist, and filmmaker committed to high-quality artmaking across media platforms, my life can be characterized by three factors: the boundless love and support of my family, a deep connection to cultural heritage, and being an overachiever. I am unsure of which came first, but my drive to succeed has always reflected my desire to make my family and community proud.

I was born and raised in Miami, Fl, the third of four children to Nigerian immigrant parents. Due to their and my siblings’ strong influence, I excelled academically and was also drawn to performance and athletics, participating in dance, cheerleading, gymnastics, track and field, and drama at various stages in my young life. For college, I attended the University of Miami, where I sought involvement and leadership in several student organizations.

I was named Miss University of Miami in 2007 and went on to compete in the Miss Florida pageant, where I placed first runner-up. By this time, despite graduating with a degree in chemistry, I had decided to abandon the pre-med track I was on to pursue my true passion, acting. So, I moved to the west coast and received my training and graduate degree from the California Institute of the arts, where I also served as student council president.

Since earning my MFA in acting, I have continued to do stage work and accrue roles on various television programs, such as “lethal weapon,” “true detective,” “stitchers,” on which I appeared for three seasons, “killer women,” “unsolved: the murders of Tupac and notorious b.i.g.,” where I played Afeni Shakur, and “Mad Men,” for which I earned a sag award nomination for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.

I made my filmmaking debut with “the event,” which I wrote, produced, and starred in, and co-produced the upcoming short “eléwà,” in which I also appeared as the lead. both films were shot in Nigeria, and the former was an official selection of the 2018 Blackstar and San Francisco black film festivals. In addition, last year I produced and curated the still brave short film showcase at Spelman College in Atlanta as an opportunity for blk women to present their short film projects and discuss their work, processes, and identities as filmmakers.

I have also written and presented a portion of my one-woman show “the tutorial,” a multi-part solo piece and social media installation that incorporates the magic of transformative storytelling, performance art, and revolutionary theater to deliver a 28-day regimen for improved complexion and digital litany for blk women’s survival. On the lighter side, I am a self-taught seamstress, the queen of karaoke, and adore my nieces and nephews.

Based in L.A., but focused on an international base, I am assured of my path and will not allow the contributions of my family and community be in vain.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
One of my favorite quotes, from one of my favorite movies, “the Josephine Baker story” is “a colored woman’s life is from can’t do to can’t don’t.” the saying resonated with me long before I was old enough to fully grasp the unyielding reality embedded in it, and has been an ironically motivational message for me on my journey.

Despite growing up in South Florida, where there is a wealth of cultural diversity, I experienced various forms of discrimination and was keenly aware early on that it was due to my being a blk girl. Whether it was sexist attitudes, classist exclusion, colorist practices, or racial prejudice and hostility, I have faced, and continue to face, real struggles in my life as a blk woman and on my path as an artist.

Although, as I’ve mentioned, I was blessed with a family that loves and supports me unconditionally, I have encountered negative experiences that left me angry and hurt, and dishonest individuals whose unfair and undesirable treatment of me has caused me to question my self-worth. However, I combat these feelings through writing, manifestation work, and conversations with those who are close to me.

One of the hardest realities to accept is that success in the arts and entertainment (or in general) is not based on a meritocracy. When I made the shift from studying medicine, I wasn’t naive enough to think that the work would be easy, but I truly believed that there would be a direct, positive correlation between what I put into my craft and the opportunities that would arise as a result.

I had to learn through trial and error, and a lot of rejection, that, as a performer, the casting and production process is out of my control. I am grateful for the work that I have done thus far, and still learning just to do my best and surrender the rest. Short answer made long, the road has not been smooth, but I am reminded, and fortunate to be, that this path was my choice—I can’t stop now.

Please tell us about Still Brave Productions.
Still Brave Productions is a media production cooperative that specializes in the development, production, and curation of culturally enlightening projects for a global audience. Founded in 2016 within a blk feminist framework, we build connections with daring, innovative, and radical artists who create revisionist narratives of women and people of color in media.

We dare to produce content that reflects the true histories, experiences, and inner lives of marginalized and underrepresented communities and embrace a non-hierarchical structure that is free of any and all prejudices, egos, and negative attitudes. Still brave is space where great compassion, revolutionary love, and strong community ties abound, and we seek to provide support and resources to artists and organizations who strive for freedom of oppression from racism, sexism, classism, and the resultant internalized hate from said systems.

from the ongoing development work and shorts that have been produced and even presented at film festivals to the onstage collaborations and the events and discussions that have taken place, we are proud of every step we have taken to amplify the voices and explore the many distinct identities of blk female artists, and strive to continue to fulfill our brave mission.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to do anything differently, I definitely would have been more serious about developing a routine after graduate school. Being an independent artist requires self-direction and discipline, and I wish I had committed more strongly to my writing and performance practice much sooner after school ended. At the time, I believed that because I had an agent, I could relinquish control of my career but I was very wrong.

Developing my own work was always a part of my plan because I knew that my unique look and qualities were not in line with the industry’s standards, but I didn’t make it a priority. I spent a lot of valuable downtimes waiting for opportunities that never came, sulking about opportunities I’d lost, and overall feeling at the mercy of Hollywood. If I had the chance to go back, I would put more focus on the things I wanted to do from jump.

I surely would’ve been further along in some of the projects I’m making now, and it would’ve made me more empowered while I pursued professional work. Additionally, along with those same lines, I would’ve just lived more freely and not worried about the impact on my career.

It’s not my entire life, just a part of it, and I should’ve made more choices that gave me joy at the moment, instead of giving too much consideration to the risks involved. So, if any young actors out there care to listen, dye your hair and cut a bang, go on that international trip, party on the weekday, speak your mind, visit your family, start a family, move to the other side of town, whateva—do you. Don’t stop your train because the industry damn sure isn’t stopping for you.

Not to mention, you never know what opportunities will arise when you’re 100% being you and being free. Live!

Contact Info:

• Website:  solabamis.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @theeventshort and @thetutorialsoloshow

Image Credit:
Collette Bonaparte, Maya Darasaw, Steve Gunther, Andrew Wofford

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.