Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dalya Black. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Dalya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I am extremely grateful that I have an attitude of “let me just try this and see what happens.” I have always been artsy and just tried things out & fixed it after. In my humble opinion, one of the greatest qualities of all artists is that we are fantastic problem solvers. When I started out doing burlesque, I first volunteered (before I was even 18 years old! Shhh…) to get an idea of what the scene was like. I then just asked anyone who would take me to do an act. I would perform with a lot of live bands to offer a different element that made the show more interesting. When I was filmmaking, I started off acting but I would ask a billion questions of the producers, camera people, director, props, anyone who would answer me. I’m currently focusing on standup comedy. A lot of comedy I actually don’t like – I find it can be quite mean & bullying. But I found the ones I do like and I studied them. I have taken a couple of classes, some great some terrible. Comedy has so far been the hardest with the most challenges. There is a lot of toxicity in the comedy scene that a lot of other art forms have pushed out but comedy seems to thrive in. I, a squishy kind human, doesn’t do well in that kind of environment. I don’t ever want to perform in clubs or with people who I think are jerks and, unfortunately, that list is long. But, I’m determined to keep trying until I find my place!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got my start doing burlesque when I was freshly 18. This taught me so much about performing and being a producer. But then I got my first acting role in a movie, TEN, at 21 and I absolutely fell in love with Filmmaking. I was acting for a while but felt continuously frustrated with the terrible roles that were offered to me. That began my journey into screenwriting and directing to build roles and stories that I would want to see in the world. Messy humans who you are rooting for, groan at, text your friend ‘this character reminded me of you’. After a decade of filmmaking, I tried my hand at standup comedy. It’s been about a year and a half at this point and I can truly say it is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I adore the craft and I am excited to see what kind of art I create with it next.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

At the beginning of the pandemic, when we were all huddled inside in an attempt to protect one another I thought, maybe delusionally so, “Finally, people will appreciate the arts more now.” The only way we got through that time was with the help of music, movies, books, tv, ART. But, unfortunately, I think it’s only gotten worse. Because we are now in such a subscription based society, I think people have been fully spoiled rotten by massive amounts of choice & spending as little money on art as possible. It used to be special to buy something, a new album, a sculpture, a movie ticket, and now it’s simply devalued and under-appreciated. With the threats that AI impose to working artists, I have seen first hand how little people seem to care about the struggles of the working artist. I have seen tech bros defend plagiarism software that they don’t need years of hard work to get the same results. AI isn’t as good yet, it doesn’t have the ability to edit appropriately, it doesn’t have taste. But between that and social media actively making it challenging to get viewed whilst stealing our work, it can be challenging to try to continue fighting to have your art be seen.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

On an individual level, If there is an artist who you like, support them. It’s as simple as that. Like & comment their social media posts, buy the things they are putting out into the world, share with your friends. The amount of times I hear “I see all the cool stuff you’re doing & I love it!” but without engaging is t-r-a-g-i-c. That goes for venues that support local artists too – they deserve the most amount of love, especially if they managed to survive the pandemic.

As a society, it’s much harder. We need more free museums, more arts education in schools, more funding for spaces. We have access to social media, youtube, and our phones, which is so incredible! But we’re missing opportunities to build community. We need folks to care more. We need them to spend their money on what they want to see in the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dalyablack.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dalyablackcomedy
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Fqmbspxx4j7kqYw6_OhYw
• Other: https://dalyablack.gumroad.com/

Image Credits

Zander Fieschko
John Beckley
Beren Jones
Karen Jerzyk