9 minute read
Tamara Bass
Written by Mia Nicole
When Tamara Bass walks into a movie set and flashes her big, infectious smile that lights up the room, any room - no one would ever believe the curly haired beauty looking every bit of twenty-five years old, was forty-three. Or that she was the director. That is, until she quietly sits in her chair and commands attention. The petite powerhouse is a triple threat – also conquering Hollywood as a talented actress and gifted screenwriter. Her body of work includes the heartwarming film Tamara wrote and co-directed, about a group of friends and difficulties in their world, called If Not Now, When? (The amazing cast – includes her business partner, the stunning Meagan Good), and the 2021 TV One Film which she also directed, Don’t Waste Your Pretty surrounding a circle of friends searching for love and happiness. Both must see movies give us a glimpse into Tamara’s creative genius.
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Born and raised in Syracuse, New York, Tamara has always wanted to be an actress. “From the time I was 6 years old, I knew that I wanted to act. It was all I have ever wanted to do. It was like, ‘I want to be an actress and a child psychologist” she laughs. Acting has always been what I wanted to do.” While in high school, Tamara discovered writing and directing. “I am a theater girl, and I could never find a monologue that was appropriate for myself,” she said, “because monologues for teenage black girls were so few and far
Photography by Amina Touray
between,” she recalls. “I was in the NAACP ACT-SO program and you always had to do a monologue. So, I would do Rose’s monologue from Fences. Well, I am 14 years old trying to tell Troy, ‘I’ve been up in this room for 17 years’ and that doesn’t go well,” she chuckles. Tamara then began writing monologues herself and creating entire scenes around the monologues. In addition, she added videography to her creative resume by taking classes. Determined to become a director, she says, “I got my feet wet in directing - and I don’t tell many people this,” she laughs, “but my first directing project ever was a video that we had to create. I used my cabbage patch dolls to create a music video to Brandy’s ‘Broken Hearted,’ Tamara giggles. “I had this whole stop motion thing going on before it was cool. I did not know what I was doing, because I could not get anyone to act in it; I was 15 but I had to do what I had to do. I borrowed a video camera and came home one night, and I would record and edit, and my mom and my bonus dad were like, ‘What is she doing in there?’ It was sheer comedy,” Tamara remembers. Her goal is to ensure that women of color are represented in a positive light and have a voice. Tamara says, “My goal with everything that I create - even if I am writing it, acting in it or directing in it, whatever part of the creative process that I am contributing to, The first thing I ask myself is, “What do I want to say? What do I have to contribute to the narrative? And how do I center black women? How do I center us and make sure we are seen because for so long we didn’t have that opportunity?” She continues, “We have watched Sex in The City for years and we were trying to figure out ‘are you a Miranda or are you a Charlotte’ – but none of those women are really us. We have the added thing of walking in life as a Black woman in America; I had this debate with someone. Unless you are Black in America, you will never understand what it means to be Black in America. It’s a different layer to it and then you add in being a Black woman in America.” Tamara continues, “To me, art should represent life and those are the kinds of movies I am drawn to not only to watch but create. I should be able to turn on the TV or a film and say, dang that reverberate inside of me because it is a realistic portrayal of an experience. And granted everything we watch is
not going to be our experience, but I do believe the years of aligning black women to this myopic view, singular view of what it means, must be over,” she states. “There has to be room for portrayals of us that aren’t cookie cutters. My mom had me at 18 and she has never been to a club, has never partied in her life - she has worked her whole life. Where are those stories about that experience? I graduated from high school a year early and I graduated from college at 21 – where are those stories? I feel like the more we progress and the more the stories like, If Not Now When? and Don’t Waste Your Pretty get made and embraced, the more we can continue to make them. Then you must normalize the varying hues of us as well. It was important to me that the women in all our films look like a direct representation of all of us. You have natural hair, you have chocolate, you’re slightly thicker – it is all those things because that is who we are.
Also, Tamara is someone who loves to help others despite past obstacles. “I try to live a good life and be a good person. I try not to let what I have been through and I have been through a lot, permeate how I treat people. If I felt excluded, or if I felt unseen, or unprotected – which I have most of my life, I do not in turn make other people feel that way. I, in turn, go the opposite way. I want to make you feel seen, I want to make you feel included, I want to make you feel you are protected and worthy. I am a champion. I did not realize how rare I was until recently – I just live. I put my money where my mouth is. If I say I am going to fight for you, I am going to fight for you. If I say it is not about me, it’s not about me.”
Despite being an actress and director, you would never believe Tamara hates being the center of attention. “I am socially awkward. If I am in an unfamiliar environment and I do not know anybody, and it is more than 5 people, I am typically in a corner on my phone playing, Candy Crush because I do not know what to say to people,” she states. “I am such an odd ball.”
While the culture in Hollywood is changing with Black women now given the ability and being recognized as directors, there are several who Tamara respects and looks up to. “Regina King is the GOAT” she says, “I have always been a fan of hers, because as an actor growing up, she was my direct rep-
resentation – a brown skin girl and we don’t see that often. And she has been consistently and steadily putting in the work over the years. Puts her head down and does the work. Not a lot of people outside of us were singing Regina King’s praises. She never deterred, she just kept doing solid work,” she states. Having the opportunity to meet her was a dream come true. “When I met her years ago, I fell in love with her,” Tamara exclaims. “I was like, ‘Oh! You are everything I thought and then some! Why are you this great?” She laughs. “When Regina started directing, she did the work. She studied, she started with TV, then a TV movie and she just kept growing, building, and learning. And now that other people have discovered Regina King – because we have always had Regina King – sis has earned every single accolade she has because she did the work. I am a very firm believer in putting your head down and doing the work and Regina King has done just that.” Tamara includes Issa Rae and Ava Duvernay as other incredible Black female Hollywood creatives who use their platforms to inspire and encourage others to follow their dreams. “Issa uses her platform to advocate and support and make sure voices in the Black community are amplified. Ava Duvernay gave women a chance when others were saying no. Another director she admires is her friend, director Pete Chapman. “Pete is one of my best friends and someone I admire. We have known each other for 15 years, and I have watched him grind and bet on himself – grind and bet on himself all the time. When everything looked like he was not going to be able to do another movie, he just pivoted and did the work. Now in the past three years, he has amassed 20 something TV credits. And all of this because of his grind and hard work. I respect and I am inspired by anyone who does the work. Don’t be afraid to fail,” she states. “Learn from the mistake, get back up and keep going.”
Peering into the future, where does Tamara Bass see herself at the age of 50? Because whether she is appearing on television, film, directing or writing, Tamara is not done. “God willing, “she says with a smile in her voice, “and everything aligns, I would love to have my own little empire like Shonda Rhimes. I want to be in a position where I have the ability to say yes to other people and in a position where all my creative avenues are thriving – my acting, my directing, my writing. But more importantly, I am in a respected enough position that I can say, ‘I greenlit that with no questions asked and it makes it to the air or to the screen – especially for those who have been marginalized or who are not telling the conventional stories. I want to be able to say yes to those people. There is so much left in me.” With everything she has done, there might be a few Emmys and Oscars in her future.
Dress by Charles and Ron @Charlesandron Provided @Maisonpriveepr_la @Maisonpriveepr_alexandra
