Art & Activism 002 - @nickbouier

For many of us, quarantine has been a time of struggle whether mental, emotional or physical. Introverts and creatives have taken this time of isolation as an opportunity to dive deeper into their artistry. Nick Bouier, a filmmaker-writer-comedian-teacher, is one of many modern-day renaissance men and Black creatives who have planted their seeds despite circumstances beyond his control. The 33-year-old artivist recently flexed his organizational power in a letter, signed by several instructors and participants, that held Groundlings responsible for ignoring, minimizing and overlooking Black talent. His passion for collaboration, and social justice, can be seen in just about all of his works including his most recent “Quarantine” and “Scrooges” (both of which were shot with Issa Rae Productions/Color Creative). Reflective of our social climate, Black artists are being forced to showcase their multifacetedness as a means of survival. Thankfully, Nick gets to do this most often through comedy - and we get to witness it.

Name: Nick Bouier

Age: 33, somehow

Race/Ethnicity/Any Identifications that Define/Describe You: Black as the dark side of the moon

Hometown: Detroit, MI

Occupation: Filmmaker, Writer, Comedian. Occasionally, a teacher and organizer - I suppose which feels odd to admit, but it is true to some extent. I think every artist has a responsibility to make the world a little bit better. Comedians as well.

What was life like for you growing up?

I grew up in an upper middle class Black family, in many cases we were like the Huxtables. My father was and still is a practicing physician and my mother was a homemaker. She now works in the non-profit space doing work for the citizens of Detroit in the spaces of water rights and managing a food pantry. Though we had the means financially, oftentimes, taking care of all of the extended members of our family as well as any issues in our house caused my parents to fight a great deal when I was a kid. To make things worse, my family has every character you could possibly ask for. Great for writing comedy, rough for a childhood. We had every person from drug dealers and addicts to the everyday working man/woman and the Fruit of Islam. Many times, I look back at my childhood with disbelief, but never regret. In addition to the aforementioned, I was the smart kid - the one that everyone expected to become something. Like I said, it makes for great character study and writing, but it definitely left wounds I had to work on as an adult.

When did you develop an interest in (and then a passion for) acting/directing/writing and why?

When I was in college, I took an interest in photography that led inevitably to a curiosity with film. The exact moment was coming back to campus after taking the MARTA around Atlanta to find any images worth taking, and stumbling on a flyer for the Annual Campus Movie Fest competition. In my mind, it wasn’t that much different than taking pictures. It’s a camera, right? Right… Though it was nothing like photography, I did have a moment of clarity on a parking deck while filming with my friends. Here we were, skipping class, but still getting something done…and I knew that if I went to a movie that I spent $20-40. Where was that money going? It was time to put my business degree to use with the aid of Google. In my dorm that night, I looked for every job in the film industry and landed on three that seemed like I didn’t need a ton of training. Director, Writer, Producer. Fast forward, several years later, I’ve experienced a ton of schooling/training/etc…

All throughout my life, though, I had little hints and sign posts. A mother who was a giant cinephile, cousins who’d reenact movies with me in the basement after seeing them, an overactive imagination fueled by comic books and video games engaged by reading, writing poetry, and legos strewn about for my father to step on. So, in a lot of ways, I’ve been prepping for this my whole life.

What topics or elements do you try to incorporate into your artistry (I.e. politics, pop culture, etc.)?

I’m inherently political, in many ways, because I’m mad about a lot of things. I think the way that Black people and people of color are treated in America is deplorable, but also absurd. Comedy gives me an outlet to be angry without scaring white people. Otherwise, my photography background allows me to explore how we’re affected by images. My underlying philosophy is that Black people deserve joy more than anyone in America, so at the core of things I tend to write with that in mind. How will this bring joy and lighten the load for Black viewers? Other than that, I’m influenced heavily by the imagery of my childhood in Detroit as well as the comedies I loved growing up (Simpsons, In Living Color, etc.). I don’t know if I’m as conscious about this as I used to be, and also I think it’ll change in the near future because as an artist grows so do their interests.

What topics are important to you as far as what influences your artistry?

Race, politics, masculinity, the spaces that black people occupy in comedy.

What does your process look like/involve when it comes to writing scripts, preparing for a role, directing, etc.?

It varies project to project, but I always try to find myself in the project first. Often by asking:

“What is the core of this?”

“What does that mean/look like to me?”

“Is it an experience?”

“A moment in my life?”

“An emotion that I can relate to?”

And, sometimes, it’s less obvious and completely based on a feeling.

What’re your feelings about the recent murders at the hands of the police?

Same shit, different day. Nothing new. I know a lot of Black people who’ve been attacked and shook down by the cops, myself included. If there’s one thing that’s surprising, and in ways encouraging this time around, we’re seeing more white people acknowledging their participation in the system and getting out of the way/creating space for Black folx. I hope that their allyship continues into becoming a co-conspirator for change.

How have these events inspired your artistry?

I’ve yet to truly process my part in this moment, and I don’t know if I’m fully there yet. I know that I’ll find a place in the conversation, but I don’t want it to be solely about me or the work. If I contribute to the conversation, I want to create real systemic change. That’s more of where I’m currently at, building out plans to challenge and change institutions that I’ve been part of that have been systemically racist.

What led you to explore/promote your acting/directing via Instagram?

It’s just another avenue. The pandemic has forced us all inside, so to some degree I’m just shifting to where the eyes are currently.

How do you hope to inspire change?

If I can inspire one person to get into comedy or film, and they do the same, then I’ve succeeded. Additionally, if I can create a pipeline or plant a seed that will become a tree of filmmakers and comics, then that will make things easier for the next generation. I won’t pretend to know what that looks like right now, but I hope that I’m able to make impactful change in the industry that makes it better for the next generation.

It’s clear that representation is important to you, as far as your artistry - why is that?

I think that Black people are drastically under-represented in comedy rooms and as directors. Even in all of the shows that we consumed as kids, most of the “Black experience” has been crafted by white artists. But, even further, I think comedy is exceptionally healing. If you can laugh, you can make it through. There’s humor even in the darkest hours. On a more practical level, comedy is lucrative as fuck. Jerry Seinfeld never has to work again, a day in his life, and he only made one show. A wildly successful one, but the point is still true. I think we’re doing a great disservice to kids by not teaching them that comedy is a viable career path. This doubles for film and TV as a whole.

The TV writers I know live wonderful middle class lives, that’s something that should be available for everyone. From the performer to the director, even to the exec. There are corporate jobs in comedy spaces that are available for people. Unfortunately, many of the institutions that serve as AAA programs into the big leagues of entertainment have functioned like Country Clubs. The systemic racism in the industry is horrendous. A study came out that showed that only 5% of writers rooms are Black, to be more specific 4.8%. Statistically, there are more dramas than comedies made every year. So, if we’re being generous, that means 2.8-3% of those writers write for drama and the remainder are comedy writers. And if we’re, again, being generous, that number can be split down evenly for men, women, trans, and non-binary Black people. That’s a problem. If we want to honestly say that Black lives matter, they have to matter when they’re alive and pursuing careers.

Favorite Food: Pizza, it’s a complete food group.

Favorite Genre of Music: Hip Hop, Jazz, Funk, Soul, Prog/Psychadelic Rock

Favorite Artist/Band: Prince, Coltrane, Fly Lo, The Roots, Brittany Howard/Alabama Shakes, Anita Baker, all things Disco.

Favorite Artist (Actor/Director/Producer/Writer): Coppola, Spike, Kurosawa, PTA, Taika, Donald Glover, Robert Townsend, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Charlie Kaufman, Matt Groening, Lucille Ball, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, Aaron McGruder, Stefani Robinson...we need more black women in comedy power positions, that is all.

Favorite Program/Platform (through which you create your art): Film is such a weird medium that you need a lot of people to get it done, so I can’t really do the stuff I want to do alone. For comedy, Twitter. It’s basically a space for my thoughts and premises that I may be trying out. Also, my feed basically serves as a bunch of set ups to punchlines I can write either online or in a notebook for later use.

Favorite Influences (Music, Aroma, etc.): The smell of Fall and Nag Champa, Woody/Oaky smells, Sandalwood, Scotch, Sativa. Music that feels of the space but otherworldly. Meditation.

Favorite Inner/Outer Feature: Sense of humor, it affects the outer and inner.

Favorite Item that you incorporate into your daily looks, special looks, going out, around the house (jewelry, scarf, pen, ring, etc.): I don’t have a particular item, but if I had to aspire to be someone fashion wise it’d be Andre 3000. I love and respect how he just wears his personality and what makes him comfortable. So that said, I tend to dress myself for comfort. That can be physical or emotional. Some days I want to wear a scarf like a doobie wrap with a t-shirt, some days I want to wear loafers and a sweater, it’s fluid. I think masculinity has been seen as only one thing, and that’s mostly been violent or hardened. But, there’s something masculine about floral patterns and bright socks as well. I’ve never wanted to wear a dress, but I get the allure of wanting to wear a kilt or a skirt as much as I get wearing a cardigan. So, I guess the answer would be my favorite item is whatever is authentic to me in that moment. But, if I had to make a choice, I’m finding myself drawn to brighter colors and floral patterns lately. I’ll probably gravitate more toward that in the near future.

Guest UserJuly 8, 2020