Source: Crypt TV / Crypt TV
Before Jordan Peele came along and shook things up, the thought of a Black woman in the lead of any type of horror genre was virtually unheard of. But the times they are a changin’. Hollywood is slowly but surely opening up the possibility that Black folks can take on roles they’ve never been seen in before.
And now, with several ways to consume art—the options are opening up.
At 21, Angel Theory has already had the opportunity to star in two horror-based projects. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and now as the lead in the new Facebook Watch show, Kinderfänger. Not only does the show feature a Black woman, it incorporates Theory’s other identity as a person who is hard of hearing.
In Kinderfänger, Theory plays the role of Kelly, a hard of hearing music teacher who notices, long before anyone else that her students are not only disappearing, they, along with other children in the neighborhood, are being taken by some dark force.
We had a chance to speak to Theory about her career, the intersections of her identities in the horror genre and more. See what she had to say below.
MadameNoire: How did you get into acting?
Angel Theory: That wasn’t the path that I was going in or expecting to go in. I’m a dancer and choreographer so that was my main focus to dance, teach, stuff like that. And one day my agents sent me an audition because I think I was their only hard of hearing female talent that they represent. They sent me this audition for “The Walking Dead” and boom I’m an actress now.
And after working on sets and being able to have these experiences, I genuinely just fell in love with it. It also helped me to understand my mom a bit more because she’s also has been acting before I was even born. There was a lot that I got to learn from her. Even if it wasn’t my direct path, I’m just grateful that it led me into so many other directions where I got to try new things and find new passions.
MN: You you were born hearing and then gradually lost your hearing due to a car accident at 14. How long did it take you to pick up sign language.
Angel: I’m still picking it up. I’m picking it up every day I possibly can. I think people forget that sign language is not something that you learn in a week and then boom you’re amazing. Not at all. Not over here. I know the words that I say everyday, the things that I see at practice. Just like with the English language where there are so many words that you don’t know what it means. It’s the same with sign language. I’m learning something new every day, whether it’s from other deaf or hard of hearing people from different places, through my interpreter or communication with another person. But it’s still a learning curve and I’m just improving as much as I possibly can.
MN: Were the people around you receptive to learning ASL as well?
Angel: Yeah my mom has been learning. She’s been picking up a lot, actually. My girl as well. My grandma, it’s actually funny because my grandma is the only person in my family that’s also hard of hearing and she’s the only person who doesn’t want to learn sign. And I ask her, ‘Hey grandma, come on. We can both sign to each other instead of screaming at each other. Leave me alone. I’m old. I’m good.’
I’m like whatever. If you’d rather scream at me then fine. My everyday friends are like, I want to learn sign. And as much as I love to teach new words to friends and family, I feel like I’m still learning too. Whatever I do know, I’ll pass it along. That’s actually what makes it more fun. Sometimes I’ll test my mom or my girl like, ‘This whole day or this whole week, I’m not going to have my hearing aids in so sign.’ If you want to talk to me, you’re going to sign.
MN: You mentioned your grandmother doesn’t want to sign. Was she the inspiration for your mother in the Facebook Watch show, “Kinderfänger”?
Angel: Hell no! That’s two different people. We got my grandma, the love of my life, the love of my heart and then we got Constance. And well…she’s Constance. My grandma is just at that age where she’s lived life. She’s good. She doesn’t need to learn anything else. She knows ‘I love you’ and ‘Happy birthday.’
As for the storyline of Constance, I don’t have anybody I know who is like her. I’m blessed to say that.
MN: There are so few representations of disabled people in media and when we do see them, they’re often white men. Can you speak to the importance of a Black woman taking on this role?
Angel: I think it’s very important for people to see representation in all aspects. Yes, being a woman of color. Yes, being hard of hearing. Yes, being a part of the LGBT community, there are so many different and amazing things that you can connect on. If you’re an abuse survivor, you can connect. There’s so many different topics that “Kinderfänger” touches on , some of them being lighter than others. But I feel like that’s what makes it very relatable when people watch. We’re not trying to watch a telenovela right now or a sitcom. This is something where we’re showing that she’s hard of hearing, that’s not the main focus. She’s going through abuse but that’s not the main focus.
We’re showing that you can be weak, a caterpillar in a cocoon but that journey that you’re in will lead you to be that butterfly and show that strength in the end. And it’s not necessarily the end. It’s your new beginning.
And I felt like that was a beautiful thing to see in this show. But like I say all the time, if I had someone who looked like me on screen or related to my life story in any way, it would actually have been very helpful for me to see that and now that you don’t have to look like the norm. You can be unique in whatever way you are and still be accepted. I think we’re not getting into a world where people are starting to accept more of change and difference and uniqueness instead of wanting everything to look uniform all the time.
MN: Did you have a hand or how much of a hand did you have in creating the role of Kelly?
Angel: I would say she has a lot of components in her storyline that were taken from my hearing loss journey. One of their famous lines now was actually taken from what my mom said to me when I was going through my hearing loss journey, which is, “It’s not a disability. It’s your damn superpower.” So using stuff like that I guess to show Kelly’s growth and going through her hearing loss on the show as well.
There are times when I’ll say, ‘This is not like me.’ or ‘This is not what happened.’ However, this is their character so I’m very content in everything they’ve done with Kelly, throughout the show, allowing her to be realistic and relatable but at the same time still giving you this apocalyptic, edgy girl. She’s not the normal girl. She’s wearing the hoodie and cargo. She’s badass. You can still be badass and go through stuff. They’re doing amazing with Kelly, honestly. There’s nothing I would change about her.
They’ve incorporated my story into her storyline and made it into something really beautiful.
MN: Maybe your just conjecture about this. But why do you think Black people and Black women specifically have been kind of left out of the horror genre?
Angel: I’m not sure, honestly. This is my 2nd horror series, and I haven’t had that experience, personally. However, I do definitely think that Black representation in the horror genre has lacked in the past. If there were any people of color in horror movies back then, they’d usually have a “stereotypical” role and/or were the first ones to die. In contrast, now I see so many amazing films and television series that are way more diverse than before. This industry is becoming more and more aware of what representation means, not only for the stories we would like to share but for the viewers at home to be able to connect in ways they haven’t before! I find it beautiful! Future generations can see more representation so when they go for these roles, they know that anything is possible for them too!
Catch new episodes of “Kinderfänger” every Friday at 3pm PT / 6pm ET on Crypt TV’s Facebook Watch page.
