originally published 3/13/20
I first encountered Troy Rockett’s work as an actor in the Web series, Dyke Central , and in Jewelle Gomez's 2017 play, Leaving the Blues. So I loved learning in this interview that these performances marked his most prominent screen acting role and an unforgettable introduction to theater acting. In 2018, he landed his first lead role WAAFRIKA 123 by Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko. 

RESCHEDULED FOR JULY 2020: 3Girls Theater will stage part of his play, Under the Same Moon, in LezWritesBTQ, a unique script development and performance program for emerging lesbian, trans, gender non-conforming, and queer Bay Area theatre-makers. I’m so proud to have a short play in this show with Troy!

Troy discovered performance and playwriting through poetry, where he embodied the genre to empower himself: a Black Trans adoptee. He is a VONA/Voices Fellow and Astraea Lesbian Writers’ grant recipient and holds a joint MA degree in Creative Writing and Literature. His poems are included in Best New African Poets Anthology 2017, Chorus: A Literary Mixtape, Sinister Wisdom 106: The Lesbian Body, CALYX, Q-Zine, Bay Area Generations and Nomadic Press’s Get Lit. His growing body of work as an emerging artist includes roles in a number of short films, staged readings, and his own personal writings. 

Writing heroes?
Particular legends like Gloria Anzaldúa, Audre Lorde, and Aimé Césaire stick out to me. I could list more, but I’ll stop with these three because through their works I’m made aware of the constant adaptation of colonialism, culture, and identity. The genre of my reading list changes each year with poetry always in the mix. For instance, in 2017, I read every book by Zadie Smith (completely struck). In 2018 I was super into personal essays and read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Roxane Gay, adrienne maree brown, Ta-Nahesi Coates. 2019 was just a whirlwind of new and exciting plays by local Bay Area writers and random quick reads such as Crazy Rich Asians. Currently I’m stuck on memoir by gay artists who have passed. This year, so far,  I reread Hold Tight Gently, by Michael Callen and Essex Hemphill, and finished Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima. I’m working through One Day I Will Write About This Place: A Memoir by Binyavaga Wainaina right now, taking my time with that one. 

Process?
There’s no one way for me. I don’t have a car so I’m often on public transit. When I’m not writing I’m writing. Traveling is writing. Memory is writing. I just make sure to have a journal on me or I record on my phone. One thing I know that is consistent is clearing my head. I go weeks without listening to music, and when I’m deep in it, I go the entire day without saying a word to anyone or as few as possible. You’ll see me walking the lake with headphones on and 9 times out of 10 there’s no audio. 

What do writing and sex have in common? 
All of the senses are involved, even the ones you didn’t know were there. It’s an out of body experience while my entire body is engaged. The difference is, more times than not, when I write I’m only engaging one physical body: my own. There’s only been a few times when I was working on the same  piece of writing side by side with another physical body. 

What do you love about writing?
Listening and discovering. I love sitting with memory. I visit my granny and great grandmothers a lot when writing. Maybe one scene will call for me to describe a kitchen or home, or a garden. So much of my visual landscape and language came from the women who raised me. I also enjoy weaving a future. That when I really let loose and use everything I learned from playing basketball and football in the street, oh! and my daddy’s music. That innovation and improv. That part of writing feels like survival.

What is your dream writing project? 
I want to adapt the novel, Trumpet, written by Jackie Kay, into a stage production and have it play on Broadway, and even taken onto the big screen. This novel changed my life and I’d love to dedicate a portion of my life to honor Jackie Kay’s skillful storytelling. 

Tell me a story.
So. many. stories. But none where I’ve completely let go. I will be 35 in May, and I feel I’m always holding back. Here’s one for me and how I hope to live stories to come. In the story, my mouth and hands drip ripe fruit and I’m wearing my favorite sun hat. The sun, split open, bleeds onto my bare chest. The scars I chose smile and glisten where breasts used to frown. Everyone I love calls me by my name. Before the sun sets I’ve sent them all my love. There are things I am still afraid of, but being myself will no longer be one of them. 

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I coax sexy writers like Troy Rocket to reveal their creative secrets and processes in writer interviews to inspire you:

• See Troy’s performance photos and videos on his beautiful website.

• Follow me on Twitter or Instagram for updates about the rescheduled show.

• Follow Troy on Instagram.

• Feeling inspired? Book a private session with me, The Sexy Grammarian. You always leave private sessions with homework and inspiration, and the first session is always free.