Black History Month Highlight: Andia Winslow
Welcome to our next installment of interviews highlighting the cast of Daughters of DC in celebration of Black History Month!
Today, we’re featuring Andia Winslow, who plays Speaker of the House Angela Parker (codename: Angie) on Daughters of DC. For a single Mom raising twins Cole and Jaymes she’s a stunningly resolute, focused, and clear leader. She owns any room she walks into, but knows how to navigate the political sphere with savvy. Keep reading to dive more into details about herself and the character she plays in this exclusive interview between Andia and EEP. (And spoiler warning, if you aren’t caught up!)
Stay tuned for more blog highlights for Black History month, and in the meantime listen to the political drama of Daughters of DC – all 12 episodes of the podcast are available now for free!
Einhorn’s Epic Productions: You play Speaker of the House Angela Parker, who in our story is the first Black woman to hold that title. Kamala Harris, the inspiration for the character, is now Vice President. Did you draw any inspiration from Harris or any other real-life politicians in approaching the role?
Andia Winslow: Most notably, my inspiration came from Shirley Chisolm the first Black woman to be elected to Congress in 1968. Though speaker Parker isn’t exactly “unbought and unbossed,” she too is a leader for the people. Texas State Senator Barbara Jordan’s ethos “I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the Constitution” also laid the foundation for Speaker Parker’s oratorical skill and persuasive powers. Do yourself a favor and go watch her 1974 opening statement of the Judiciary Committess’s impeachment hearing for Richard Nixon. Next level!
EEP: Speaker Parker has an incredibly high-profile job and gets into some potentially shady dealings; how did you manage to balance that aspect of the character with the other aspect of the character, being a mom to two teenagers?
AW: I’m not a parent, but in watching my own parents and friends with children — there is nothing like a child to bring an adult back down to earth. Most kids are naturally inquisitive and honest in their pursuit of the truth. Why? What is the purpose? What is your intention? Why should I, if you don’t? In answering those questions of her children, Speaker Parker is undoubtedly forced to do some internal reckoning. I leaned into the delicate balance between her professional efforts at protecting the “greater good” and her crises of conscience at having to answer to Jaymes and Cole.
EEP: Did you have a favorite scene or episode?
AW: The hearing! Every character works together to marshal their forces to defeat a nefarious regime. Of course, this is a fictional story but based on our own political landscape during the past 6 months — it’s closer to reality than we’d ever imagined possible.
EEP: There has been a drastic shift in the political landscape from when Daughters was written and recorded to today; what topics would like to see the Daughters tackle in future stories?
AW: Environmentalism and conservation, access, equity, healthcare, education. Seemingly disparate at their face but inexorably linked and critical if future generations are to actually have a future.
EEP: What does Black history month mean to you?
AW: Black history is National History. This isn’t mine, it’s ours.
Black history is National History. This isn’t mine, it’s ours.
– ANDIA WINSLOW
EEP: What first got you interested in voice acting?
AW: My voice was actually ‘discovered’ while on-mic coaching runners for the New York City Marathon a few years back. A storyteller by nature, I was essentially motivating folks to tell a –very long– story with their bodies. Voiceover, in every genre, is like fitness and sport coaching. One motivates an athlete/consumer/listener to move (buy/do) or be moved. Voice acting has proven to be a craft that offers up a creative challenge every time I step to the mic. I love it!
EEP: Who are some of your inspirations? Any talent you’d love to shout out to?
AW: So. Many. Voices! So little time. Let’s start, for now, with: Keith David, Regina King, Silvia Villagran, Bill Ratner, Michael Winslow. All masters of their craft and space within VO, all incredibly inspired storytellers.
EEP: What’s the best advice you’ve received about acting?
AW: ‘Authenticity’ is the secret sauce. That’s why it’s vital to have diverse voices at the mic, especially in audio dramas. As voice actors, we are heard and not seen so it’s crucial that performances are infused with that real lived experience. Posturing, facial expressions, memories — all of it.
EEP: What’s your latest project?
AW: What’s most exciting about my career, as it stands now, is that in every session I’m voicing something categorically different. For breakfast it might be narrating the critically acclaimed anthology “Four Hundred Souls” by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. Lunch, perhaps I’m leading the charge as Commander Dead Cold in CS:GO or as Harmony in Destruction All Stars video games. Dinner is definitely a TV network promo or national commercial and Dessert? A poetic and anthemic piece for the 2021 inauguration!
