It was the witty Rhetoric for me! It was the stimulating Intelligence for me! It was the comedic timing for me! Amanda Seales, radio host, comedian, actress, and hopeful candidate strikes our minds and hearts again with a new comedy special. It’s not at all your typical stand up but I never expect to put the word “typical” and Amanda in the same sentence. Unless it was a sentence where I was describing what I would never use to describe her. If comedy was a chess board, Amanda is a true Queen! Moving in the direction she wants, how she wants, and when she wants.
At her private screening of her new special (IN AMANDA WE TRUST) she expressed “This came from the bottom of my heart and the bottom of my bank account.” I thank her for every ounce of love and cent she poured into this project. It was beautiful to be educated and entertained at the same time. The night was full of Edutainment.
The room was dripping in shades of pink matching this well educated woman equipped with comedy. The crowd was full of supporters as we awaited the premiere of the special to start. Radio One and Houston’s Local Radio Station, 97.9 the Box was also in attendance and sponsoring the event that took place at the well known Houston Improv. Comedy gold, Ali Siddique, was in the audience and he opened the show with a fifteen minute set that warmed the crowd up.
Next, Ms. Seales took the stage looking Presidential in a potent pink power suit. Her hairstyle is the reason the Crown Act was passed because her afro definitely meant business. Before showing the special she pregamed the crowd with a couple of rounds of Political Trivia. The Improv turned into a fun social studies class room, the adults immediately turned into children and Amanda was definitely the coolest teacher in school. If you got the answers correct, you received a signed “Seales the Deal” poster. She asked the crowd to name Texas senators, state representatives, past presidents and more. After those rounds were done the time had come.
I did expect a stand up comedy set that was brilliantly set up with a story to follow, but I was shocked to see something even more compelling. She opens the special on her phone in a “black power” bonnet recording a video to the masses. She let them know that anybody can run for office. You don’t have to be well educated, an elitist, from a political family, or anything. Just figure out what you would like to do and put your name in to run. When she posted the following video the comments were flooding in saying “You Run Girl”, “Run Girl Run”, and “I would vote for you”. Now in the special Amanda was supposed to be headed to the her show in Washington D.C. but she took a detour due to the inspiration of her comments.
First she went to a well known stylist to get “THE LOOK”. She wanted to look official if she was considering running for office. I absolutely loved everything she tried on but, of course her final choice was the power suit I mentioned earlier. As she finds the look, she also finds her slogan “Seales the Deal”.
Now it was time to meet her potential piers. She spoke with 2 state representatives that talked about the headaches of getting a bill passed at this moment because of such division in the House of Representatives. She asked them why would they do this if it was such a headache. The responses touched my spirit. One representative who had his doctorate in education expressed that when he was a principal he saw the changes that needed to be made and decided to go where policies are birthed. They both loved the fact they were in the room of the 436 representatives that get to make a change. She then found her way to “The People” at the Mall. When she arrived, she spoke with strangers of all nationalities asking them trivia questions and what things would they change about government. The responses were hilarious yet informative and touching. One of my favorite questions she asked was “What bill would you want me to push for you?” One girl responded with “Free Movie theaters”. Another person said “no more student loans” and I felt that one in depth of my soul! Ms. Seales looked even more ambitious after she had spoken to the people. I even learned new local positions I could run for such as an alderman and a comptroller. Your city’s alderman takes care of the potholes in the city, and help zone where the next Whole Foods can be built. Did you know that?
The whole special is even more special because there is no normal stand up but there was a Stand taken for justice and intelligence. It ended with her walking on stage to a sold out show and closing out with her narrating. She let us know that she was exactly where she needed and wanted to be and to our dismay she won’t be actually running.
During the Q and A after the screening someone asked her “Why won’t you run?”. Her response in the realest tone “Because I will fight and not with my words” My favorite question asked was “What do you want to leave people with after they see your special” Ms. Seales states “The world is applauding loud ignorance, I want to be loud in my intelligence. I want to encourage others to be loud in their intelligence” I truly believe her new special “Seales The Deal” did just that.
