By Karu F. Daniels, BlackVoices.com



Real talented actresses know that there is life after appearing on a hit television show.

Just ask Vanessa Williams and Kim Wayans, who – respectively – played pivotal roles on the groundbreaking shows 'In Living Color' and 'Soul Food.'

Now they are working the theater circuit.
For the past few months, Wayans -- the famous female sibling to popular comical actors Marlon, Shawn, Keenan and Damon -- has been wowing crowds with her autobiographical one-woman show, 'A Handsome Woman Retreats.' The show recently played a sold-out, limited engagement at the 2100 Square Foot Theater in Los Angeles.

Directed by Iona Morris, the show traces her life in reverse beginning with a panic-plagued, dissatisfied woman overshadowed by her more successful brothers, as she attends a 10-day silent meditation retreat in hopes of rooting out the source of her anxiety.

As she delves into her past, Wayans introduces many unique and colorful characters who impacted her development.

'Handsome Woman' is a rare glimpse into the dynamics of one of Hollywood's most successful families. It's also a story of self-empowerment and a lesson in listening to your inner voice no matter how loud the outside world gets.

Williams, on the other hand, is doing a one-woman show – but it's not about a silent meditation; it's about sex.

Currently playing at Los Angeles' Elephant Theatre, 'Feet on the Ceiling,' deals with revealing stories of sexual awakening and intimacy. Based on poetry and prose from her book 'Shine,' the play is directed by Denise Dowse.

Playing through June 7, 'Feet' already has received high marks from critics, with 'LA Weekly,' heralding that it was "delivered with a lithe and graceful physicality" and that her "narrative transcends its story's particulars to zone in on what is for so many women a revelatory rite of passage."

Williams, a Brooklyn, NY native, is no stranger to the live stage. She starred in the hit Broadway musical 'Sarafina' in 1988 at the age of 15. Though she's mostly known for her role in the 1991 urban street drama, 'New Jack City,' she also starred in Broadway's 'Mule Bone,' which was written by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.

As Maxine Chadway on the sexy Showtime series 'Soul Food,' the single mom (of one) gained a new following. "To see black people as sexual beings within the context of their relationships - with their husbands or wives, or dating situations - is a revolutionary thing," she said during a 2001 interview with 'Heart & Soul' magazine. "... 'Soul Food' provides is the whole gamut - it's a vital part of who we are."

Recently appearing in an all-black version of Eve Ensler's 'Vagina Monologues' – along with Star Jones (Reynolds) and Sherri Shepherd, Williams knows the subject matter well.

And she's proving it with 'Feet on the Ceiling.'