Daheli Hall

Dahéli Hall is an American actress, stand-up comedian, writer, and director. Hall is most notable for her membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv during its 13th season.

Biography

Dahéli Hall was born in Gainesville, Florida, on June 17 and grew up in Miami, FL. She is the only child of her Jamaican father and Haitian mother.

She earned both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts—in the Experimental Theater Wing—and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Producing for Film and TV from the University of Southern California.

Career

Hall is a writer, director and comic actress, best known as a cast member on Season 13 of MADtv, and as the zaniest cast member on BET’s prank dating show Hell Date. She earned both a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in Producing for Film and TV from the University of Southern California. Her body of work also includes several web series created under the banner www.Tickles.Tv; a documentary short film and two HBO award-winning short films, The Memo and Mandingo in a Box.

A common theme in hall's film and stand-up comedy is the range of social issues that black people face. Her first work of note, a short film entitled The Memo, explores in comedic fashion the misadventures of Ted, who does not "get the memo" that the black revolution has begun. Mandingo in a Box features a life-sized, black, male "lover doll" that supposedly represents the ideal man for black women. In Mandingo, two ideas play off each other: (1) that good, available black men are nearly impossible to find, and (2) that the quest for the perfect black man can sidetrack black women in their pursuit of love. Hall made a slight creative departure with The Peace Process, a documentary that centers on a young man who tries to set a positive example in his heavily gang-influenced community. Hall is quick to point out, however, that The Peace Process is a departure in format only, not content: "Though this is my first documentary, it is not a departure from the kind of subject matters that I gravitate to; all my projects address issues that affect my black community. Gang violence is definitely one such issue."

Hall has also lent her talents to teaching acting as a substitute instructor at the LA County High School for the Arts, where she taught and created a curriculum for 10th- to 12th-grade high-school students on the basic principles of improvisation. Her first foray into teaching began in Spring 2005 as a documentary film instructor at the Zeitgeist Community Learning Center, where she taught Crenshaw area high-school students how to shoot, direct and edit their own short documentaryt films. Dahéli continued lending her talents in the classroom serving as a guest lecturer at several colleges and universities including: Los Angeles Valley College as well as, Clark Atlanta and the University of Georgia, both in Atlanta. Most recently, she returned to New York to give a lecture at the Fieldston School (College Prep Academy), on "Gender Politics in the Performing Arts".

Comedy is still Hall's primary vehicle for expressing social concerns.." Dahéli's special blend of humor and intelligence expertly manifests itself in not only her film work but also her standup comedy. Her one-woman show, "Crazy Bitch," gives a perfect example of this dichotomy. On one hand, the term “crazy bitch” explores her "unapologetic, fearless and wild side"; on another level, however, the term also shows how such slurs can demonize and trivialize women. She refers to comedy as "the great diplomat", "…people are most open when they laugh, and that’s perfect time to get them thinking and communicating.”

Hall now puts on her own comedy variety show every month called Dahéli Live!

Hell Date

She was part of the show Hell Date on the BET network.

Director

She wrote, directed and starred in two short films: Mandingo in a Box and The Memo.^[1] 2016 Dahéli wrote & directed a short for Disney Channel called Exchange.

MADtv

Hall joined the cast of MADtv in 2008 as a feature performer, for the 13th season.^[2] She became the fourth African-American female cast member in the show's history (Debra Wilson, Daniele Gaither and Nicole Randall Johnson were the first three), even though Hall has Caribbean roots. Hall only appeared in five episodes of Season Thirteen. When Season Fourteen premiered, Hall was replaced by African-American actress Erica Ash. Out of the five female African-American cast members, Ash and Hall are the only two not to be promoted to Repertory Player status. Hall was let go before she could be promoted and Ash remained a featured member of the cast when Fox announced the cancellation of the show from its Fall 2009 line-up.

Characters

Impressions

Filmography

Movie appearances

Television appearances

References

External links

• Daheli Hall at the Internet Movie Database
• MADtv fan site