Growing up in 1980s Vancouver, Weyni Mengesha had a hard time getting past stereotypes about her Ethiopian heritage. “This was post-famine,” she says. “The only thing people knew about my background was ‘We Are the World.’ ” The 30-year-old director—and great-great-granddaughter of emperor Haile Selassie—is best known for helping to build Trey Anthony’s ’Da Kink in My Hair into an international sensation. Following a stint as associate artistic director of Theatre Passe Muraille, Mengesha earned a spot in Soulpepper Academy’s exclusive inaugural class. The recent graduate is now busy putting her stamp on the Lorraine Hansberry classic A Raisin in the Sun.

You went back to the classroom for two years after directing the big-budget musical ’Da Kink in My Hair. Why?
Everything I’d done before had been personal, original works that were in development. A Raisin in the Sun is the first show I’m going to direct with a script. Soulpepper warmed me up for that.

You’ve been credited with getting many black Torontonians to attend the theatre for the first time.
When we did the Mirvish production of ’Da Kink at the Princess of Wales, one of the fears was that there would be no black audience. We were supposed to run for six weeks and ended up running for three and a half months.

Toronto is incredibly diverse. How do you cater to an audience that might contain Somali Muslims, Jamaican Rastafarians and Canadian-born Christians?
We’re one of the most multicultural cities in the world and people want to hear from each other. Storytelling transcends colour and culture after a point. I don’t want to water anything down, like an accent, or make a specific story general just to relate to people. When a character becomes an individual, the audience will feel a connection.

A Raisin in the Sun is about the African-American struggle for acceptance. The American and Canadian black experiences are so different. How do you think it will play here?
Racism doesn’t really get down to your cultural origins—“black” is a construct that was forced upon us. No matter where you are or who you are, that construct is part of your reality. The play is about human dignity and the right to dream and build a home for your family. Some of the limitations in the play are around race and class. African-Canadians are no strangers to those things.

The recent Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun starred P. Diddy in the lead role. Would you be nervous directing Puffy?
It’s such a beautiful story. It would humble anybody.

A Raisin in the Sun runs Oct. 15 to Nov. 15. $34–$65. Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 55 Mill St., Bldg. 49, 416-866-8666, www.soulpepper.ca.