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Our
Town
Compton-born Playwright Turns Life’s Observations Into Drama
New play to
opened July 12 at Stage 52 in L.A.
By
Cheryl Scott
Bulletin
Staff Writer
Ask
Brandi Burks where she gets the ideas for her plays, and she’ll
tell you that they are all around.
“Anywhere you have people from different walks of life, you have
the drama that emerges from the difference between who they really are
and
who they try to be,” she told The Bulletin.
She has a new play, “Men Cry Too,” running now at Stage 51
in Los Angeles.
“‘Men Cry Too’ is about a man who has it all – loyal
wife, two beautiful children, a thriving career and a white picket fence,” she
said. “But does he want all that or does he want to walk on the wild
side instead?”
The show explores the choices a man can make when life is too good. “The
message here is that everyone has to make decisions in their lives – big
and small – and that life does not come with a manual,” she
said. “We’ve all got to take it one day at a time and hope
that when our backs are against the wall, we’ll make the right choice.”
Burks is an emerging playwright whose first show, “This Is Not My
Destiny,” sold out every performance.
She not only writes her plays. She produces them as well. “My first
production cost $4,000,” she said. “But each one is more expensive
than the last. I sell tickets over the Internet and our cast also sells
tickets. This show has a double cast, so there are twice as many people
selling tickets to friends and loved ones.”
She uses money earned in her day job in the corporate sector to pay
production expenses. “Someday when ticket sales are big enough, I
can focus solely on writing plays,” she says. “I’ve got
a million stories in my head.”
A churchgoer all her life, Burks belongs to First Christian Church
in Compton. “I am a believer in Jesus Christ, and my goal is to show
through my work that people need to take control of their lives and put
them into a positive direction if they are not happy with the way things
are for them.”
Her first show was produced in July 2005. Her second one opened in
June 2006. “It was called ‘Come Sunday,’ and it was about
a single mother in South Central trying to raise her child alone,” Burks
said.
Of the eight performances, five were sold out.
She expects to sell out her new play, as well. “I think people relate
to my plays because they see people like themselves and their friends onstage,” she
said. “Everyone has problems, many of which they don’t want
to talk about. Maybe they have someone in their life who abuses drugs or
is an alcoholic. Or maybe someone in their family is incarcerated or on
their way into a criminal lifestyle. People in the same family affect each
other in a profound way. Everyone needs a message of hope, and if just
one person does something to change his life, I’ve done my job.”
Burks is already at work on her fourth play, to be called “Sanctuary
Secrets.”
“It’s about people from all different walks of life who attend
the same church,” she said. “They all act in church like devoted
Christians but they don’t live like Christians in their regular lives.
There are sinners everywhere. Sinners are regular people. No one
is perfect. That’s what ‘Sanctuary Secrets’ will be about.
It will send the message that everyone can change their lifestyle and their
choices
to become a better person.”
She says that she draws her characters from people she meets.
“
I’m an observer,” she said. “I watch people all the time.
I watch their facial expressions, their body language and the gestures
they use. My characters are not representations of just one person. They
are composites. I take a little here and a little there and come up with
a well rounded character. When I put several characters on the stage, they
take on a life of their own and become real individuals – at least
for the 90 minutes the show lasts.”
“Men Cry Too” is being performed on Saturdays at 8 p.m. and
Sundays at 4 p.m. beginning through Aug. 3. Tickets are $25 in advance
and $30
at the door. They can be purchased on the company Website at www.happy4show.com,
or from the African Marketplace boutique on the second level of the
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, (323) 293-3277.
Stage 52 is located at 5229 W. Washington Blvd. in Los Angeles.
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