Let’s start with great news…I have been accepted as a member of the
Black Women Playwrights’ Group (BWPG).
The Black Women Playwrights' Group was founded in 1989. Members range from the very young writer to those who have been nationally recognized for the excellence of their work. The purpose of the organization is to support, promote and refine the work of its members. BWPG offers a unique opportunity for members to work as a collective moving each other to higher levels of expression.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006, the second night's performance of their 17th Annual Staged Reading,
Everyday Gumbo, at The Source Theatre in Washington, DC, Lois Wiley (Playwright and member) presented me with a name badge.
It was the group's wonderful way of surprising me with the news of being selected as their newest member. I donned my new badge and excitedly served as the event's greeter, hoping to make each theatre goer feel welcomed.
Peppered with the procession of people, were thoughts of how the Lord led me to the organization. It all started with a call to author and playwright, Joy Jones. I told her of my desire to finish a script for my one-woman show and asked for any assistance she could give me. At the time, I did not know she was member of BWPG nor did I know that the group existed. I took her suggestions which included initating a call to the group's founder, Playwright Karen L.B. Evans.
I met the criteria of going to three monthly meetings and on the 3rd meeting I submitted the script for my one-woman show. By the 5th monthly meeting, they had not told me if I made it in. In the meantime, I praised God for leading me to this group of brilliantly talented women and I was going to keep going to the meetings until they told me not to come. That never happened, of course, but Tuesday night and the badge did.
My name is Stanice and I'm the newest member of Black Women Playwrights' Group. Now, I just gotta pay my annual dues :)
Back to Tuesday night. The BWPG Staged Reading was a TOTAL SUCCESS and the theatre was packed. It was WONDERFUL. The evening consisted of excerpts from seven plays written by members.
"The amazing excerpts had audiences laughing, crying and reflecting, as the extraordinary and ordinary are served up in one delectable dish,
Everyday Gumbo ." The showcase included the following pieces: Miles to Go by Pamela Armstrong deVreeze; Spectator Sport by e. christi Cunningham; The Workout by Debbie Minter Jackson; The Last Bus Ride by Maria Jones; Marie by Debra Mims; Listening to Momma by Debra Rose; and The Plane Truth by Lois A. Wiley.
The actors were superb and their performances notable, indeed! I felt proud and humbled to be a part of this blessed group.
I'd like to share with you what I've learned, so far, from this experience: (1) to continue to follow the Holy Spirit's leading (as I was led to the info about the group and there was an inner nudge to initiate contact) and (2) follow-through with an open mind and heart to receive the blessing, (3) be willing to stick and stay even though on a low-self-esteem day you may start to question , "Why am I here?", (4) listen to critisim of your work for there will be hidden treasures peppered throughout that will benefit you AND THE WORK, and (5) let go enough to make the most of every opportunity and leave the results to God.
Lord, I thank you for this and all things. Continue to use the experience to make and mold me into the plans you have for my life. And use me to bless those that this experiences allows me to touch. Amen. So be it!
Until another day--another entry, remember: (1) God is blessing you, right now!
Love,
Stanice
www.stanice.com (More than a website--it's an inspirational experience.)
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