SHREVEPORT, La. ( KTAL/KMSS ) – A Grambling State University graduate is bringing a stage play to the place that helped shape and nurture him.
M.E.W. Productions , the acronym that uses the initials of the founder’s grandmother, Mary Esther Woodfork, is bringing a Christian-themed stage play and an event to highlight local businesses to North Louisiana in late August.
“So my name is L.A., like Los Angeles,” the director, producer, writer, and creative director of The 50 Cent Jewelry Line said during our introduction. The Missouri native says the play exaggerates a real-life experience his girlfriend and her mother shared.
“ The 50 Cent Jewelry Line is loosely based on a true story about a small-town church choir that goes to a .50 cent jewelry outlet, and they are surrounded by characters and spirits that aren’t safe,” L.A. said. “My girlfriend and her mom told me this story in 2008 or so, and I was dying laughing when they told me the story like my abs were hurting when they told me the story.”
He said the story and characters they described resonated with him so much that he crafted it as a stage play. One that depicts a day in the life of Christian believers and some of the ways their faith is tested daily.
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The characters he created for the show were inspired by L.A.’s friends, family, and “everything and everyone in between.”
“Audience members can expect to laugh, can expect to be inspired, and can expect to walk away with, themes that we can resonate to, like being honest and telling the truth and forgiveness and you know what it is to be saved.”
He calls the play a microcosm of everything, combining comedy, life lessons, and a little bit of trauma to depict people as whole, not just holy.
Although the play will be staged at Grambling State University, an HBCU, L.A. wants people from all backgrounds to come out and enjoy the show.
“The great thing is that we’re able to relate to one another because you’re gonna have successes in life and you’re gonna have, setbacks in life and everything in between and, and that we can all relate to,” L.A. said.
He wants the resounding message to be that faith reminds us that storms are temporary and you can uplift your brothers and sisters at times when they lack faith.
“But, you know, just living life, you’re gonna laugh, you’re gonna cry, you’re gonna come into some, you know, characters that will test your faith,” the playwright said.
He wrote The 50 Cent Jewelry Line during his senior year at Grambling and first directed it in 2009 for audiences in his hometown of St. Louis.
“Actually, some of the original, some of the real-life characters that were in the church choir were cast in the play in 2009,” L.A. said. “So that was funny seeing the reaction because they had no idea what the story was about, and then they’re in rehearsal, and they’re trying to, oh, they’re like, oh, yeah, that’s the that’s so and so and so we produced in 2009 phenomenal response.”
The responses were similar when the cast performed recently in Houston and Dallas. He hopes audiences at his alma mater will have the same phenomenal response on August 23 when the play makes its next tour stop at the Conrad Hutchinson, Jr. Performing Arts Center , 403 Main Street in Grambling.
L.A. has wanted the play written at Grambling to be performed there, and as fate would have it, a friend and member of his ‘Gram fam’ is the university’s current director of activities. The two were able to make his dream a reality.
He also has a message for young people with a dream who are unsure how to grab a hold of it.
“So to, you know, my young brothers and sisters at Gramling or any college step outside the box, you know, you’re gifted and you’re unique and you come from greatness, there’s greatness inside of you. And that’s why you are in college to find what that greatness is, to find what that passion is and pursue it. You know, work with your professors, ask your professors questions, you know, get into internships, network is imperative in your career, form lifelong friendships with your, with your peers because they’re also pursuing you know, their profession, you know, they’re also pursuing their craft. So those are your business partners right there, you know, so work with them while you’re in college.”
Visit the website to purchase tickets, get audition information and information about MEW Productions’ deaf inclusion program, or explore partner or sponsorship opportunities with M.E.W. Productions .
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