Bowman’s ‘Love’s’ debuts in March

Watch out Tyler Perry and David E. Talbert, with Women’s History and the National Women and Girl’s HIV/AID’s Awareness Day just around the corner, March is the month for women productions.

@font-face { font-family: “Times New Roman”; }@font-face { font-family: “Verdana”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

Watch out Tyler Perry and David E. Talbert, with Women’s History and the National Women and Girl’s HIV/AID’s Awareness Day just around the corner, March is the month for women productions.  

Chicago native, author and Executive Producer of the play "Love’s Got A Hold On Me" Shoya Bowman plans to shed some light on a dimmed topic. With the production of ‘Love’s,’ the audience can prepare to visit the topic of domestic violence and HIV on a whole new stage.

A graduate of Columbia College in Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in business management Bowman found herself working as a substitute teacher. She realized later she didn’t like the concept of working for others. 

In 2003 after unfulfilling jobs and failed relationships she poured her thoughts and feelings on paper. She would then let her friends read her material, which they loved and later encouraged to be turned into a full out production, she said.

It was her relationship with playwright Christine Houston, creator of the 80s sitcom 227, which Bowman revealed was originally a stage play, that helped Bowman birth her first production.

After the two Chicago natives discovered they both once lived on 79th Street, they hit it off instantly. They spent four months working on ‘Love’s’.

"She doesn’t hold back on critiques. She hurt my feelings plenty of days, but she became my mother and mentor and was more than a playwright teacher," a sincere Bowman told the Defender.

The play is a spinoff of her book "Goodbye…Don’t Alway’s Mean Gone."

The main characters are Staci and Kim. "Staci is a single, sexy, promiscuous bombshell sick in love in all the wrong places," said Bowman. "There’s a little Staci in us all."

Staci’s married friend Kim is envious of Staci’s lifestyle and in turn Staci is envious that Kim is married with a family, children and a beautiful home built from the ground up.

"Staci runs into somebody who’s mentally and physically abusive. She thinks she can change him, but love has such a hold on her that she can’t shake it if she tried," said Bowman.

While the plays debuts in March, the road to completion wasn’t easy. She met a lot of resentment as a newcomer to the stage.

"Unless you’re established, you have that much further to go. I want everyone to support up-and-coming playwrights because they too have a story to tell," she stressed.

Bowman hopes ‘Love’s’ would eventually birth a movie deal or a mini-series, but until then, she’s anxious to present her project. 

Love’s Got a Hold On Me runs March 9 at 8 p.m. and March 10 at 7 p.m. at Freedom Hall, 410 Lakewood Blvd. in Park Forest. Tickets are $25.

For more information visit www.lovesgotaholdonme.com.

Copyright 2012 Chicago Defender

About Post Author

Comments

From the Web

Skip to content